The Legal 500

Within Antitrust, tier 4

Clifford Chance’s highly visible practice has attracted a sector approach to its antitrust group and this has paid off especially with a series of top-end instructions in energy and telecoms matters. The group advised Deutsche Telekom on a purchasing joint venture with France Télécom/Orange, represented Kone in court actions seeking damages, and EWE on the development of a groupwide compliance programme. Marc Besen routinely provides a ‘very impressive performance’, and Joachim Schütze is also recommended.

Within Bank lending, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s ‘omnipresent’ practice extended its cross-border reach, and is increasingly using Frankfurt as the hub for deals in Eastern Europe, such as its advice to the lead arrangers on the senior debt financing for Atlantic Group’s acquisition of Droga Kolinska. It also advised the senior lenders on the restructuring of Rodenstock’s debt facilities under an English scheme of arrangement. Barbara Mayer-Trautmann is ‘experienced and co-operative’, and the ‘committed’ Bettina Steinhauer has ‘great industry knowledge and deal-management skills’.

Within Project finance, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s ‘extremely active’ team is highly recommended for advising banks on high-value project financings. It advised a syndicate of 15 international and Saudi financial institutions and one export credit agency on the debt funding of an aluminium smelter and rolling mill in Saudi Arabia, and advised the lenders on the €2.5bn financing of the second stage of the Nord Stream pipeline. It also advised UniCredit Bank on the financing of a regional airport in Turkey. Riko Vanezis heads the team.

Within Capital markets , Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clifford Chance has a strong DCM practice and ‘in-depth knowledge of German and US ECM requirements’, and is always familiar with the ‘regulator’s latest best practice’ guidelines. On the debt side, it advised Bank of China, HSBC and Standard Chartered on Volkswagen International Finance’s RMB1.5bn bond issuance. On the equity side, it advised Volkswagen with respect to the rights offering by its parent Porsche, and the underwriters led by UBS on RIB Software’s IPO. George Hacket, Markus Pfüller and Sebastian Maerker are highly regarded.

Within Large deals, Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clifford Chance had a dynamic year, advising on some of the market’s landmark M&A and joint ventures. These included advising Siemens on the Siemens IT Solutions and Services/Atos Origin partnership; Commerz Real on its acquisition of a 74.9% stake in Amprion; and Bayer Healthcare on a joint venture with Zydus Cadila in India. Wolfgang Richter has ‘excellent automotive sector knowledge’, and corporate governance expert Daniela Weber-Rey is ‘a significant market presence’. Clients report that working with corporate head Arndt Stengel is an ‘excellent experience’. Christof-Ulrich Goldschmidt leads on M&A.

Within Dispute resolution , Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s large practice provides ‘very quick, appropriate advice’, covering litigation, international arbitration with notable expertise in product liability and director’s liability matters. It represented The Free State of Saxony in its claims against the former auditor of Sachsen LB, and advised a German bank during a US investigation under the US Sanctions Regime, a matter in which the team worked jointly with the New York office. Uwe Hornung is ‘pragmatic’ and has ‘good legal judgement’, and Sebastian Rakob is ‘experienced, very thorough and efficient’.

Within Employment , Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Clifford Chance has seen an increase in instructions relating to compliance issues and boardmembers. It advised Elster Group on establishing SE status and LSG Sky Chefs Deutschland on employment law issues pertaining to the reorganisation into regional companies. The team has acted for American Airlines in litigation. Nicole Engesser Means heads the practice.

Within IP: trade marks Other recommended firms

Within Information technology and outsourcing , Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Clifford Chance has a significant IT transactional practice, and is particularly good for outsourcing. The team advised QVC on TV and internet IT matters, amazon.com on its acquisition of an online platform, and WestLB on contractual matters. Florian Schmitz is the key contact.

Within Restructuring, Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Clifford Chance is well known for its ‘extremely good’ expertise in financing matters, but attracts a broader spread of mandates both in terms of geographical spread and requisite expertise. It advised the banks on the Beluga Group restructuring; the Free State of Saxony in proceedings against the former auditor of SachsenLB; and the committee of senior creditors regarding Rodenstock’s restructuring. ‘Problem-solver’ Stefan Sax is ‘a real expert in German insolvency law’, and Heinz Günter Gondert is equally well regarded.

Within Investment funds , Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s broad practice covers many types of investment funds, including property funds and hedge funds. The real estate sector has been a particular area of focus recently with instructions to advise various institutional investors on investments in foreign private equity real estate funds. The group recently advised Union Investment regarding the funds documentation for UCITS IV, and also acts for clients such as Barclays Bank and Barclays Global Investors. This ‘outstanding’ team provides the ‘best business acumen in the industry’ with a focus on ‘a practical approach and the useability of results’. Sven Zeller is particularly recommended.

Within Private equity , Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s highly specialised team is very well connected to major players in the market, among them Permira, and Apollo, BC Partners and Triton are noteworthy new client wins. It advised the latter on the proposed acquisition of Icelandic Group hf, exemplifying the cross-border deals in which this practice excels. The team also advised Nordic Capital on its acquisition of SiC Processing and CVC Capital Partners on the purchase of Sunrise Communication in Switzerland. Oliver Felsenstein and Christopher Kellett are leading names in the market.

Within Public sector , Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s team is best known for its advice on environmental and planning law matters, and also advises on public procurement, frequently with a focus on healthcare, such as representing ratiopharm and Teva on rebate contract awards. The team also advised Amprion extensively on planning approval procedures for high voltage power lines. Horst Schlemminger heads the group.

Within Real estate, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s broad real estate practice has seen substantial growth on the financing side, which has been partially reflected in the naming of finance specialist Cornelia Thaler as the new head of practice, taking over from ‘industry legend’ Klaus Minuth. This market-leading team advised various Allianz group companies on the €360m acquisition of an 80% stake in Skyline Plaza Frankfurt, and VastNed Offices/Industrial on the €89m sale of five German office buildings to alstria office REIT. In addition to Thaler and Minuth, Reinhard Scheer-Hennings and Jörn Stobbe are also recommended and clients also report that the younger partners are becoming ‘more and more prominent’.

Within Structured finance and securitisation , Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s structured finance practice provides a breadth and depth that remains unsurpassed. This large team enjoys good relationships with the major banks and other financial services entities, and fields numerous highly regarded individuals. CMBS loan restructuring has been a substantial source of recent work, while other highlight matters included advising CA-CIB, Deutsche Bank and Société Générale on Europcar’s €1.3bn securitisation and RBS on a €500m car loan securitisation. Unicredit, Bank of China, HSBC and Standard Chartered are key clients. Clients appreciate the ‘appropriateness of advice and the strong business acumen’, and point out the ‘extremely high knowledge and availability of partners’. Arne Klüwer has ‘a deep understanding of securitisation and experience in German restructuring cases’.

Within Tax , Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Clifford Chance has significant funds structuring expertise, exemplified in its advice to Paramount on corporate tax and insurance law questions concerning the structuring of two real estate funds. Other instructions included advising Commerz Real and a consortium of institutional investors on their acquisition of a 74.9% stake in Amprion, and WestLB on the sale of subsidiary WestLB International. Josef Brinkhaus heads the team.

Within Telecoms Other recommended firms