Prof Dr Rolf Watter > Bär & Karrer Ltd. > Zurich, Switzerland > Lawyer Profile

Bär & Karrer Ltd. Offices

Bär & Karrer Ltd.
BRANDSCHENKESTRASSE 90
8027 ZÜRICH
Switzerland
Visit website 41 58 261 50 00 41 58 261 50 01

Prof Dr Rolf Watter

Rolf Watter photo
+41 58 261 50 00 rolf.watter@baerkarrer.ch View profile View profile

Work Department

Mergers & Acquisitions | Listed Companies | Competition Law | Financing | Reorganization & Insolvency | Capital Markets | Corporate Governance

Position

Rolf Watter has broad experience in all types of M&A transactions, including defence mandates. He also specializes in corporate governance questions and capital market transactions.

He is a board member of the listed AP Alternative Portfolio and of the privately held Faber Castell (Holding). He used to be chairman of PostFinance AG (2012/2021), CEVA Logistics (2018/2019) and of Nobel Biocare (2012/2014; member 2007/2012); further he was a board member in a number of other Swiss listed companies, namely Aryzta, Zurich Insurance Group, Syngenta, Centerpulse, and Forbo. In addition, he is a member of the Regulatory Board of the SIX Swiss Exchange.

Rolf teaches as a professor at the University of Zurich since 1996 and is an editor of the GesKR and the Basler Kommentare on the Code of Obligations II, the Financial Infrastructure Act, the Banking and the Merger Act. He regularly publishes in his fields of work.

In Chambers Global and Europe, Rolf Watter is consistently ranked in tier 1 of the leading lawyers for Corporate/ M&A in Switzerland. Rolf Watter is recognized as a leading lawyer in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame. He is listed among the top 30 corporate governance practitioners in the world by Expertguides. Rolf Watter won the ILO Client Choice Awards Switzerland in the category M&A (2016 and 2018) and Capital Markets (2014); WWL has ranked him in 2019 as best Corporate Governance lawyer.

Career

  • Currently board member of AP Alternative Portfolio AG (since 2000) as well as Faber-Castell (Holding) AG (since 1997)
  • Chairman of PostFinance AG (2013-2021), of Ceva Logistics AG (2018-2019), Nobel Biocare AG (2007-2014, chairman as from 2012) and Chairman of Cablecom Holdings GmbH (2003-2008); board member of Aryzta AG (2016-2020), Zurich Insurance Group (2002-2014), Syngenta (2000-2012), Forbo (1999-2005), Feldschlösschen Getränke AG (2001-2004) and Centerpulse (2002-2003)
  • Member of the board of directors of Bär & Karrer AG (2007-2009)
  • Member of the management board of Bär & Karrer (2000-2009)
  • Partner of Bär & Karrer (since 1994)

Languages

English, French, German

Memberships

  • Swiss Bar Association (SAV/FSA)
  • SIX Swiss Exchange: Member of the Admission Board, Member of the Commission of Experts on Disclosure of Shareholdings, Recognised Representative for the Listing of Securities
  • Part-time Professor of Law at the University of Zurich
  • Co-editor of the law journals “Aktuelle Juristische Praxis” and “GesKR” and of the Basler Commentaries on Corporate Law, on the Banking Act, the Stock Exchange Act and the Merger Act

Education

  • University of Zurich: Professor of Law (since 1996), Venia Legendi (1990)
  • Georgetown University, Washington D.C.: LL.M. (1988)
  • Admitted to the Zurich Bar (1986)
  • University of Zurich: Dr. iur. (1985)
  • University of Zurich: lic. iur. (1983)

Lawyer Rankings

Switzerland > Commercial, corporate and M&A

(Hall of Fame)

Rolf Watter – Bär & Karrer Ltd.

The team of ‘seasoned experts’ at Bär & Karrer Ltd. maintains an impressively varied practice, with capabilities that include advising on listed company and private M&A, public tender offers, other corporate transactions and ESG. The team is praised for its ‘strong subject matter expertise in combination with excellent commercial acumen’.  Rolf Watter leads the practice, with wide-ranging experience in corporate governance issues. Christoph Neeracher heads the private M&A and private equity department, while Mariel Hoch bolsters the practice with her knowledge of cross-border M&A, public takeover offers and corporate relocations. Ralph Malacrida demonstrates considerable expertise in handling M&A, while Dieter Dubs principally focuses on public tender offers. Martin Anderson leads the Geneva M&A practice and Paolo Bottini helms the Lugano practice. Other key names to note are Philippe Seiler and Raphael Annasohn.

Switzerland > Capital markets

Spearheaded by ‘outstanding’ Rolf Watter, Ralph Malacrida, Lukas Roesler and Urs Kägi, Bär & Karrer Ltd. is sought out by clients for its expertise in the issuance of bonds and notes, as well as in relation to equity-linked and regulatory capital instruments. The team possesses vast experience in the banking, industrials, technology and healthcare fields. Frédéric Bétrisey is the key contact for capital markets in the firm’s Geneva office, whereas Paolo Bottini is the key contact in the Lugano office.

Lawyer Rankings

Top Tier Firm Rankings

Firm Rankings