Strelia > Luxembourg, Luxembourg > Firm Profile
Strelia Offices
Strelia
STRELIA SÀRL,
14, RUE EUGÈNE RUPPERT,
L-2453 LUXEMBOURG
Luxembourg
STRELIA SÀRL,
14, RUE EUGÈNE RUPPERT,
L-2453 LUXEMBOURG
Luxembourg
Strelia > The Legal 500 Rankings
Luxembourg > Private equity Tier 3
Although it is still in a relatively embryonic phase, having only established a transactional private equity offering in June 2022, the ‘very pragmatic’ team at Strelia has quickly gained traction in the market, picking up some high-quality cross-border work for mid-market sponsors, often working alongside the firm’s finance and tax teams. The speed with which the team has gained recognition has largely been down to the existing ties and reputations of co-heads Michaël Meylan and Vanessa Schmitt, who have both been in the market for many years (having worked together at Stibbe) and are particularly noted for their skills at handling transactions with a nexus to France.Practice head(s):
Michaël Meylan; Vanessa Schmitt
Other key lawyers:
Estelle Schul
Testimonials
‘The very pragmatic team has an excellent knowledge of the French market and provides short and clear answers to technical queries.’
‘They are knowledgeable, responsive and commercial.’
‘The excellent Vanessa Schmitt is very hands-on, responsive and takes great care of her clients.’
‘Both Estelle Schul and Michaël Meylan are excellent to work with. They produce excellent work in quick time.’
Key clients
IQ EQ
Keensight Capital
Astorg
LBO France
SGT Capital
Arev Capital
Eurazeo
Westfa Holding
Work highlights
- Advised SGT Capital on the €400m acquisition of ELATEC GmbH, a leading international developer and supplier of secure access management solutions, from Summit Partners.
- Advised LBO France on the acquisition, along with two co-investors, of CGF Bourse, a financial management and intermediation company based in Senegal.
- Advised IQ EQ on the acquisition, related financing and/or the reinvestment of the target’s management into the management package of the IQ EQ group of multiple targets.
Luxembourg > Tax Tier 3
Strelia‘s small practice handles a varied mix of work for corporates and funds, including advice on M&A structuring, the establishment of offices in Luxembourg and group reorganisations. ‘Outstanding’ team head Jean-Luc Dascotte handles much of this work and also provides ‘pragmatic and high-quality’ advice to HNWIs/family offices across a range of tax planning, transactional and advisory work. Former co-practice head Stanislas Bunetel moved to an in-house role.Practice head(s):
Jean-Luc Dascotte
Other key lawyers:
Sofia Minzatu
Testimonials
‘The outstanding Jean-Luc Dascotte is very responsive and renders pragmatic and high-quality advice without any fuss or unnecessary information. He has a good overview of the market and its developments.’
Key clients
Rossum
Sogestran
Eurazeo
Bronze Properties
Kharma
Novastone
Susi
Nucleus Life AG
Project Rapid
Transition Capital Partners
ContourGlobal Italy
Work highlights
- Advising Czech artificial intelligence software developer Rossum on its tax compliance as a branch and all aspects of its use of remote workforce.
- Advised one of the leading European shipping players, Sogestran, on the Luxembourg aspects of its reorganisation pursuant to a complex tax audit in France.
- Advised Zurich-based, green-tech focused management company Susi Partners AG on the tax and non-tax aspects of the setup of an investment fund in Luxembourg and on a cross-border acquisition of underlying investments.
Luxembourg > Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 4
Acting on its own, as well as often working alongside the firm’s accomplished tax team, Strelia provides a ‘flexible and adaptable’ service to clients across a wide array of general corporate advice, corporate reorganisation mandates and M&A transactions. A good deal of the workflow is of a cross-border nature, including for French clients, which the firm is well-placed to advise by virtue of having several dual Luxembourg and French qualified practitioners in the team. Etienne de Crépy is one such practitioner and is noted for his ‘concise and commercial’ advice, including on JV structuring. Vanessa Schmitt is recognised as ‘an absolutely stellar corporate lawyer,’ and along with Michaël Meylan, has enhanced the team’s offering following their arrival from Stibbe in June 2022.Practice head(s):
Etienne de Crépy; Michaël Meylan; Vanessa Schmitt
Other key lawyers:
Estelle Schul
Testimonials
‘The team is extremely proactive and involved in very high-profile files (and able to deal with them better than bigger firms).’
‘Strelia has a strong corporate and corporate finance practice from a legal and tax standpoints. Its lawyers are competent, constructive and reactive. They are quite flexible and adaptable for structuring transactions.’
‘Vanessa Schmitt is an absolutely stellar corporate lawyer.’
‘Etienne de Crépy is very responsive, always available, prompt, concise and commercial.’
‘The team appears to function as one – seamless picking up of tasks for their clients, without bothering the client on internal re-directions to specific team members.’
‘Etienne de Crépy seems to be born for this job. Very responsive, accurate, and oversees the full project.’
‘Strelia Luxembourg provides a great service.’
Key clients
Astorg
IQEQ
Keensight Capital
LBO France
SGT Capital
Arev Capital
Eurazeo
Westfa Holding
Lactalis
Aquaterra
Schaeffler Group
Tilabras
Meyers SA
Work highlights
- Advised Lactalis in relation to the restructuring of the group in Luxembourg through a full corporate, tax and social reorganisation.
- Advised IQ EQ, backed by Astorg, on the acquisition, related financing and/or the reinvestment of the target’s management into the management package of the IQ EQ group of JGM Fund Services, LLC and JGM Fund Administration, LLC, Laven Compliance Limited, ComplianceAsia Holdings Pte. Ltd, Lymon Pte and PCS Holdings, LLC.
Strelia > Firm Profile
Strelia is a business law firm composed of experienced partners and their teams looking to combine their expertise and strengths to provide high quality services to their clients.
The focus of Strelia is on general corporate law, commercial matters, and dispute resolution. We advise clients on M&A, private equity, corporate, banking and finance, capital markets, commercial agreements, restructuring and insolvency, tax, employment and benefits, dispute resolution, competition law and regulatory and real estate and administrative law.
Our lawyers are used to working according to international standards. Many of them have worked in international firms before joining Strelia, some for more than two decades.
Our team comprises both native French speakers and native Dutch speakers. All our lawyers are fluent in English. Several of them have studied and/or worked abroad, notably in the United States or in the United Kingdom.
Our aim is to provide our clients with a professional and personalised service.
We believe in the complementarity of transactional and contentious work. A good agreement is an agreement which can stand the test of a court decision, and it is in our experience critical that lawyers arguing cases in court also have direct experience in negotiating deals.
While delivering practical results, we place a high importance on the technical knowledge of law. Many of our lawyers have academic functions and/or write articles in their field of activities, which ensures that we have access to in-depth and updated know-how.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate / M&A | Vanessa Schmitt | vanessa.schmitt@strelia.com | 0035 220 882 310 |
| Corporate / M&A | Michaël Meylan | michael.meylan@strelia.com | 0035 220 882 310 |
| Corporate / M&A | Etienne de Crépy | etienne.decrepy@strelia.com | 0035 220 882 310 |
| Corporate / M&A | Laurent Verhavert | laurent.verhavert@strelia.com | 00 32 2 627 00 90 |
| Corporate / M&A | Estelle Schul | estelle.schul@strelia.com | 0035 220 882 310 |
Lawyer Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Mr Michaël Meylan | Michaël Meylan is a partner in our Corporate and M&A practice in… | View Profile |
|
Mrs Sofia Minzatu | Sofia Mînzatu is an associate in our Tax and Banking & Finance… | View Profile |
|
Mrs Vanessa Schmitt | Vanessa Schmitt is a partner in our Corporate and M&A practice in… | View Profile |
|
Mrs Estelle Schul | Estelle Schul is a senior associate in our Corporate and M&A practice… | View Profile |
|
Mr Etienne de Crépy | Etienne de Crépy is partner in our corporate & finance practice in… | View Profile |
Languages
English (fluent) Dutch French LuxembourgishMemberships
International Association of Lawyers (UIA) ALJB (Association Luxembourgeoise des Juristes de Droit Bancaire)Diversity
Strelia recognises and values the importance of being different. We believe that each individual’s unique set of talents, skills, social backgrounds, culture, personal characteristics, and their differences in gender, beliefs, sexual orientation, and nationalities contribute to creating a stronger workforce and a better law firm. We therefore take diversity very seriously and persist in continuing our pursuit of becoming a diverse and inclusive firm.
Since our inception in 2013, we have progressed significantly in terms of gender diversity. At Strelia, women account for 10% of all partners and 50% of all counsel and associates. We constantly take steps to steer our discussions and actions towards promoting our culture of diversity, inclusion, and work-life balance, which are some of the main pillars of our hiring and retention programs. Strelia is also one of the key members in promoting gender diversity by organizing the Women in Law and Leadership program every year, inspiring female associates of Belgian law firms to take on leadership roles and coaching them on how to advance in their careers. Our lawyers and staff have various ethnic backgrounds, and we stand by this commitment of inclusion. Moreover, Strelia is aware of some clients’ demand for diverse lawyers to assist them and handle their matters, and we take this preference to heart. We are sensitive to their requests and do our best to form a team that can meet their criteria.
In early 2019, Strelia joined the Belgium-based Legal Diversity & Inclusion Alliance (LDIA). Our membership demonstrates our commitment to not only promoting diversity and inclusion in the legal industry but also making collective efforts with several law firms in Belgium to champion this. LDIA member firms affirm their commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive work environment, exchanging good practices on diversity and inclusion, and raising awareness of non-discrimination and diversity issues by combining efforts in organising events, workshops and training.
Strelia is also a proud sponsor of DIApositief, which stands for “diverse and inclusive law profession” (in English). DIApositief is an initiative of the Dutch-speaking Brussels Bar whose mission is to raise awareness about the legal profession among young migrants and to aspire them to pursue their studies and career in law. What drives our sponsorship in this initiative is the fact that we acknowledge Brussels’s diversity (it is the second most diverse city in the world, after Dubai), and we want to do as much as we can to play an active role in supporting the next generation of lawyers, who are migrants or come from migrant families.
We clearly see the legal industry in Belgium jump on the “Workplace Diversity and Inclusion” bandwagon, and Strelia is pleased to be among the firms leading this.
- Private equity
- Tax