The Legal 500

Within Antitrust, tier 4

Hogan Lovells International LLP was strengthened through its merger, particularly in the area of media cartel law, where Eckhard Bremer is visible. Insurance sector expert Martin Sura displays ‘outstanding industry knowledge’ and is ‘extremely customer focused’. Highlights included providing antitrust advice to ExxonMobil regarding the sale of the German district heating business to RWE, and merger control advice to Apollo/BC Partners regarding the sale of cable network operator Unitymedia to Liberty Global.

Within Banking and finance: Bank lending, tier 4

Katlen Blöcker heads Hogan Lovells International LLP’s bank lending team, which advised Marcol on the financing aspects of its acquisition of Median Group, which was innovative in its use of released collateral without fresh financing. The team also advised a syndicate of senior lenders on the German aspects of the restructuring of the IMO Car Wash Group, the world’s largest car wash company.

Within Capital markets , tier 4

Hogan Lovells International LLP’s Frankfurt team is headed by Karsten Müller-Eising, and advised Draegerwerk & Co. on its €100m major rights offering. The firm also acted for News Corp on a capital increase for Sky Deutschland, involving a directly placed primary offering. Rainer Süßman is recommended.

Within Corporate and M&A: Large deals, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Hogan Lovells International LLP’s M&A practice has capitalised on the merger, adding a significant number of new US clients to the portfolio. The new Berlin presence has enabled the team to develop its media industry market presence. However, the team, headed by Christoph Louven, suffered a blow with Christian Eichner leaving for Allen & Overy LLP. Highlights included advising Volkswagen on its €15.6bn merger with Porsche, and Advent International on the acquisition of the majority stake in financial service provider GFKL Financial Services. The ‘very good team’ represents ‘great value for money’.

Within Dispute resolution , Hogan Lovells International LLP is a second tier firm,

Hogan Lovells International LLP’s clients comment on its partners’ ‘great industry knowledge’, leading to ‘very practical advice’. The team regularly acts for Royal Dutch Shell, and represented Quisda in litigation against the insolvency administrator. It also represented Equitable Life Assurance Society in a mass proceeding regarding allegedly misleading pension fund policies information. Jürgen Johannes Witte’s work is ‘cost effective’, providing ‘real value for money’, and Tanja Eisenblätter is ‘business-oriented and quick’. Detlef Hass heads the team that suffered the loss of ‘outstanding’ Daniel Busse, who now heads Allen & Overy LLP’s practice.

Within Employment , Hogan Lovells International LLP is a second tier firm,

Hogan Lovells International LLP acts for US clients across Europe, and added a Berlin presence to its office network. The stand alone practice, led by Hendrik Kornbichler, has great industry contacts in various sectors such as pharmaceuticals, banking and insurance. Honeywell Group is an ongoing client, and Deutsche Lufthansa instructed the team in connection with the wage disputes with the pilots’ trade union. Clients rate the ‘short response times and valuable advice in alignment with corporate strategy’ Thomas Ubber, who has a ‘comprehensive understanding of business needs’ and ‘excellent negotiation skills’ moved to Allen & Overy LLP in March 2011.

Within IP: patents: Litigation, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a first tier firm,

Hogan Lovells International LLP acted for Texas Instruments in a large German patent litigation proceeding, and Eli Lilly regarding Olanzapin. Further notable instructions came from Qiagen, AETS, NXP Semiconductors and Hollister. Clients frequently instruct the large team on protection strategies, licensing, research and development agreements, employee inventions, and IP transactions. The highly rated Martin Fähndrich is praised, as ‘you have to be wary of him being on the other side’. Further singled out are Andreas von Falck and Martin Chakraborty.

Within IP: trade marks , Hogan Lovells International LLP is a first tier firm,

The ‘incredibly professional’ team at Hogan Lovells International LLP managed to further enhance its international capabilities post- merger, and is now able to draw on strong US offices from its own network. The team represented Anheuser-Busch in a European trade mark litigation, and provided extensive advice regarding the protection and enforcement of colour trade marks to various clients. Recommended individuals include Andreas Bothe, Burkhart Goebel, and the ‘outstanding’ Matthias Koch. The team manages more than 80,000 trade marks in over 190 jurisdictions. A ‘truly impressive’ practice, say clients.

Within Information technology and outsourcing , Hogan Lovells International LLP is a second tier firm,

Hogan Lovells International LLP advises on a broad range of areas, including data protection, outsourcing, cloud computing and compliance. Salesforce.com instructed the team on numerous multijurisdictional data privacy and data security matters, and Acer, Dell and IBM sought advice regarding copyright levies. Clients are impressed with ‘how the team takes international aspects into account’. Stefan Schuppert ‘thinks outside the box’ and ‘provides business-oriented advice’, while Wolfgang Büchner is rated as ‘outstanding’.

Within Insolvency and restructuring: Restructuring, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

New opportunities in cooperation with Hogan Lovells International LLP’s US practice are opening up post-merger. However, the practice already has a track record of cross-border mandates, and a recent highlight has been advising the senior lender consortium on the restructuring of IMO Car Wash. Heiko Tschauner leads the team that includes Detlef Hass and new partner Christian Herweg.

Within Investment funds , tier 4

Hogan Lovells International LLP’s investment funds team is headed by Michael Leistikow in Dusseldorf, with noteworthy recent experience including several real estate deals. The team advised DTTC on an enforceability option, and UBS Real Estate on the sale of property at Frankfurt Airport.

Within Media: Entertainment, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a second tier firm,

Hogan Lovells International LLP’s practice emerged from the merger as a key player in the market, however, the newly merged client base presents potential conflicts. Major transactions are the team’s staple, but gaming and new media matters increasingly create work. Another focus is regulatory advice, in which German quiz TV channel 9Live is a client. News Corp instructed the team on the increase in shareholding in Premiere, and Konami in proceedings regarding the commercialisation rights of the German Premiere League. Clients rate the team as ‘outstanding’, with Christoph Wagner displaying ‘excellent industry knowledge’. A renowned team, including Peter Raue departed in the course of the merger, opening up Raue LLP.

Within Media: Press and publishing, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Hogan Lovells International LLP saw the departure of a renowned team in Berlin, including Peter Raue, who opened up the boutique Raue LLP, following the merger. The newly set up team, headed by Stefan Engels and Christoph Wagner, provides continuous advice to Bauer Media Group on press proceedings regarding personal rights and limitations of reporting. Online content distribution and press law-related crisis communication to companies and individuals are also a source of work.

Within Private equity , Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

The well-respected Joachim Habetha heads the team at Hogan Lovells International LLP, which, post-merger, is able to offer a larger cross-border profile to its private equity and venture capital clients. Transactions of note in 2010 included advising Advent International on the acquisition of a majority stake in GFKL Financial Services, one of the most significant private equity deals of the year. It also acted for Marcol on the purchase of MEDIAN, the largest private operator of rehabilitation clinics in Germany.

Within Public sector , Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Post-merger Hogan Lovells International LLP is well positioned to bolster its US client base, where the group can draw on the newly added network of regulatory specialists. The team frequently receives instructions from municipal utilities and represented Industry Funds Management on the €810m joint acquisition of 50Hertz Transmission from Vattenfall. It also advised Autobahn Tank & Rast on the trunk road act and on general public law issues. The team, headed by Bernhard Kuhn, provides seamless environmental and planning law advice, in cooperation with the real estate group.

Within Real estate and construction: Construction, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

The team at Hogan Lovells International LLP remains mainly known for Wendelin Acker, and frequently acts for energy companies, plant construction and engineering companies. Highlights included advising Vivico Real Estate on the development of Mainz customs port, and another client on the construction of a waste to energy power plant.

Within Real estate and construction: Real estate, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a second tier firm,

Even though in terms of real estate, Hogan Lovells International LLP did not gain significantly through the merger in Germany, the move is of great importance on an international level, particularly with regard to the US, where clients increasingly consider instructing the firm for work in Germany. The ‘motivated and energetic’ team ‘gets deals done’, and displays ‘great commercial sense and assertiveness’, advising Advent International/Marcol Group on the acquisition of Median Kliniken, and AMB Property Corporation on the acquisition of logistics portfolios. Clients rate the ‘outstanding’ Marc Werner, as well as Ingo Winterstein and Hinrich Thieme, ‘two of the most accomplished lawyers in the market’.

Within Structured finance and securitisation , tier 4

Hogan Lovells International LLP enjoyed a successful 2010. The team, led by Sven Brandt, advised Erste Abwicklungsanstalt on the implementation of the first bad bank model in Germany for WestLB; the Dr Peters Group on the acquisition of two Airbus A380 aircraft by a close-ended fund and the leasing of the aircraft to Air France; and the Ford Motor Company on its sale of Volvo, including regulatory and financing matters.

Within Tax , Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Stephan Geibel leads the busy department at Hogan Lovells International LLP, which benefited from the firm’s opening of a Berlin office, headed by Jens-Uwe Hinder, and now includes four partners. The practice deals with many energy and real estate related tax matters, but has also seen an upturn in distressed debt and M&A transactions. It advised BayWa on the acquisition of a 87.7% stake in RENERCO Renewable Energy Concepts, and Marcol Deutschland on the acquisition of Germany’s largest private clinic operator Median with Advent International. The department is strong in insurance, and notably assisted AXA LM on the acquisition of BF Rueck. Michael Dettmeier and Christoph Küppers are recommended at this ‘top-notch’ firm.