The Legal 500

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP has ‘in-depth knowledge’ of ECM work, which is its core focus, and it particularly excels at deals with a US aspect. It recently advised Commerzbank on US aspects and financial disclosures in relation to an €11bn two-step capital raising transaction; Q-Cells on its subscription rights capital increase; and Deutsche Bank on its €10.2bn rights offering. This highly rated team includes Gabriele Apfelbacher and Thomas Kopp, who are ‘among the strongest in Germany’. Christof von Dryander has relocated to Hong Kong but makes regular visits to Frankfurt.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s ‘extremely strong’ practice was involved in a number of the year’s most significant IPOs, including advising Norma Group and its majority shareholder 3i on its €386m IPO. It also advised Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Global Markets and UniCredit on TUI’s placement of convertible bonds. On the debt side, it advised Credit Suisse, Citi, Goldman Sachs and UBS on structuring and implementation of Commerzbank’s capital increase. DCM head Christoph Gleske is an ‘amazing lawyer’ who ‘knows his stuff’, and Rick van Aerssen and ECM head Andreas König are also highly recommended.

Hengeler Mueller ‘still leads the pack both in volume and in level of expertise’, and gives ‘fast, very reliable and legally sound advice’. It has been advising on some of the most significant capital increases, notably those of Porsche and Commerzbank. This innovative team advised Hypo Real Estate on establishing a bad bank under financial market stabilisation legislation through the transfer of portfolios in amount of €173bn. It also advised on proposed IPOs by Kabel BW and Takko. The team’s lawyers show ‘entrepreneurial spirit’, with Torsten Busch and Hendrik Haag being particularly recommended.

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP’s ‘small but extremely strong’ and ‘highly qualified team’ focuses on ECM work. It represented the underwriters in Commerzbank’s €11bn capital increase; Porsche Automobil Holding in its €5bn capital increase; and Sky Deutschland in its €165m private placement of convertible bonds. Konstantin Technau and Carsten Berrar have ‘extremely good knowledge of market players and the industry’. Wolfgang Feuring heads the team.

Allen & Overy LLP is ‘extremely committed, fast, and always on top of market developments’. It advised on various IPOs, including that of Hapag-Lloyd, and demonstrated its excellent institutional contacts when it was instructed to advise Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley as joint global co-ordinators and lead bookrunners on Porsche Automobil Holding’s €5bn capital increase. US law expert Gernot Wagner ‘gets deals done and handles complex and difficult situations’, and Oliver Seiler is ‘technically very strong’ and ‘one of the few pre-eminent practitioners in Germany’.

Clifford Chance has a strong DCM practice and ‘in-depth knowledge of German and US ECM requirements’, and is always familiar with the ‘regulator’s latest best practice’ guidelines. On the debt side, it advised Bank of China, HSBC and Standard Chartered on Volkswagen International Finance’s RMB1.5bn bond issuance. On the equity side, it advised Volkswagen with respect to the rights offering by its parent Porsche, and the underwriters led by UBS on RIB Software’s IPO. George Hacket, Markus Pfüller and Sebastian Maerker are highly regarded.

Linklaters LLP’s clients are ‘very comfortable with the team in complex or unprecedented transactions’, both on the debt and equity side. The team advised Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs on Norma Holding’s IPO, one of the largest in Germany in 2011, and on several capital increases by German real estate companies. Herbert Harrer is ‘simply brilliant’ and Peter Waltz ‘effectively handles transactions and provides tailor-made services’. Staff changes saw Marco Carbonare relocate to Frankfurt from the firm’s London office, and Christoph Vaupel join Taylor Wessing.

White & Case LLP has a solid base of longstanding clients. It recently represented Gildemeister in its two-step capital increase, advised Deutsche Bank and HSBC on Aareal Bank’s rights offering, and acted for Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank and UniCredit on Rheinmetall’s €500m debut bond issue. Lutz Krämer is recommended along with Jochen Artzinger-Bolten, who ‘thinks beyond the obvious tasks’, and Benedikt Gillessen, who gives ‘clear recommendations, not options to choose’.

CMS Hasche Sigle provides ‘good access to senior team members’ and is well recognised on the ECM side, where it has a niche in advising on the IPOs of Chinese companies, such as two recent IPOs on the Prime Standard at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It also advised Italy1 Investment on its SPAC IPO on the Milan Stock Exchange. Andreas Zanner is an ‘excellent negotiator’ and ‘absolutely reliable’.

Gleiss Lutz confirmed its significant market standing in Prime Standard IPOs on Frankfurt Stock Exchange when it advised Commerzbank and Crédit Agricole on Adler’s IPO as well as equinet Bank and BHF-BANK on Derby Cycle’s IPO. It acted for J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank on Klöckner’s €500m capital increase, and also advised various issuers on the issuance of bonds and convertible bonds. Clients value the team’s ‘in-depth knowledge’ and particularly rate Stephan Aubel, who is ‘never too busy to offer help’.

Hogan Lovells International LLP significantly boosted its ECM expertise by recruiting one of the country’s leading practitioners, Michael Schlitt, from Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. Other key names in the practice are Sina Hekmat, who is ‘dedicated to his clients and the success of their businesses’, and Sven Brandt, who leads on the debt side. The group advised SoFFIn as major shareholder of Commerzbank on the €625m buyback of trust preferred securities, and Erste Abwicklungsanstalt on the establishment of its €20bn debt issuance programme.

Latham & Watkins LLP is recommended for ECM work and also has a good reputation in high-yield bonds work, but also maintains a reliable DCM practice generally by leverageing the firm’s ‘extremely strong’ US and London practices. It advised Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan in Elster Group’s IPO, and acted for Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, IKB, UniCredit, WestLB and HSH Nordbank on ALBA’s €203m high-yield bond offering under German law. Roland Maass is recommended.

Shearman & Sterling LLP’s ‘very strong practice’ provides debt and equity advice, frequently regarding US aspects. Notably it advised the initial purchasers, led by Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and J.P. Morgan, on Kabel BW’s €1.2bn high-yield bonds issuance. However, in February 2012, Stephan Hutter and Katja Kaulamo moved to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.

Ashurst LLP strengthened its ECM practice by hiring Matthias von Oppen from Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, who is ‘experienced with IPOs of Chinese companies’ and recently acted as underwriter’s counsel regarding five Chinese company IPOs on the Prime Standard. On the debt side, the team advised Daimler on German, Japanese and US law pertaining to its €35bn EMTN programme.

DLA Piper advised DIC Asset on rights issue matters; PC-Ware Technologies on a €36m capital increase with subscription rights and private placement; and, on the debt side, Landesbank Berlin on its Daheim programmes. Andreas Meyer-Landrut heads the practice.

Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP lost Matthias von Oppen to Ashurst LLP, but the team remains a good choice for ECM work, and it recently advised Credit Suisse on an ECM transaction in Germany, the first time it had done so for this client. The team also advised Baader Bank on the accelerated book-build of 1.1m shares in Grammer. Philipp von Ilberg is recommended.

Heisse Kursawe Eversheds is highly recommended for work in the ECM mid-cap market, where it has been advising on Chinese IPOs, including that of client China Specialty Glass. It also advised on United Power Technology’s IPO on the Prime Standard list of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Alexander Honrath is recommended.

Noerr’s ‘highly experienced’ team ‘works hard for its clients’, and is recommended for ECM work. It recently advised RIB Software on its €145m IPO and SAF-Holland on its €140m capital increase. Holger Alfes and Laurenz Wieneke jointly head the practice.

Norton Rose LLP is ‘extremely visible and active’ on debt and equity matters. It recently advised equinet Bank on Solutronic’s IPO, Close Brothers Seydler on TAG Immobilien’s capital increase and DZ Bank on updating of the €10m Emma credit-linked note programme. Frank Regelin heads the ECM side, whereas Rüdiger Litten leads on DCM.

Taylor Wessing’s ‘hardworking’ group is ‘continously excellent’. Stephan Heinemann leads the team, which notably recruited Christoph Vaupel, a ‘household name in the business’, from Linklaters LLP. The team advised Döhle Group on HCI Capital’s capital increase, and Close Brothers Seydler regarding m-u-t’s €4.4m capital increase.