The Legal 500

Loyens & Loeff is ‘outstanding, with its width of services and large network’ of almost 400 tax specialists. The team recently advised Corio on tax aspects of its acquisition of an operating portfolio from Multi Corporation, as well as a five-project development portfolio. Bart Rubbens is ‘particularly good’, while Gijs Melching is recommended for his ‘excellent experience, practical approach, and good international tax background’.

Baker & McKenzie Amsterdam N.V. advised Danaher on acquiring a 50% stake in AB SCIEX, and acted for Oracle on its European sales structure, as well as on the VAT consequences relating to their sales structure across the EU. Jan-Willem de Tombe is ‘extremely good, gives direct responses, and has efficient and practical ideas’, while Antonio Russo has ‘top skills, and is well respected’. Jasper Helder, plus senior associate Brian Mulier and two associates, joined from Bird & Bird LLP.

Olaf van der Donk’s team at Allen & Overy LLP is ‘always timely and very practical’. Van der Donk recently advised Jumbo on acquiring a majority interest in Super de Boer and the subsequent sale of 80 Super de Boer stores, while newly promoted partner Godfried Kinnegim acted for Multi Corporation on the €1.3bn sale of a real estate portfolio. John Brouwer is ‘extremely knowledgeable’, and is ‘always coming up with new solutions, and clearly documents all steps taken’.

Clifford Chance has ‘the experts you need to go to when it comes to investment fund- and/or tax-related advice’. The team also covers capital markets, finance, and corporate tax work for clients such as Barclays Capital, Rabobank and Aegon. Ate van IJlzinga Veenstra is ‘in a league of his own when it comes to advising clients on the boundaries of tax, legal, and regulatory issues’.

DLA Piper’s practice is focused on corporate tax, wage tax and social security, VAT, and transfer pricing, and is recommended particularly for its ‘specific knowledge about international taxation, offshore and cross-border transactions, and wealth protection’. Clients include Royal Bank of Canada as well as Disney/Marvel, which the group advised on tax-efficient IP structuring. Roderik Bouwman is ‘very responsive and gives good advice’, while Boris Emmerig’s ‘strength is in thinking of the whole picture’.

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek’s Dick Hofland recently advised Almatis on restructuring its debt through US Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, while Paul Sleurink acted for GMAC Fortress on acquiring large portfolios of European residential mortgage assets. Other clients include Deutsche Bank and Gucci. The firm recently created a dedicated team of tax specialists to work with the investment management group.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s team advised the Dutch government on tax aspects of the ABN AMRO demerger, and acted for Femsa on its acquisition of a 20% economic interest in the Heineken Group in consideration for the contribution of Femsa’s beer operations. Machiel Lambooij and Eelco van der Stok are the key partners. Hans Galavazi retired.

Norton Rose LLP ‘instils confidence; the team is knowledgeable about private equity/fund formation, as well as the tax implications of various structures based in a number of jurisdictions’. The group acts for clients such as Société Générale, Morgan Stanley and RWE. Gesina van de Wetering and Remco Smorenburg are ‘very knowledgeable on tax law and governance issues’, and ‘really up to date on regulatory matters’. Van de Wetering is ‘extremely responsive’.

Bird & Bird LLP’s clients include Homburg Group, Spur Steak Ranches and BT, while it also recently won instructions from new clients Holmes Place Europe, Primus Telecommunications and Palace Group. Pieter Camps and Ernst Barten are the key contacts at the four-lawyer practice.

Buren van Velzen Guelen N.V.’s ‘overall service is outstanding’. The lawyers ‘give high-level support without the much-too-general information provided by the “Big Four”’. The group is UniCredit Merchant Bank’s preferred tax counsel. Cees Frans Greeven, Marleen Waayer and Fred Guelen are ‘particularly good’.

Greenberg Traurig LLP’s lawyers ‘show excellent expertise and creativity in their approach to complex issues’. Peter van Langeveld’s 22-lawyer team covers a broad spectrum of work from tax litigation to global trade tax law. Pim Schouwenaar is a ‘sound corporate tax adviser with expertise in international structuring’.

Olaf Kroon joined Linklaters from Allen & Overy LLP to take over the tax practice, and has since been joined by managing associate Joost Rompen from the same firm. The group acted for Bencis Capital Partners on the acquisition of the Daalderop Group, and advised Zain Telecom on the $10.7bn sale of its African mobile phone business.

Chris Warner’s team at NautaDutilh acts for clients such as ABN AMRO, Mittal Steel, and Credit Suisse. The group advised Bank of Nederlandse Gemeenten on updating its €80bn debt issuance programme, and acted for Apollo on the $2.2bn bankruptcy restructuring of Lyondell.

Simmons & Simmons LLP does ‘an excellent job of overall project management for all of Europe’ and ‘consistently meets high expectations’. The group advised the selling shareholders of Essent, and acted for VERBUND-International Finance on updating a €3bn MTN programme. Peter Flipsen is recommended for his ‘knowledge of OECD developments, commitment and follow-through, and relationship with tax authorities’.

Stibbe’s Michael Molenaars is advising on the tax aspects arising out of the separation of ING’s insurance and banking activities, and worked alongside Maarten de Bruin in acting for Ziggo on the placement of €1bn senior unsecured notes. Other clients include Bayer, BNP Paribas and DP World.

Van Doorne advised SkyTeam and its alliance members on the ownership structure for IP rights and licensing matters, and acted for DTEK Finance on a $500m notes issuance. The team continues to represent Yandex and Mistral Equity, and won new clients such as Citibank and ASR Verzekeringen. Ewout van Asbeck leads the team.