The Legal 500

The ‘very professional’ 13-partner team at Allen & Overy LLP advised GMAC/Residential Capital on selling GMAC’s €8.8bn European mortgage business to Fortress Investment. It also advised Jumbo on the €552m acquisition of Casino’s majority interest in Super de Boer. The ‘excellent’ Annelies van der Pauw ‘is a dab hand in corporate matters’.

Clients ‘leave the super-sized deals’ to De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, which is known for its ‘quality advice’. The team advised Netherlands-based TenneT on its €1.1bn acquisition of a transmission grid from E.ON. It also advised Smit Internationale on an agreement regarding a merger with a leading dredging company, Royal Boskalis Westminster. Pierre Nijnens heads the practice, which also includes Arne Grimme and Bernard Roelvink. Former team head Lodewijk Hijmans van den Bergh left to join Royal Ahold, while Jan Willem De Boer has moved to Linklaters.

The ‘excellent’ Hein Hooghoudt leads the team at NautaDutilh for which key highlights include advising Deutsche Bank on its acquisition of approximately 10% of ABN AMRO’s commercial banking activities in the Netherlands. It also advised De Dietrich Remeha Group on its €1.7bn merger with Baxi and acted for Unilever during the €1.28bn acquisition of Sara Lee’s personal care products business. The team is ‘a pleasure to work with – responsive, personable, flexible, and practical’. Joost den Engelsman and Martin Grablowitz are recommended.

Stibbe’s ‘specialists easily work together on difficult issues, saving clients a lot of time and money’. Headline instructions include advising on ING Group’s restructuring. It also acted on Phillips-Van Heusen’s acquisition of Tommy Hilfiger. Additional key clients include ABP/APG, Canon and Tata. Practice head Allard Metzelaar is ‘first rate’, while managing partner Heleen Kersten and Gerhardt Vels are also recommended.

Clifford Chance’s strong, cross-border practice notably advised Schuitema and CVC Capital Partners on acquiring 80 stores from Super de Boer. It also advised the executive board of ABN AMRO regarding a demerger between RBS and ABN AMRO. Jeroen Koster heads the team, which is ‘very practical, with a problem-solving focus and a business-like approach from very good lawyers’.

Houthoff Buruma was recently boosted by the arrival of Willem de Nijs Bik from Simmons & Simmons LLP. It advised General Motors on the sale of SAAB to Spyker Cars, and Portugal Telecom on the €7.5bn sale of its 50% interest in Brasilcel to Telefónica. Casper Banz heads the corporate transactions group. Jan-Paul de Hoek ‘understands priorities and combines strong technical expertise with a human approach to negotiations’, while Eddie Meijer is also recommended.

Bas Vletter’s team at Loyens & Loeff advised Phoenix Pharmahandel on its merger with Celesio. The practice also advised GMAC on selling its European mortgage business to Fortress Investment Group and acted for the supervisory board of Super de Boer on the sale of its business to Jumbo Groep Holding. Herman Kaemingk is also recommended.

Van Doorne’s ‘excellent’ team offers a ‘level of services that is very professional and timely, and provides quality advice’. It represents Strukton Groep, Dockwise, Ikea, SkyTeam, and ASR Verzekeringen. Hugo Reumkens, Guus Kemperink, and Onno Boerstra are recommended.

Baker & McKenzie Amsterdam N.V. acted for Koppers during its acquisition of Cindu Chemicals and advised Oceanteam ASA on selling part of its interests in Norwegian shipowning companies to J Ray McDermott, S.A. Jan Peters heads the team, in which Edwin Liem is also recommended.

Bird & Bird LLP acted for Bosma Beheer on the sale of its stake in Vollebregt Fresh Holding, and advised Qumulus on its delisting from AIM. Other clients include Dun & Bradstreet International and FujiFilm. Harry Rek heads the corporate team, while Pauline Vos provides ‘strategic advice that proves essential in closing deals’. René Rieter recently returned to the firm from Greenberg Traurig LLP.

Led by Ferdinand Mason, the team at Boekel De Nerée advised Thomson Reuters on its negotiations with NYSE Euronext to acquire Hugin Group. Other clients include Merck, Payzone, and Goldman Sachs. Arjen Mulderije recently joined from Holland van Gijzen.

DLA Piper’s team is headed by Barbara van Hussen. Key work includes advising KPN on outsourcing its Dutch facility management activities to Sodexo Altys. Richard Fens and Casper Hamersma are also recommended.

The ‘excellent team’ at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer ‘provides in-depth legal knowledge combined with a practical hands-on approach’. It advised the government on acquiring part of ABN AMRO as part of its demerger to form a new independent bank, and acted for Sara Lee on selling its global personal care and European detergents businesses to Unilever. Richard Norbruis heads the group, while Dirk-Jan Smit has ‘very good technical, legal and analytical skills, and broad experience in a number of areas of the law, as well as very good intuition for the real issues and how to solve them’.

Johannes Buntjer heads the team at Hogan Lovells International LLP, which advised ING Group on establishing a new PE fund, which is investing up to €1.5bn in continental European shopping centres. It also advised Rexel on divesting its Dutch operations (Haagtechno) to Panasonic.

Linklaters advised Vattenfall on the phased €10.3bn acquisition of Nuon Energy. It also advised Casino Guichard-Perrachon on divesting its majority stake in Super De Boer. Peter Goes heads the team, in which Pieter Riemer is also recommended.

Simmons & Simmons LLP advised Refresco on 3i taking a minority share in Refresco Group for €84m. It also acted for Bankas Snoras on selling its 29.9% shareholding in Spyker Cars. Jean-Pierre van Leeuwe heads the six-partner team, which is full of ‘sharp minds’ and is ‘absolutely best value for money’. Willem de Nijs Bik recently moved to Houthoff Buruma.

Eindhoven-based Vincent Wibaut and Rotterdam-based Nathalie van Woerkom lead the team at AKD, which advised Enric Energy Equipment Holdings on its relisting on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange through the acquisition of a number of subsidiaries from China International Marine Containers (China). It also advised on Abbott Laboratories’ acquisition of PanGenetics 110.

CMS Derks Star Busmann’s team shows ‘exceptional responsiveness, expertise and creativity’. It advised Fleet Investment on buying from Mubadala and Olayan on a €1.3bn equity interest in Leaseplan Corporation. It also acted for Suncor Energy on the €445m sale of Petro-Canada Netherlands. Roman Tarlavski is praised for ‘seeing solutions instead of problems’.

Norton Rose LLP advised German utility RWE on its binding, all-cash offer of €9.3bn to the shareholders of leading Dutch power company Essent for the acquisition of all issued and outstanding Essent shares. Practice head Marcel van de Vorst is ‘an absolute star who is in a class of his own’. Geert-Jan van Rijthoven recently joined from Baker & McKenzie Amsterdam N.V..

BarentsKrans N.V. advised GBCOA on the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, and acted for Wachovia Bank regarding the refinancing of the US subsidiaries of a Dutch conglomerate. The ‘very bright and innovative’ Nick Surber heads the team, and is recommended for ‘helping clients to understand the differences between US and Dutch law, and providing sound solutions to issues that might otherwise derail a transaction’. Michiel Martin and Arie Schaberg are also recommended.

Greenberg Traurig LLP advised a multinational food-processing organisation on disinvestments, and acted for a Japanese metals group on the acquisition of an industrial production facility. Jan Kees Brandse is recommended.

Lexence advised Minerva on the sale of 100% of its shares to Pathé. It acted for Freecom on selling 100% of its shares to Mitsubishi Kagaku Media. Luc Habets and Joost Houtman co-head the team.

Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn NV advises national and international companies, as well as non-profit organisations and governmental bodies.

Alfred Guelen heads the six-partner department at Buren van Velzen Guelen N.V., which advised GTS on refinancing and restructuring. It also acted for UniCredit CAIB Merchant Banking on multiple equity and debt investments.

Eversheds Faasen advised Fluvia en Van der Sluijs Group on its acquisition of Vopak’s Swiss petroleum and chemicals tank terminal. The team exhibits ‘excellent response times and is extremely service minded’. Rob Faasen, Claudine Maeijer, and Jan ter Horst are the key individuals.

Höcker Advocaten advised on a US company’s partial takeover of a Dutch medical instruments company, and acted for a client to structure new investment into a consumer goods trading company. Marc Wolters heads the team.

Hoegen Dijkhof Advocaten’s corporate practice advises on matters including company formations, buyouts, and partnerships.

Holland van Gijzen has a strong presence in the retail sector.

Kennedy Van der Laan expertly advises buyers and investors on mid-market transactions in the Dutch TMT, energy, and healthcare sectors. Its clients include FremantleMedia Group and MeVis. Louis Bouchez heads the team.

Ploum Lodder Princen Advocaten en Notarissen advised Albron on the outsourcing of CenterParcs’ food and beverage retail, services in the Netherlands and Belgium. Nick Hessels and Stan Commissaris co-head the team.

Russell Advocaten advises IT, retail and real estate companies on M&A and corporate matters. Reinier Russell is recommended.

Van Diepen Van der Kroef Advocaten has offices across the Netherlands, and represents a diverse client base from start-ups to publicly quoted companies across a number of sectors.