The Legal 500

‘Exceptionally good’, Clifford Chance has a strong reputation and client base among private equity houses, allowing it to remain active despite sluggish market conditions; recent work includes exits and secondary buyouts. Practice co-head Thijs Alexander worked as part of a cross-office team on Stork’s refinancing and corporate restructuring. Practice co-head Gregory Crookes is ‘strong on overseeing complex situations’. He advised a consortium of private equity groups on Nielsen Holdings’ secondary public offering on NYSE. Other highlights included acting for the shareholders on Ziggo’s IPO.

Allen & Overy LLP’s private equity practice draws on experts in corporate, banking and tax law, and ‘the available knowledge throughout the entire team is a very strong asset’. Karine Kodde led advice to 3i and VNU Media regarding the sale of VNU Media to De Persgroep. Annelies van der Pauw advises Bencis on acquisitions and disposals, and also acts for Parcom, Gilde and AAC Capital. Femke Bierman and Olaf van der Donk are also recommended.

Loyens & Loeff handles transactions and fund structuring for private equity clients. Herman Kaemingk, who focuses on management and leveraged buyouts, recently advised Bol.com on its buyout by Ahold and acted for Rabo Capital on the secondary buyout of Delta Wines. Mark van Dam leads on fund formation. Corporate transactional partner Harmen Holtrop is also recommended.

Ton Schutte leads De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek’s team on private equity transactions, with key clients including Waterland, AXA, Blackstone, HAL Investments and Lindsay Goldberg. Arne Grimme ‘understands how to make a deal work without losing sight of the interests of his client’. He advises AAC Capital Partners on divestments and acquisitions. Other highlights included acting for Cabot Corporation on the $1.1bn acquisition of Norit Group.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer provides ‘excellent advice, is very commercially minded and understands the economic background of transactions’. Shawn der Kinderen leads the team, which advised Ziggo on its secondary sale by shareholders and Permira on Cargill’s €1.5bn offer to acquire Provimi. Jan Willem van der Staay ‘brings absolute seniority to the table and is able to manoeuvre a transaction through its difficult phases’.

Houthoff Buruma, which acts for various Dutch private equity groups, recently advised H2 Equity Partners on several divestments and acquisitions. The team also acted for the seller and acquirer on the buyout of Eurofiber, which Doughty Hanson bought from Reggeborgh. Jan-Paul van der Hoek and Michiel Pannekoek are key contacts.

Stibbe advises on various transactional, structuring and financing aspects of private equity deals. It recently acted as local counsel to Blackstone on its $1bn acquisition of the Mint hotel chain and also advised Silver Lake and Partners Group on the €1bn buyout of Global Blue from Equistone. Department head Bjorn van der Klip is expert in private equity deals.

Linklaters recently advised Gimv on its joint venture acquisition of Walkro International and also represented De Persgroep on its buyout of VNU Media. Pieter Riemer heads the practice.

NautaDutilh was Dutch counsel to Helios on its acquisition of Bureau van Dijk, and also acted on Elekta’s €365m acquisition of Nucletron from AlpInvest and Advent International. Gaike Dalenoord and Jeroen Preller lead the team on a wide range of private equity matters.

Norton Rose LLP’s key clients include Rabo Capital, NEON Private Equity and Gimv. Marcel van de Vorst advised Prime Ventures on various investments and Saskia Blokland acted for Monaghan Middlebrook Mushrooms on the buyout of Walkro International.

Simmons & Simmons LLP’s Leo Verhoeff leads on domestic and international private equity work, and recently advised Argos Groep on its joint venture with EQT Infrastructure Fund to acquire North Sea Group. Other representative clients include Gilde, Refresco, H2 Equity Partners, and Koch Industries. Pieter van Uchelen is also recommended.

Van Doorne has been advising on acquisitions, divestments and fund formation. Key partner Onno Boerstra recently advised Nimbus and ING Corporate Investments on the acquisition of Meneba Group from Bencis.