The Legal 500

Bär & Karrer AG fields a very large team and its ‘excellent’ lawyers are ‘well versed in all aspects of M&A transactions’, and enjoy a reputation as ‘the deal makers in Zurich’. The team acts for clients such as Novartis, Swissgrid, UBS and Credit Suisse, and advised the owners of Landis+Gyr on the $2.3bn sale of all shares and other securities to Toshiba. It also represented the Metso Group on buying BP Recycling Systems’ shredding business. Corrado Rampini and Dieter Dubs in Zurich, and Cédric Chapuis in Geneva, are recommended, as are Zug-based Michael Trippel and Christoph Neeracher, who is ‘extremely experienced in M&A matters’ and ‘very strong in negotiations’.

Homburger’s ‘very precise’ lawyers ‘really take care of the client’s need and they are not just deal administrators’. Clients include Credit Suisse, Dufry and Nestlé, and the team also acted for Gilde Buy Out Partners on its acquisition of the Spandex Group from Gerber Scientific. It also advised Clariant on acquiring a controlling stake in Süd-Chemie. Team head Daniel Daeniker is recommended along with Frank Gerhard, who ‘always fulfils his clients’ highest expectations’.

‘Very strong’, Lenz & Staehelin provides ‘extremely appropriate and in-depth advice and responses’. Its key clients include Barclays Private Equity, Deutsche Börse and Rio Tinto. It acted for Abrams Capital Partners on its public tender offer for shares in Absolute Private Equity, and for Bracco Imaging on its acquisition of SMC-Swiss Medical Care. Andreas Rötheli, based in Geneva and Lausanne, and Rudolf Tschäni in Zurich co-head the team. Tschäni is ‘one of the leading M&A lawyers in Switzerland and knows almost everything on the subject’. Tino Gaberthüel is ‘young, ambitious, fast and provides practical solutions’.

Baker & McKenzie Zurich’s team is led by Zurich-based Matthias Courvoisier and Geneva-based Martin Anderson. It advised Ascom Holding on acquiring the TEMS business division from Ericsson, and Martin Furrer advised a private investor on the acquisition of Kägi Söhne.

Kellerhals Attorneys at Law advises clients in the life sciences, natural resources, private equity and real estate sectors. Important recent matters include advising on the joint venture between Galenica/Vifor and Fresenius Medical Care, and the merger of 3S Swiss Solar Systems with Meyer Burger. The team also assisted on Banque Piguet/Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s acquisition of Banque Franck, Galland & Cie. Ines Pöschel is ‘an excellent negotiator and all-rounder’, and Beat Brechbühl is ‘dedicated and professional’.

Niederer Kraft & Frey AG provides ‘outstanding’ service and subject knowledge, and shows genuine interest in clients. It acted for biotech company Actelion in its highly publicised proxy fight against Elliott Advisors, and advised Landis+Gyr on its acquisition by Toshiba. Other clients include France Télécom, Horizon 21 and Credit Suisse Group. Team head Peter Isler is recommended, along with the ‘very successful’ Philippe Weber, Andreas Casutt and Philipp Haas, who is ‘practical, effective and has excellent judgement’.

Pestalozzi’s ‘excellent’ team is ‘hugely reliable’, and its ‘fast response times are a real plus’. It advised Johnson & Johnson on the $21.3bn acquisition of Synthes, and Alcon on its $12bn merger into Novartis. The group also assisted Dow Chemical Company on its $1.6bn reorganisation and sale of Styron to Bain Capital. Sébastien Roy is a ‘very helpful adviser’, who has ‘very good knowledge and understanding of the banking and financial institutions’. Jakob Höhn is also recommended.

Schellenberg Wittmer represented austriamicrosystems during its $320m acquisition of Texas Optoelectronic Solutions, and advised Lanxess on its acquisition of Syngenta’s materials protection business. Other clients include JCDecaux, American Express and Procter & Gamble. Zurich-based Martin Weber and Geneva-based Jean Jacques Ah Choon head the team and are recommended, as are Oliver Triebold, Lorenzo Olgiati and Roy Ryan.

Vischer is ‘always very committed, to the point and innovative in seeking alternative solutions’, and demonstrates ‘sound professional know-how, excellent teamwork and first-class co-operation with third parties’. The team, which has four partners each in Basel and Zurich, advised Toshiba on its acquisition of Landis+Gyr; and Oerlikon Textile and W. Reiners on the sale of their combined majority stake in Schlafhorst Engineering (India). Team head Jürg Luginbühl is ‘an exceptional negotiator’, and ‘makes the deal happen’.

The six-partner team at Walder Wyss Ltd is ‘creative and supportive’ with ‘quick response times’. It advised multiple sellers on the €350m sale of PharmaSwiss to Valeant and represented the shareholders of SVOX in the sale of their shares to Nuance. Other clients include Swisscom, UBS and Migros. The ‘very effective and commercial’ Urs Gnos and the ‘highly experienced’ Markus Vischer are the team co-heads.

BCCC Attorneys-at-law LLC inspires clients’ ‘complete confidence in all M&A matters’. The team acts on matters for sellers, buyers and financial sponsors on mid-cap transactions, and also has a niche in advising international clients buying a stake in regional SMEs. Manuel Bianchi della Porta is recommended, but the highly regarded Michel Jaccard recently left to set up id est attorneys LLC.

Oliver Blum’s eight-partner team at CMS von Erlach Henrici Ltd acts for clients including E.ON, Goldfields and Sperian. It advised Takeda Pharmaceutical Company on its €9.6bn acquisition of Nycomed, and Lavasoft on the sale of its assets to a Canadian private equity fund. Hans Wille is recommended.

Froriep Renggli’s service is ‘excellent’ and response times are ‘unbeatable’. It acts on matters in sectors including banking and financial services, automotive, aviation, defence, insurance, entertainment and retail. Catrina Luchsinger Gähwiler is recommended.

Marc Grüninger and Gerhard Roth’s team at GHR Rechtsanwälte advised Silverfleet Capital on its acquisition of the Schneider Group, and Stettler Sapphire on the sale of the company to German private equity firm Equita. The team heads and Bruno Hunziker are recommended.

Klein Attorneys Ltd’s business acumen is ‘exceptional’, and its responsiveness and value for money ‘outstanding’. Thomas Klein has ‘an outstanding ability to explain legal issues in layman’s terms’, and Carl Stadelhofer is also recommended.

meyerlustenberger’s nine-partner team, which provides ‘expert levels of service’ and ‘business-oriented advice’, acted for Meyer Burger Group on its €360m acquisition of Roth & Rau by way of a public tender offer in Germany, and assisted Actis on its $125m acquisition of a stake in Supermax. Practice head Alexander Vogel is recommended for complex deals, and is ‘responsive, diligent’, and has ‘a hands-on approach’. Thomas Lustenberger has a niche in defending target companies.

Python & Peter acted as Swiss counsel to Zong during its $240m acquisition by eBay and its subsidiary PayPal, and also advised a client on the acquisition of a stake in an Alpine hotel management company. Christophe de Kalbermatten, William Balzli and Marc Iynedjian are recommended.

Staiger, Schwald & Partner Ltd’s team – which includes Hans-Peter Schwald, Marc Metzger and Thomas Schmid – advises small, medium-sized and larger listed companies on M&A. Restructuring and subsequent sales are an important component of the practice.

Tavernier Tschanz’s ‘very active and busy’ team has expertise in the new technology and start-up sectors, and in French and Latin American M&A. Jacques Bonvin has ‘a superlative legal mind and skills’.

Wenger & Vieli’s ‘highly professional’ and ‘reliable’ six-partner team acts for clients including Jones Lang LaSalle, BZ Bank and Burckhardt Compression Holding. It advised EGL and Statoil on a complex joint venture; Daimler on a cross-border car manufacturing joint venture; and Brückner Technology Holding on a multi-jurisdictional acquisition. Christoph Schmid and Wolfgang Zürcher are recommended.

Wenger Plattner’s team acts on a wide variety of M&A, share transactions, joint ventures and shareholder agreements. The group includes Bern-based Fritz Rothenbühler, Basel-based Alexander Gutmans and Marc Nater in Zurich.

BMG Avocats’ ‘timely, professional and concise’ team gives advice that is ‘excellent value for money’. It advises Swiss and foreign clients on preliminary analysis of potential target companies and due diligence, and on acquiring stakes in Swiss companies listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. Manuel Isler and Guillaume Fatio are recommended.

Badertscher Rechtsanwälte AG/ Attorneys at Law advises on takeover bids, due diligence reports and stock purchase and sale contracts. Allen Fuchs heads the practice.

Bill Isenegger Ackermann AG’s ‘active and forward-moving’ practice acted for the Cephalon on its $500m acquisition of the Mepha Group and represented the seller in a share deal in the pharmaceuticals sector. Urs Isenegger is recommended.

Borel & Barbey acts on matters including negotiating and draft agreements for the merger or acquisition of Swiss entities, spin-offs, leveraged buyouts, and cross-border M&A. Michel Barbey and Nicolas Piérard are the key contacts.

Bratschi Wiederkehr & Buob’s Christian Stambach is appreciated for his ‘responsiveness and pragmatic and solutions-oriented approach’. Christian Beutter and the ‘very reliable’ Matthias Schmid are also recommended.

FBT Attorneys-at-Law operates ‘fast, with good commercial understanding and reasoning’. It advised a high-profile company on the acquisition of a minority stakeholding by a number of partners in the company, and advised an international company on reinsurance. Christophe Wilhelm leads the team.

Suter Howald Attorneys at Law’s ‘practical industry knowledge, as well as legal knowledge, is profound’. The team advised the owner of a group of seven technology companies in Switzerland on the sale to a US buyer. Urs Suter is ‘particularly good’.

Thouvenin Rechtsanwälte advises international clients on Swiss M&A. David Känzig is recommended.