The Legal 500

Allen & Overy LLP’s ‘excellent’ 13-partner team handles a high volume of significant transactions. Highlights included acting for Talpa on its joint acquisition (with Sanoma) of ProSiebenSat.1’s Dutch TV operations. It also advised Crucell and Draka on their billion-euro public takeovers. Justin Steer is ‘very knowledgeable, down-to-earth, practical and solutions-oriented’. Tim Stevens and Maarten Muller are also recommended, as is recently promoted counsel Jetty Tukker.

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is praised for ‘preserving high quality across the board’. ‘Seasoned M&A lawyer’ Paul Cronheim was part of the team advising Brit Insurance on Dutch law aspects of its public buyout by Apollo and CVC. Arne Grimme and Dieter Wolff acted for Germany-based GEA Group on acquiring CFS Holdings, while Martin van Olffen was local counsel to Chinese manufacturer Youngman on establishing an alliance with Pang Da, Spyker and Saab to manufacture and distribute Saab vehicles in China. Other clients include Océ, Philips, NXP and Teleplan International.

NautaDutilh has been acting on the buyer side of notable cross-border transactions, acting Dutch counsel to Johnson & Johnson on its public offer for Crucell, and to Apollo and CVC on their buyout of Brit Insurance. Christiaan de Brauw and Leo Groothuis also advised Elekta on its €365m acquisition of Nucletron. Joost den Engelsman is recommended for M&A work, while Geert Raaijmakers and Hein Hooghoudt focus on corporate governance for clients such as ABN AMRO, Dutch Central Bank and Maxeda.

Stibbe is ‘top tier and a firm of primary choice’ for transactions and corporate governance – it is ‘business-minded and cost-effective, while advice is to the point’. Practice head Allard Metzelaar and Björn van der Klip, who is ‘a very quick thinker and a pleasure to work with’, advised Provimi on its $2.1bn takeover by Cargill. The practice is also advising NYSE Euronext on its proposed merger with Deutsche Börse, and acted for Celesio on the merger of its subsidiary group Lloyds Pharmacy with Brocacef Holding to create one of the biggest Dutch pharmacy chains.

Clifford Chance continues to demonstrate its strength on cross-border matters, with practice head Jeroen Koster acting for Netherlands-based Royal DSM on its joint venture with Sinochem. The team also advised Sanoma on taking over SBS TV operations from ProSiebenSat.1, and acted for Nieuwe Steen Investments on its merger with Vastned Offices/Industrial to create a major Dutch real estate investment fund. Jeroen Thijssen was promoted to the partnership.

‘High level and high quality’, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer provides ‘great execution and gets things solved’ on complex corporate transactions. It advised Prysmian on its public bid for Draka to form the world’s biggest cable supplier and EQT Infrastructure on a majority stake in Argos Terminals. Key figures in the team are practice head Dirk-Jan Smit, Jan Willem van der Staay, Richard Norbruis, as well as Alexander Doorman, ‘a young but rising star – good for complex transactions’, and Shawn der Kinderen, who is ‘an all-round lawyer, and customer-oriented. He always finds a solution – good for deadlock situations’.

‘The high-quality and experienced team’ at Houthoff Buruma ‘brings top-notch service and seniority to the table’. It advised North Sea Group on its merger with Argos Oil and acted on Dutch law aspects of China Huaneng Group’s purchase of a 50% stake in InterGen. Both Jan-Paul van der Hoek and Michiel Pannekoek are ‘relatively young but highly experienced, very well rounded and can change and set the atmosphere during negotiations very well’. Casper Banz is ‘practical without sacrificing detail; willing to be part of the client’s team’. Willem de Nijs Bik is ‘an exceptionally prudent lawyer’.

‘Proactive, business-minded and solutions-driven’, Loyens & Loeff provides ‘good industry knowledge and very strong M&A expertise’. It advised Capital One on its €6.3bn acquisition of ING Direct and CB Richard Ellis on its €690m buyout of ING REIM. Bas Vletter leads the team, which includes Herman Kaemingk and Harmen Holtrop, who is recommended for corporate transactions.

Baker & McKenzie Amsterdam N.V. recently advised Axcan on its $583m public offer for Dutch-listed Eurand. Jeroen Hoekstra and Mike Jansen act for numerous US-based and European multinationals. Jan Peters and Edwin Liem are recommended.

Bird & Bird focuses on sectors such as telecoms, media and energy, with representative clients including Omnitech Infosolutions, GEA Group and Wilhelmsen Ships Service. ‘Spot on, commercial and practical’, Pauline Vos advised a target company during its takeover by Intel. Harry Rek heads the practice.

Boekel De Nerée advised Oakley Capital on its acquisition of Emesa and provided Dutch law advice to Fila Luxembourg on its acquisition of Integrix Sports Group. Ferdinand Mason leads this Amsterdam-centred team from his post in the new London office. The Amsterdam office recruited Arjen Mulderije from Holland van Gijzen, and Cars-Jan van Gool from CMS Derks Star Busmann.

DLA Piper was involved in a number of multijurisdictional transactions including advising US-listed Tech Data on its takeover of Triade Group. It also advised Royal KPN on its acquisition of Atlantic Telecom. Other clients include NH Hoteles, RTL and Globecomm. Barbara van Hussen heads the team.

Hogan Lovells International LLP’s clients appreciate the team’s ‘practical and to-the-point advice’, with both Victor de Vlaam and Johannes Buntjer recommended. It advised Eurasian Natural Resources on acquiring Bahia Minerals, and acted for Baxter on acquiring a Dutch life sciences business.

Linklaters has been involved in notable cross-border transactions in the public and private sectors. Corporate head Peter Goes worked in a cross-office team to advise Pang Da on its joint agreement with Youngman to buy Saab. Pieter Riemer advised Deutsche Börse on its merger with Euronext NYSE and also ING Car Lease on its €700m takeover by BMW. Jan Willem de Boer joined the practice from De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek.

Simmons & Simmons LLP’s practice head Jean-Pierre van Leeuwe is ‘an outstanding adviser in M&A transactions. He is able to make the deal happen, but will certainly take clients’ objectives into account’. Pieter van Uchelen advised Argos Oil on its merger with North Sea Group. The practice also supported a cross-office team in Sinochem Group’s acquisition of a 50% stake in DSM Global Anti-Infectives.

Van Doorne ‘provides the personable service of a small organisation but with the professionalism of a large firm’. Recent matters include advising on Dutch law aspects of Arkema’s acquisition of Total’s resins businesses, and acting for the founders of Action Holding on the sale of majority shares to 3i. Practice head Onno Boerstra is ‘a very strong negotiator’. The practice hired Arnout Stroeve from Houthoff Buruma and Jan Willem Schenk from Baker & McKenzie Amsterdam N.V., but Frans-Jozef Crousen and Hans van Ramshorst joined Kennedy Van der Laan.

AKD’s service is ‘professional with a very personal touch’. The practice advised Macintosh Retail Group on selling its Dutch telecoms businesses to Vodafone. The team is led by Erwin Rademakers and Nathalie van Woerkom, who is ‘on the ball and knows how to achieve the best for her clients’. Heimon Smits and Matthijs Ingen-Housz are also recommended.

CMS Derks Star Busmann ‘thinks from a clients’ perspective to come up with effective advice’. It acted on Unipapel’s acquisition of the Spicers group. Roman Tarlavski and Mark Ziekman are recommended.

Lexence provides ‘a very practical approach, hands-on experience and value for money’, particularly on mid-market deals. Highlights included advising on the share sale of Hyves to Telegraaf Media Group, and Health City’s acquisition of Basic Fit. Luc Habets is ‘a seasoned M&A lawyer who gets thing done by adding a human approach’. Michiel van Schooten ‘can be tough but also knows when to strike a deal’, and associate Diederick de Boer also attracts praise.

Norton Rose LLP has acted on some notable, high-value cross-border transactions for clients such as ING, DONG Energy and RWE. Ep Hannema and Marcel van de Vorst are the key contacts. Saskia Blokland made partner in 2011.

BarentsKrans N.V. is ‘responsive, efficient and gives trusted advice’ on domestic and cross-border transactions. Clients include Wells Fargo, Nortek and LinkedIn. Nick Surber has ‘terrific business acumen and gives leading-edge advice’, and Martijn Van Ansem is ‘excellent – very practical and explains issues well’.

Eversheds Faasen has been active in mid-market deals, particularly in the energy and healthcare sectors, notably advising US-based clients on inbound acquisitions. Claudine Maeijer acts for Sims and Pentair.

Greenberg Traurig LLP advises clients in real estate, food, retail and other sectors on corporate transactions. Jan Kees Brandse heads the practice.

‘Willing to think outside the box’, Holland van Gijzen’s ‘very dedicated team’ acts for clients across the public and private sectors, including Alfa Groep, Palfinger and Q-Park. Sijmen de Lange is ‘a strong negotiator and very experienced in M&A’.

Ploum Lodder Princen Advocaten en Notarissen’s clients include Danone, Fuji and several oil or energy companies such as Eneco, Shell and Kuwait Petroleum. Nick Hessels and Stan Commissaris co-head the practice.

Buren van Velzen Guelen N.V. advises domestic and international clients on corporate structuring and M&A. It acted for Ricoh Company on a European acquisition. Alfred Guelen heads the practice.

De Breij Evers Boon provides ‘the same quality as bigger firms, but is also a highly responsive and value-for-money service’ for local law advice. Dennis de Breij is ‘creative and to the point, a real transactional lawyer’, and the ‘pragmatic’ Marcel Evers and Joris Boon, who is ‘particularly good on shareholders’ agreements’, are also recommended.

Kennedy Van der Laan’s corporate and M&A work is underpinned by the firm’s expertise in sectors such as TMT and healthcare. It advised mobile technology player MIG and The LED Lighting Company on acquisitions. Louis Bouchez is recommended.

Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn NV is well known for representing government bodies but also advises private domestic companies and not-for-profit organisations on corporate and M&A matters. René van de Klashorst is the key contact.

Stek recently represented Dutch software designer Sofa during its acquisition by Facebook, and acted for Switzerland-based Bioforce on its acquisition of Biopharma. Maarten van der Graaf and Jasper Stek are recommended.