A firm with offices in Paris and Brussels, Bredin Prat is engaged on a mix of domestic and cross-border mandates, leveraging a market-leading Best Friends network in several key European jurisdictions. The team is able to call upon its colleagues in the tax, antitrust, employment, financing, restructuring and litigation to provide a full-service offering and, owing to its considerably deep bench, is geared for transactions of all sizes, including bet the company deals. Olivier Assant and Benjamin Kanovitch are among the key contacts for public M&A, often acting on both inbound and outbound investments, meanwhile Patrick Dziewolski is a standout for a range of transactions within the energy, finance and construction sectors. Sophie Cornette de Saint-Cyr is acclaimed as a ‘problem solver who is good in negotiations‘ and the team also includes Sébastien Prat and Matthieu Pouchepadass, both of whom compliment their transactional prowess with expert knowledge of dispute, governance and securities issues. Clémence Fallet is a junior partner with experience in a broad variety of deal types; the team is also home to a number of up-and-coming names including Jean-Benoît Demaret and Christine Lenis who made partner in January 2021 and Marine Blottiaux who was promoted to counsel.
Mergers and acquisitions in France
Bredin Prat
Other key lawyers:
Olivier Assant; Benjamin Kanovitch; Patrick Dziewolski; Sébastien Prat; Matthieu Pouchepadass; Emmanuel Masset; Kate Romain; Jean-Benoît Demaret; Christine Lenis; Marine Blottiaux ; Clémence Fallet
Testimonials
‘Excellent experience of the partners who participate in market files. High quality of young dynamic and motivated employees.’
‘Patrick Dziewolski has exceptional experience in complex cases, availability and ability to identify solutions.’
‘Exceptional responsiveness and commitment to client service, rare qualities for a firm of this level of reputation. Clarity appreciated in terms of invoicing.’
‘Sophie Cornette de Saint-Cyr, unlike many high-level lawyers in mergers and acquisitions, perfectly masters the financial aspects of subjects, and is very good with investment bankers, which gives her an exceptional double reading of M&A topics. The firm also has a real quality of recruitment and team, which allows to bring a human touch and to create confidence in addition to the remarkable technical mastery.’
‘Good understanding of our expectations, of the corporate culture and search for solutions adapted to our specificities. Efficient billing and collection procedures.’
‘Fluidity and simplicity of exchanges, responsiveness and great availability of interlocutors regardless of the quality of the speaker. Good communication within the team. Outstanding support and advice from Sophie Cornette de Saint Cyr.’
‘From receptionists to name partners, all the teams seem totally dedicated to the success of your project. Nothing seems impossible; everything seems easy. The most complex questions are answered simply, in language understood by all. This apparently easy simplicity is the mark of keen intelligence.’
‘Bredin Prat has an exceptional M&A team supported by strong practices in all areas of the law required to close an M&A deal.’
‘Sophie Cornette de Saint Cyr is an outstanding professional. She is smart, reactive and efficient. She is a problem solver and really good in negotiations. She is highly dedicated to her clients.’
‘The Bredin team has demonstrated great expertise, responsiveness and efficiency in our operation.’
Key clients
Aviva
BPCE / Natixis
Casino
Crédit Mutuel
Eiffage
ENGIE
Iliad
INEOS
M6
Nexity
Saint-Gobain
Stellantis (formerly PSA Group)
SNCF
Suez
Ubisoft
Vale
Work highlights
- Advising Suez in connection with the public offer launched by Veolia for €13bn.
- Advised Iliad in connection with its public tender offer for all of the shares making up the capital of the Polish telecom operator, Play, for €3.5bn.
- Advising SNCF on the sale of its subsidiary Ermewa to a consortium consisting of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and a fund managed by DWS Group. The value of the transaction was €3.2bn.
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton combines the firm’s extensive international footprint with a deep-rooted connection to the local market, having been active in Paris since 1949. Pierre-Yves Chabert is one of the sector’s most experienced names, notably serving as a partner since 1996, and co-heads the practice alongside Rodolphe Elineau, who in addition to M&A, also supports listed companies on corporate governance affairs, as well as general shareholders’ meetings. Further stand-out names include Marie-Laurence Tibi whose practice spans both public M&A and equity capital markets transactions, along with ‘impeccable’ counsel Sophie de Beer, a specialist within the banking, financial institution and asset management fields.
Practice head(s):
Pierre-Yves Chabert; Rodolphe Elineau
Other key lawyers:
Marie-Laurence Tibi; Sophie de Beer
Testimonials
‘Professionalism, precision, ingenuity, proactivity, confidence.’
‘Cleary Paris has a substantive M&A team, with sufficient depth and particular expertise in mergers and acquisitions in the financial sector.’
‘Sophie de Beer led the French team on our transaction. Sophie is knowledgeable, meticulous and persistent, and her knowledge of regulatory requirements applicable to a French M&A transaction in the financial sector is impeccable. She is also a sophisticated draftsman and a persuasive negotiator.’
‘The people who support us have the following qualities: – Strong expertise in payments – support and role of major and essential advice on the construction of an innovative intra-European collaboration model. – Strong knowledge of intellectual property issues and associated risks.’
‘Responsiveness and efficiency.’
‘Global vision of the file and its strategic aspects.’
‘Technicality, sense of strategy and business, ability to convince and execute.’
‘Pierre-Yves Chabert is undoubtedly a leading figure in M&A. He knows how to lead a process, anticipates and is a fine strategist.’
Key clients
Cerberus / My Money Group
Veolia
Alstom
Worldline
Capgemini
Novasep
Crédit Agricole
Natixis
BNP Paribas
Latour Capital
Work highlights
- Advising Cerberus and its portfolio companies of My Money Group on its signing of a memorandum of understanding in view of the proposed acquisition of HSBC Continental Europe’s retail banking in France.
- Advising Veolia Environnement, the global leader in optimized resources management, on its €12.9bn acquisition of Suez. The deal will create the French world champion of ecological transformation.
- Advised mining major Vale on its sale of its Vale New Caledonia (VNC) nickel and cobalt mining business to a consortium composed of Singapore-based Trafigura Pte. Ltd., managers and employees of the VNC business, New Caledonian governmental entities, and other local interests.
Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier
Founded in 1987, Parisian firm Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier serves as a go-to for high-value transactions, frequently acting on deals with a multijurisdictional or sensitive domestic political component. The team boasts an extensive track record in major public M&A transactions, contested takeovers and prominent privatisations and through the respective expertise of practice co-heads Marcus Billam and Bertrand Cardi, is also equipped to support on joint venture, corporate governance, private equity and stock exchange law mandates. Also found within the team are Benjamin Burman and Olivier Huyghues Despointes; the former carved out a reputation for cross-border work, acting on both inbound and outbound transactions, in transactions as varied as the US, Brazil and Thailand, while the latter hones his focus on corporation operation, tender offer, public takeover and restructuring affairs.
Practice head(s):
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘DVMB is an exceptional firm in all its aspects.’
‘Marcus Billam, Jean-Baptiste de Martigny, Alexandre Durant are excellent lawyers, innovators, excellent knowledge of the market.’
‘Bertrand Cardi and Nicolas Mennesson are outstanding lawyers with a very practical and business-oriented mindset.’
‘Christophe Vinsonneau stands out for his qualities as a negotiator.’
‘An extremely expert and responsive, multidisciplinary team, demonstrating an undeniable sense of customer relationship, both in interpersonal relationships and in financial relationships.’
‘The availability of high-level managers in the firm is an undeniable asset. Bertrand Cardi and Christophe Vinsonneau perfectly combine expertise, quality of advice and customer relations.’
‘We have never experienced a combination of competence, deep client focus, intensity, commitment and clarity. We love the problem-solving, constructive approach.’
‘We would not been able to achieve the unique results we have achieved, without the extraordinary contribution of Benjamin Burman, whose skills, intensity and unrelenting professional involvement in all our major decisions.’
Key clients
Accor
BPCE
Bouygues
Europcar Mobility Group
Lagardère SCA
Société Générale
Suez
Tarkett
TF1
Unibail-Rodamco Westfield
Vivendi
Work highlights
- Advised Suez on (i) its defense against the unsolicited offer from Veolia-Environnement (enterprise value of €22.3bn), (ii) the €1.6bn sale of its Australian business to Cleanaway and (iii) the acquisition by a consortium of investors of the French Water and recovery and recycling businesses of Suez SA as well as other international assets composing the new Suez for €10.7bn.
- Advised Bouygues on (i) the €7bn acquisition of Bombardier by Alstom and (ii) the €2.26bn business combination between TF1 and M6 and (iii) the approx. €700m acquisition of EI Telecom by Bouygues Telecom.
- Advised BPCE Group on its public tender offer on Natixis’s shares followed by a mandatory squeeze-out, valued at €3bn.
Allen & Overy LLP
Allen & Overy LLP, one of the Magic Circle firms, is engaged on a broad array of both local and multijurisdictional transactions, including public and private M&A, joint ventures, privatisations, reorganisations and restructurings. The group is headed by Frédéric Moreau whose specialist knowledge of the banking, consumer and retail, and industrial and manufacturing sectors is complemented by Marc Castagnède’s prominent position within the private equity, automotive and life sciences fields. At the more junior end, Olivier Thébault made partner in May 2021 and runs a broad practice spread across M&A, securities, corporate governance and equity capital market mandates.
Practice head(s):
Frédéric Moreau
Other key lawyers:
Marc Castagnède; Olivier Thébault; Alexandre Ancel; Romy Richter
Testimonials
‘Marc Castagnède is excellent in his field, a good negotiator, subtle and fair, and develops real strategies.’
‘Jean-Claude Rivalland ‘s team is distinguished by its responsiveness and thoroughness, as well as by its business-oriented approach. His associate Flora Leon-Servière is, in particular, extremely available and of an excellent technical level.’
‘Frédéric Moreau has excellent interpersonal skills, great technical expertise, and remarkable finesse in analysis and understanding of business issues.’
‘Very good team and very good interactions between the different areas of expertise (one stop shop).’
‘Availability/mastery of subjects and transversal coordination (M&A, regulatory, competition …). Solution-driven approach. Courage.’
‘Very responsive, reliable, experienced, high-quality advice.’
‘Alexandre Ancel: Always available, high-quality advice, sense of business (not only legal).’
Key clients
Total
Engie
Groupe Arnault (the holding company of LVMH)
Campari
Louis Roederer
Compagnie des Alpes
Auchan
Airbus
Thales
Orano
Société Générale
BNPP
Crédit Mutuel Arkéa
Crédit Agricole
Generali
Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC)
Agence des Participations de l’Etat (APE)
DomusVi
Work highlights
- Acted for Groupe Arnault and Financière Agache, the holding company controlled by Bernard Arnault’s family which owns the world’s leading luxury industry group LVMH, on the acquisition of 27% of Lagardère Capital (the holding company of the Lagardère family) and around 8% of Lagardère SCA shares.
- Advising Société Générale (SG) in relation to the sale of SG’s asset management activities operated notably through Lyxor Asset Management (Lyxor), for €825m, to Amundi.
- Advised the investment fund Advent International in the context of the entering into exclusive negotiation with Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) for the sale of its majority stake in the Circet group, European leader in telecoms infrastructure services.
BDGS Associés
Founded in 2013, BDGS Associés recently bolstered its capacity for a full-service on M&A transactions through the creation of dedicated restructuring and financing departments. Antoine Bonnasse thrives in listed and non-listed company M&A while Youssef Djehane ’s core fields of focus include takeovers, corporate governance affairs and shareholder disputes. The pair co-founded the firm alongside state investment and public sector transaction expert Jean-Emmanuel Skovron, and the team also includes Marc Loy and Thomas Meli, both particularly active on the cross-border front.
Practice head(s):
Antoine Bonnasse; Youssef Djehane; Jean-Emmanuel Skovron; Marc Loy
Other key lawyers:
Thomas Méli; Lucile Gaillard
Testimonials
‘High availability and quality of work great understanding of client needs for the sake of efficiency, very high quality of work.’
‘The BDGS team is very available and able to mobilise the skills to deal with the various legal subjects of sometimes complex cases.’
‘Proven expertise in business law. Great finesse in analysing situations. Relevant conclusions systematically taking into account our characteristics and positioning.’
‘The firm has a policy of only acting for one client in the sector/industry, so takes its obligations in relation to potential conflicts very seriously indeed. The firm also takes the time to get a real understanding of their clients’ business, as well as their strategic priorities, making them better able to advise and provide effective advice and collaborative support to compliment the in-house legal team.’
‘I would call out Youssef Djehane as providing excellent commercial and practical advice, which shows a deep understanding of our business and our level of risk appetite.’
‘BDGS is a law firm with which we work very calmly, particularly because of the firm’s ability to identify the skills required to handle the case. The words we think of when it comes to the BDGS firm are rigour, in-depth knowledge, availability, proximity. Each file is treated with absolutely particular attention and nothing is left to chance. Calling on the BDGS firm means ensuring that you have very high-level skills.’
‘In my opinion, what makes BDGS practice unique is their skill to find and propose always constructive solutions in difficult M&A situations, solutions that are legally strong to protect the client’s interests and, at the same time, intelligent to allow the reach a constructive agreement. They understand very well the underlying business imperatives and strategic objectives of our organisation so that they can always propose solutions tailored to our business needs. It goes beyond being exceptional legal professionals, they really put their legal skills towards strategic objectives of the client.’
‘I work in particular with Jean-Emmanuel Skovron. He is a workaholic. He has a deep legal and literary culture that cannot be found elsewhere. He surrounds himself with the best, but does part of the work himself which creates confidence. It is greatly appreciated by all stakeholders.’
Key clients
Aéroports de Paris (ADP)
Agence des Participations de l’Etat (APE)
Altice
Artefact
Bouygues S.A. and Bouygues Telecom
Bpifrance
Butler Industries
Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations
Carrefour
Covéa
Crédit Agricole Assurances (Predica)
Diageo
EDF
Engie
Gaztransport & Technigaz
Goldman Sachs
Groupama
Groupe La Poste and La Banque Postale
Groupe Prévoir
KKR
Le Bélier
Lov Group
Media Participations
OpenGate Capital
Paprec
Qatar Investment Authority
Safran
SNCF
Thales
Work highlights
- Advising CDC on its strategic acquisition in consortium with Meridiam, Global Infrastructure Partners and CNP Assurances of strategic assets from Veolia and Suez in the context of Veolia’s public offer for Suez.
- Advising Engie on the sale to Veolia of its 29.9% stake in Suez and on the subsequent legal battle surrounding the sale in what has been the most high-profile and contested M&A transaction on the French market.
- Advising QIA as reference shareholder of Lagardère in respect of the highly mediatised battle for the control of Lagardère between Vivendi, Amber Capital and Financière Agache resulting in the conversion of Lagardère into a public limited company (société anonyme).
Clifford Chance
At Clifford Chance, the Paris office leverages the firm’s international network, as well as its reputation as a Magic Circle firm, to act on a broad array of M&A and foreign investment matters. Managing partner Mathieu Rémy is particularly acclaimed for public and private M&A, joint ventures and private equity affairs and is especially active within the financial institution, TMT, energy, automotive, retail and consumer goods sectors. Rémy is supported by Fabrice Cohen, Gilles Lebreton , Marianne Pezant and Laurent Schoenstein who offer expertise in industries such as aerospace and defence, healthcare, industrials, real estate, energy and infrastructure.
Practice head(s):
Fabrice Cohen; Gilles Lebreton; Emmanuel Mimin; Marianne Pezant; Mathieu Rémy; Laurent Schoenstein
Testimonials
‘Fabrice Cohen is just exceptional!’
Key clients
Airbus Group
APE
Ariane Group
Mannai Corporation
Axel Springer
Caisse des dépôts et consignations
Carrefour
Compass
Crédit Agricole
Crédit Agricole Assurances (Prédica)
EDF
Eiffage
Engie
Europcar
Geodis
Icade
InfraMed Infrastructure
Ipsen
Les Echos
L’Oréal
Mondelez
Nissan
Plastic Omnium
Rexel
Saur
Veolia
Willis Towers Watson
Work highlights
- Advising Amundi on the ongoing acquisition of Lyxor.
- Advising the presenting banks and the financing banks (Bank of America Europe Designated Activity Company, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, HSBC Continental Europe and Morgan Stanley Bank AG) on all aspects of the tender offer (OPA) of Veolia Environnement for Suez (financing, public M&A and litigation).
- Advising BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank et Société Générale as sponsoring banks and financing banks on the simplified tender offer for Tarkett.
De Pardieu Brocas Maffei
A single office firm in Paris, De Pardieu Brocas Maffei is geared to act on the full array of corporate transactions including mergers, acquisitions, sales, joint ventures, restructurings, distressed M&A and stock exchange deals. The group is adept at representing all parties to a transaction, including listed and unlisted companies, investors, investment funds and financial players. Guillaume Touttée, whose focus is on the financial services, agribusiness and technology fields, co-leads the team alongside Patrick Jaïs , Jean-François Pourdieu and Nicolas Favre who is principally active within the real estate, hospitality, insurance and retail sectors. Cédric Chanas is a star name at junior-partner level and is acclaimed for his ‘strong client involvement‘.
Practice head(s):
Patrick Jaïs; Guillaume Touttée; Nicolas Favre; Jean-François Pourdieu
Other key lawyers:
Cédric Chanas; Magali Masson
Testimonials
‘An excellent team, very good advice, and flawless workmanship.’
‘A very strong involvement alongside the client and a much appreciated advisory capacity, in particular the team led by Cédric Chanas.’
‘Great availability and great expertise in full service M&A firm, high-level associates and very experienced partners.’
‘Magali Masson is quite simply exceptional. Pragmatic, efficient, very good negotiator, we can trust her blindly. Stops at nothing.’
‘Guillaume Touttée is the lawyer we want to have by our side on M&A operations. In addition to his technicality and his remarkable skills in negotiation, Guillaume Touttée knows how to have a 360° strategic vision of transactions and perfectly masters the matters and related issues. Listening to his clients, he knows how to provide optimal support to legal departments and management.’
Key clients
ALTICE
COVIVIO
ACCORINVEST
ORANO (ex. AREVA)
CNP ASSURANCES
NATIXIS
AXEREAL
BATIPART
EDF ENERGIES NOUVELLES
AGRIAL
GROUPE SOUFFLET
CARREFOUR
LOOPING GROUP
LA BANQUE POSTALE
TECHNICOLOR
CREDIT AGRICOLE ASSURANCES
MBWS
GROUPE FREY
VEOLIA
TERRENA
CREDIT MUTUEL
SCOR
AXA
INVIVO
SPHERE
SAINT-GOBAIN
Work highlights
- Advising Soufflet Group on the entry into exclusive negotiations with InVivo Group regarding the acquisition of 100% of Soufflet Group’s capital by InVivo Group.
- Advising Exor N.V., holding company controlled by the Agnelli family, on the acquisition of a minority stake in the capital of Christian Louboutin group
- Advising Altice, parent company of SFR, on the entering into an exclusivity agreement with Cellnex, Europe’s leading operator of wireless telecommunications infrastructures, for the sale of 100% of Hivory.
Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I.
Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I., a French firm with offices in London and Brussels, among other locations, is also a member of several global law firm alliances, most notably Lex Mundi. Its M&A department has been particularly busy in the retail, healthcare and life sciences, financial and retail industries of late and is helmed by Olivier Diaz, a lawyer with 25 years’ worth of experience in public and private acquisitions, joint ventures, leveraged buyouts and corporate restructurings. Further key practitioners include distressed M&A specialist Jean-Gabriel Flandrois, and Anne Tolila who is proficient in representing both industrial clients and investment funds. Up-and-coming partner Charles de Reals compliments his transactional prowess with corporate governance, strategic dispute and securities law expertise.
Practice head(s):
Olivier Diaz
Other key lawyers:
Jean-Gabriel Flandrois; Anne Tolila; Charles de Reals; Christophe Eck; Guillaume Rougier-Brierre; Antoine Tézenas du Montcel; Alexis Pailleret; Thomas Urlacher
Testimonials
‘What is immediately striking are the fluid, complementary and constructive relationships that the M&A team seems to maintain with lawyers from other specialties within GIDE law firm. The excellent coordination of the various contributions under the leadership of the M&A team results in a very good overall work on complex projects.’
‘Alexis Pailleret is an exceptional lawyer. Rigour, efficiency and availability are just a few of its many qualities. He is very attentive and also knows how to strategically orient his clients towards pragmatic solutions integrating both the legal and commercial dimension. He is a clear communicator. Whatever the pressure, he always seems to be in control and remains, under all circumstances, pleasant. He leads without imposing. Alexis Pailleret forms a beautiful pair with the very discreet, but no less efficient Chloé Bouhours.’
‘The team led by Olivier Diaz, perfectly assisted by Charles de Réals, presents the best combination of technical excellence and experience.’
‘Charles de Réals combines strong technical expertise and extensive transactional experience (listed and unlisted, buying and selling, financial sectors and other industries). Charles proves to be extremely competent, available, concise and precise in his interventions, and always endeavors to deal well with all the problems of his clients, calling on other departments if necessary. Charles’s presence provides security in the quality/timing of the production of legal documentation. Very present during negotiation sessions, Charles demonstrates pedagogy and clarity to overcome many potentially conflicting situations. Charles leads a talented team (including Corentin Charlès), which is also very committed to client satisfaction.’
‘The practice is unique because it is tailored to the client while providing advice that goes far beyond the scope and size of the company. The consultancy offer is considered to be the best because it is linked to the reputation, excellence and size of the firm. We know that we have access to the best advice, and if necessary the firm allows us to access other specialized institutions with expertise in the matter, contributing to the success of the case.’
‘Relations with the Gide firm have always been human and close. Excellent relationship management and transmission of this relationship to other colleagues in charge of a specialty. Very good follow-up and fluidity in the exchanges. Trust and loyalty are essential to a good firm/client relationship and this has always been a characteristic of the firm.’
‘Excellent expertise, always relevant support.’
‘Partner Guillaume Rougier-Brierre supports us in difficult cases. Capable of mobilizing a good team around him, he ensures an efficient approach.’
Key clients
Veolia
Total
Association Famille Mulliez (owner of the Auchan Group)
Lactalis
Eurazeo
Pernod Ricard
BNP Paribas
Société Générale
Crédit Agricole
Air France
Naval Group
Agence des Participations de l’Etat
Crédit Mutuel Arkéa
Saint-Gobain
Société Foncière Lyonnaise
American Industrial Partners
Petrofrance
Harvest
Mediaset
EOS Imaging
Primonial
Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations
EDF
Talend
Unibail Rodamco
Wendel
Nippon Steel Corporation
EOS Imaging
Essilor Luxottica
MSD
EuropAssistance
Solocal (formerly Pages Jaunes)
Fnac Darty
SPVIE
Andritz
Mirova
Engie
Work highlights
- Advising French optimized resource management company Veolia Environnement’s board on its tender offer for the entire share capital ofSuez, French waste management company, from Engie, a French electric utility company.
- Advising Talend, a French company listed on the Nasdaq Market in the United States leader in data integration and data integrity, for its acquisition by Thoma Bravo, a leading private equity investment firm focused on the software and technology-enabled services sectors.
- Advising Wendel on the acquisition of a minority share in Tarkett Participation, a company controlled by the Deconinck family in order to launch a simplified tender offer on Tarkett.
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, one of the UK’s Silver Circle firms, handles a large volume of cross-border transactions, from both an inbound and outbound perspective. The team is also highly reputed for its public M&A work in France in addition to shouldering a substantial corporate governance affairs caseload. Practice head Hubert Segain is intimately familiar with the banking, consumer and energy sectors and, in addition to his transactional work, routinely serves as a board room adviser on issues including shareholder activism and crisis management. Managing partner Frédéric Bouvet is vastly experienced in terms of multijurisdictional mergers, as is Edouard Thomas, a specialist within the construction, infrastructure and facility management fields.
Practice head(s):
Hubert Segain
Other key lawyers:
Frédéric Bouvet; Edouard Thomas; Christopher Theris; Cyril Boulignat
Testimonials
‘Extremely competent, responsive M&A team with in-depth knowledge of M&A negotiation tools.’
‘Frédéric Bouvet is an excellent partner, pragmatic, available, able to manage complex negotiations. Cyril Boulignat has in-depth expertise in M&A tools, he is relevant in the context of negotiations and the drafting of complex agreements. He knows how to make himself available, shows great pragmatism. Cyril and Frédéric are two trustworthy lawyers, who assisted us with great efficiency in a spirit of construction and always sympathetic.’
‘Herbert Smith is an exceptional M&A firm with high quality experts in all adjacent fields (including competition, labour law, regulatory …). They strive to provide concrete solutions to the problems raised while always remaining clear, concise and effective. The team is always available and has a great knowledge of the market. Herbert Smith has set up a system for monitoring budgets and fees that is particularly effective and easy to follow: visual, precise and regular, this innovative reporting makes it possible to follow budgets as closely as possible.’
‘Hubert Segain is one of the best lawyers I have worked with. In addition to an exceptional technique, he is an excellent negotiator, constructive and in search of the right solution for all while defending the interests of his client. In general, the quality of Herbert Smith ‘s team is to give concrete advice and not to remain on principles or vague opinions. They are all very business-oriented.’
‘Very good business and legal technical knowledge. Very pragmatic and business approach. A sure value for each M&A file in France or internationally.’
‘Frédéric Bouvet is an excellent lawyer, and after having worked with him for years, I have no shortcomings in him; he is business-oriented, has an excellent understanding of business issues, very pragmatic approach, he always provides excellent advice. I have complete confidence in each file entrusted to Frédéric.’
‘The M&A team provides a pragmatic approach, and is able to enlist the support of very good specialists when needed. The work involving different jurisdictions is done efficiently.’
‘Hubert Segain is particularly pragmatic and available, and shows himself to be a good negotiator.’
Key clients
Africa50
Altran Technologies/Capgemini
April
AXPO
Bharti Airtel
BPCE
Caisse des dépôts et consignations (CDC)
Capgemini
Cellnex Telecom
CFAO
Danone
ENGIE
Farallon Capital Management
Holding d’Infrastructures Gazières
Indigo Infra
International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Lagardère
Maurel & Prom
Orange
SEB
SK Holdings
Société d’Infrastructures Gazières
Société Générale
Sonepar
SOS Oxygène
Spie Batignolles
TP ICAP
Valeo
Work highlights
- Advised several shareholders of SUEZ in the context of the proposed takeover of SUEZ by VEOLIA.
- Advised Cellnex, Europe’s leading operator of wireless telecommunications infrastructures, on the acquisition of French Towers Hivory from Altice France and Starlight Holdco through an initial investment of €5.2bn, accompanied by an additional investment of €0.9 billion over the next 8 years, up until 2029.
- Advised BNP Paribas on its acquisition of Floa Bank (formerly Banque Casino), the consumer credit specialist of the Casino group and Crédit Mutuel Alliance Federal, and its long-term commercial partnership with Casino and Cdiscount.
Latham & Watkins
US firm Latham & Watkins is a go-to for international transactions and has recently been involved in several of the market’s headline mergers of equals and spin-off deals. Practice head Pierre-Louis Cléro thrives on the full spectrum of transactions, from public and private M&A through to joint ventures, disposals, restructurings and relevant disputes. Cléro is supported by Olivier du Mottay who likewise supports bidders, targeted companies and managers in all deal types, as well as by Alexander Crosthwaite who supplements his M&A proficiency with expertise in private equity and securities law.
Practice head(s):
Pierre-Louis Cléro
Other key lawyers:
Olivier du Mottay; Alexander Crosthwaite
Key clients
Adisseo
Air France -KLM
Albéa
Alphatec Holdings
Arkéa
Arteris
Atos
Auchan Holding
Axa
Babilou
BlaBlaCar
Carrefour
CMA-CGM
CNES
Coatue Management
Crédit Mutuel Arkea
Fraikin
Groupe Bertrand
Henkel
IFREMER
Impala
Lagardère
L’Oreal
Mainstay Medical
Mobivia
SHD AG
TechnipFMC
Tencent
Total S.A.
Veracyte
Vivalto Santé
Vivendi
William Demant
Worldline
Work highlights
- Advising GIP in the €10.4bn acquisition of New SUEZ.
- Advising Carrefour on the sale of a majority stake in its fintech Market Pay to AnaCap.
- Advising Technip FMC in the context of the separation of the TechnipFMC group into two industry-leading, independent, publicly traded companies.
Linklaters
Linklaters is a Magic Circle firm which, while predominantly active on multijurisdictional transactions, also enjoys a strong connection with French corporates. A key point of differentiation for the group is its sector expertise; Bruno Derieux, who serves ad department head, is particularly formidable within the energy and infrastructure fields meanwhile Alain Garnier is a go-to for financial institution companies. Pierre Tourres and Pierre Thomet handle public and private M&A, in addition to restructurings, respectively within retail and pharmaceutical and industrial sectors. The wider team is also well versed in transactions in the transport, tech and fintech industries.
Practice head(s):
Bruno Derieux
Other key lawyers:
Alain Garnier; Pierre Tourres; Fabrice de La Morandière; Pierre Thomet; Florent Mazeron; Julien Bourmaud-Danto
Testimonials
‘A very full service M&A team and very efficient support. Very high level of expertise with complementarities between team members combined with a strong understanding of the business. A keen sense of the stakes and successful alliance between expertise and strategic vision. Responsiveness, availability and total commitment.’
Key clients
Partners Group
CDPQ
Bel Group
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd
Aptar
ENGIE EPS S.A. (now Nhoa)
Solvay
Oscaro Power
Amundi Transition Energétique
Alliance Automotive Holding Limited
Sierra Wireless
Wendel
BNP Paribas
Tor Investment Management (Hong Kong) Limited
Work highlights
- Advised Partners Group, majority shareholder, on its entry into exclusive negotiations with EQT Private Equity relating to the disposal of Cerba HealthCare, international leader in the medical biology sector.
- Advised CDPQ in its investment alongside EQT in the acquisition of Groupe Colisée a leading European operator of nursing home facilities and home care services agencies in France, Belgium, Spain and Italy employing more than 16,000 people and with a turnover exceeding €1bn.
- Advised the Bel Group on its entry into exclusive negotiations with the Lactalis Group to sell the Leerdammer brand and all related rights.
Shearman & Sterling LLP
Headquartered in New York, Shearman & Sterling LLP is geared to handle a broad array of corporate transactions including leveraged buy-outs, acquisitions, divestitures, tender offers, joint ventures, mergers, spin-offs and strategic alliances. Practice head Guillaume Isautier acts on deals involving both listed and non-listed companies and is especially well regarded within the banking, telecom, energy, retail and consumer goods sectors. The wider team is also experienced in TMT, healthcare and hospitality and has noted an uptick in its outbound M&A work of late. Jérémy Scemama, former practice head of DLA Piper, joined in October 2021 alongside Matthieu Lampel.
Practice head(s):
Guillaume Isautier
Other key lawyers:
Nicolas Bombrun; Thomas Philippe; Jérémy Scemama; Matthieu Lampel
Testimonials
‘A client-friendly team, extremely involved in the service of its clients with an availability and an unfailing commitment of the M&A partner.’
‘Guillaume Isautier successfully manages to combine a remarkable work force, protection of the interests of his clients, a very appreciable relational mode in terms of interactions and availability, all at very competitive prices.’
Key clients
Société Générale
Florac
LBO France
ALD Automotive
Siparex
GL EVENTS
King Street Capital Management
Mubadala
JinJiang
Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited
Work highlights
- Represented Société Générale in connection with the sale of its Norwegian subsidiary, SG Finans AS, a leading equipment finance and factoring company in the Nordics, to Nordea Bank Abp, the largest financial services group in the Nordics listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, Helsinki Stock Exchange and Stockholm Stock Exchange.
- Acted for ALD Automotive, one of the leading global providers of mobility solutions, in connection with the creation of a joint venture with Ford dedicated to provide new integrated fleet leasing and management solutions across Europe under the name of Ford Fleet Management.
- Represented LBO France in connection with the acquisition of a majority stake in Dutscher group, the leading independent distributor of R&D laboratory consumables and equipments in Europe.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
At US firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, practice head Armand Grumberg is an ‘exceptional lawyer’ for public and private acquisitions, cross-border transactions, reorganisations and joint ventures; he also enjoys a distinguished level of expertise when it comes to hostile defence work, recently successfully representing SCOR, a major player in the reinsurance sector, in respect of an €8.3bn unsolicited takeover proposal from COVEA. The other key partner in the team is Arash Attar-Rezvani who is forging a prominent reputation for multijurisdictional M&A, strategic alliances and business partnerships, corporate governance, shareholder activism and privatisation matters.
Practice head(s):
Armand Grumberg
Other key lawyers:
Arash Attar-Rezvani; Pascal Bine
Testimonials
‘Skadden has an exceptional team. They are a real task force, dedicated to their client and to achieving the goals and objectives that have been set. They can coordinate external advisors, but also internal client teams seamlessly, always being pragmatic, efficient and business-oriented to find the best deal. They are trusted advisors with an excellent insight into how to drive the negotiations.’
‘Armand Grumberg is an exceptional lawyer, negotiator and advisor. He does not come with legal, technical answers, but real practical solutions and recommendations that can be implemented. It is a pleasure to work with him and his team.’
‘Arash Attar-Rezvani has an excellent knowledge and mastery of our files down to the smallest detail and has the ability to quickly understand the various specificities of our business sector. This rather rare quality in the market allows him to support our group in the drafting but also in the negotiation of our most important contracts.’
Key clients
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton S.E.
SCOR SE
Capgemini
Axian Group
Iliad SA
Coty Inc.
Silver Lake
TriRX Pharmaceuticals
Zayo Group Holdings, Inc.
GBT Travel Services UK Limited
Work highlights
- Advised LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton S.E. in connection with its proposed $16.2bn acquisition of Tiffany & Co.
- Acted for SCOR S.E on its successful defense against a €8.3bn unsolicited takeover proposal from COVEA.
- Representing Silver Lake Partners, a global leader in technology investing, on its acquisition of Silae (France) a leading provider of cloud-based payroll and HR software in the French market from its founders.
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
At Sullivan & Cromwell LLP’s Paris office, the M&A lawyers work in close collaboration with their colleagues across Europe, the US and Asia, often on cross-border transactions spanning multiple continents. Olivier de Vilmorin fronts the offering, catering to purchasers, sellers and financial institutions in respect of transactions involving both listed and private companies.
Practice head(s):
Olivier de Vilmorin
Other key lawyers:
Arnaud Berdou
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is an international firm, originally founded in New York, which is adept at handling a broad variety of corporate transactions, including M&A, spin-offs, joint ventures, friendly and hostile takeovers, public to private transactions and reorganisations. The practice also provides a wealth of services beyond the transactional space. Claude Serra is knowledgeable oin corporate governance, crisis management and shareholder dispute matters while Yannick Piette, who heads the practice jointly with Serra, frequently supports on defence strategies for hostile takeovers.
Practice head(s):
Claude Serra; Yannick Piette
Other key lawyers:
Agathe Soilleux; Romain Letard
Testimonials
‘An excellent network of high-level lawyers.’
‘Claude Serra is fully available and attentive to the needs of clients in strategic as well as strictly legal advice Romain Ferla highly efficient and responsive on specific and pointed questions.’
Key clients
Altarea
April
Casino
Compagnie Nationale du Rhone
Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations
Engie
Eutelsat
JCDHolding
Kyowa Kirin
Lagardere Group
Orange
Rallye
Total
Vallourec
Vinci
Work highlights
- Advised Altarea on its €2bn acquisition of Primonial
- Advised Vinci on its €4.9bn acquisition of ACS
- Advised Vallourec on the corporate aspects of its €3.4bn financial debt restructuring
White & Case LLP
White & Case LLP is home to a sizeable corporate and M&A department, fielding over 500 lawyers worldwide. Its Paris office was recently bolstered by the arrival of Marc Petitier in December 2020, formerly of Linklaters LLP, who joins with over 20 years’ worth of experience in public and private M&A, sales and joint ventures, particularly those within the mid-cap and jumbo-cap segments. The team is co-led by Hugues Mathez, a veteran of many FIG and automotive sector transactions, and Saam Golshani who directs a high degree of focus to the technology space.
Practice head(s):
Hugues Mathez; Saam Golshani
Other key lawyers:
Marc Petitier; Franck De Vita; Nathalie Nègre-Eveillard; Alexis Hojabr; Guillaume Vitrich
Testimonials
‘Multidisciplinary team.’
‘Strong responsiveness and ability to adapt to contexts.’
‘Very good, solid and innovative team.’
‘Hugues Mathez: very solid and versatile. Alexis Hojabr is very good for complex situations.’
Key clients
Aéma Group
Altitude Infrastructure
Aptean
Arval
BNP Paribas
Cardif
Casino
Coface
Covea
Crédit Agricole
Digital Realty
Ebro Foods
Europ Assistance
Faurecia
Global Media & Entertainment Limited
Goldman Sachs
Groupama
Catella AB
Colisée Group
Ingenico Group
Kingdom Holding Company of Saudi Arabia
Korian
Legrand
Legris Industries
Moret Industries
Mr. Bricolage
Natixis
Nestlé
Nexans
Novasep
Oberthur
Orange
Pernod Ricard
Play Communications
Primetals Technologies
Puma Energy
Publicis
Roivant Sciences
Qatar Investment Authority
RTL Group
SAB
Sagemcom
SES-imagotag
Smartbox
Société Générale
Solocal
Swedish Steel AB
Teads
Tereos
Total Eren
Unibail-Rodamco
Vinci
Visteon
Zadig & Voltaire
Work highlights
- Representation of RTL Group, Europe’s largest broadcaster, in connection with its entry into exclusive negotiations with Groupe TF1, Groupe M6 and Groupe Bouygues to merge the activities of Groupe TF1 and Groupe M6 and create a major French media group.
- Representation of Aéma Groupe, the French insurance mutual group gathering Aésio and Macif, which has been granted exclusivity on the acquisition of Aviva France, for a consideration of €3.2bn.
- Representation of Europcar Mobility Group (Europcar) shareholders Centerbridge Partners, CarVal Investors, Marathon Asset Management and Diameter Capital Partners individually in connection with the tender offer for Europcar by a consortium composed of Volkswagen Group, Attestor Capital and Pon Holdings.
Baker McKenzie
Headquartered in Chicago, Baker McKenzie is home to a global M&A practice of c. 1400 lawyers, over 30 of which are based at the Paris office. The team is inevitably active on both the domestic and multijurisdictional fronts and is extremely proficient in transactions which overlap the corporate finance, capital market, funds, private equity and project practice areas. Stéphane Davin fronts the offering and is especially well versed in deals pertaining to the aviation, catering, chemicals, automotive, internet, manufacturing and telecommunications sectors.
Practice head(s):
Stéphane Davin
Other key lawyers:
Alain Sauty de Chalon; Hugo Sanchez de las Espada; Guillaume Nataf; Antoine Caillard; Marie-Françoise Bréchignac; Aurélie Govillé
Testimonials
‘Sense of listening and understanding of internal needs and constraints. Strong expertise, availability and responsiveness.’
‘Marie-Françoise Bréchignac and Aurélie Govillé: Excellent understanding of client needs and innovation in the legal solutions proposed with regard to client constraints. Tailor-made service.’
‘We have developed a longstanding relationship with Baker & McKenzie. We appreciate the ability to bring in skills in France and elsewhere, always with high-level teams and with centralised management. In cases outside France, the Paris office, which has appointed a dedicated interface with our group, liaises with the Baker offices outside France to obtain available and competent professionals who are aware of the close relationship we have. Great availability of teams.’
‘Work mainly with Stéphane Davin and Antoine Caillard. Very good knowledge of the sector and care taken in the sustainable client relationship (in particular through a good keeping of approved budgets), avoiding overbilling and excessive teams/duplication. Great availability.’
Key clients
Accenture
Air Liquide
Al Babtain
A.P. Moller-Maersk
Archer Daniels Midland
Atos
Automattic
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Camso
Casino
Children Worldwide Fund
Crédit Agricole
Dalkia
EDF
Faurecia
Laboratoires Servier
LVMH
Medicrea
PUIG
Safran
Siemens
Sika
Spectrum Brands
3sens
Work highlights
- Advised the French supplier of industrial gases group Air Liquide on the planned sale of the Schülke Group to the Swedish financial investor EQT.
- Advised international pharmaceutical company Servier on the acquisition of Agios Pharmaceuticals’ oncology business including its commercial, clinical and research-stage oncology portfolio for up to $2bn.
- Acted as lead counsel to French retailer Casino Group on the sale of its subsidiary Vindemia for €219m to retail company GBH.
Gibson Dunn
A long-standing player in the market, LA-headquartered Gibson Dunn has been active in Paris since 1967. Its local practice is closely integrated with the global M&A department, totalling more than 1400 attorneys, and demonstrates the ability to handle the full range of transactions, including spin-offs, joint ventures, negotiation and contested mergers, stock and asset purchases, leveraged buy-outs and restructurings. Bernard Grinspan also endows the group with distributorship and licensing agreement, as well as FCPA investigation expertise while Ariel Harroch brings a distinct combination of tax and corporate law expertise to the table and is particularly skilled in transaction structuring.
Practice head(s):
Bernard Grinspan; Ariel Harroch
Other key lawyers:
Bertrand Delaunay; Benoît Fleury; Patrick Ledoux; Judith Raoul-Bardy
Key clients
Groupe Vivarte
Groupe La Poste/Docaposte
Conforama Holding SA
Vivendi
Mutares AG
SwissLife Group
NEHS
Banque Française Mutualiste
Eaton Corporation
Hopps Group
SoLocal Group SA
Schindler S.A.
Work highlights
- Advising Gilead Sciences on its €1.15bn acquisition of MYR GmbH.
- Advising NetApp, an American listed company leader in data management services, in connection with the acquisition of Data Mechanics Inc., and indirectly its French subsidiary Data Mechanics SAS.
- Advised Conforama in connection with the distressed sale of Conforama France to Mobilux.
Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP
The team Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP operates in close tandem with the firm’s US, UK and Asian offices, in addition to its other European offices. Predominantly active in the transportation, TMT, energy, automotive and financial institution sectors, the group thrives at all stages of cross-border M&A, from structuring and negotiation through to financing. Stéphane Huten helms the practice which is well versed in a notably broad range of matters including joint ventures, spin-offs, recapitalisations, strategic investments, asset sales and going-private deals.
Practice head(s):
Stéphane Huten
Other key lawyers:
Xavier Doumen; Matthieu Grollemund; Hélène Parent
Testimonials
‘Xavier Doumen is recommended.’
‘Pragmatic and responsive.’
‘Xavier Doumen is client-friendly, calm, solutions-focussed and willing to go the extra mile to get the deal done.’
‘The M&A team benefits from a sound expertise. We trust them.’
Key clients
CNP Assurances
San Marina
Daher
3s
Chequers Capital
TowerBrook Capital Partners
Job and Talents
Ÿnsect
Voluntis
Medicrea
Tikehau
Bpifrance
Work highlights
- Advised CNP Assurances in connection with the signing of an agreement with the Aviva group for the acquisition of its life insurance business in Italy.
- Represented the shareholders of footwear brand San Marina on the acquisition of Minelli from the Vivarte group.
- Advised Daher, aircraft manufacturer industry and services provider, on the signature of an agreement for the acquisition by Orano Nuclear Packages and Services of Daher’s German nuclear activities and of its North American subsidiary.
Jeantet
Jeantet is a local firm with international offices throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Predominantly active on multijurisdictional transactions, namely the purchase and sale of listed and non-listed companies, joint ventures, distressed M&A and privatisations, the team is able to call upon its colleagues in energy, antitrust, IP, real estate, labour and tax where appropriate and is jointly helmed by Thierry Brun, Yvon Dréano and Karl Hepp de Sevelinges.
Practice head(s):
Thierry Brun; Yvon Dréano; Karl Hepp de Sevelinges
Other key lawyers:
Perrine Fuchs; Ruben Koslar
Testimonials
‘Jeantet is a client-focused firm that is always very responsive and is skilled at working across time zones and borders.’
‘Karl Hepp de Sevelinges is our go-to lawyer in France for complex commercial arrangements because he combines deep knowledge of the French market with a practical approach.’
‘Very pleased with the approach to cross-border M&A. Good understanding of process and transaction culture in multiple jurisdictions. Very pragmatic approach, light touch where possible, full-depth focus where needed.’
‘Karl Hepp de Sevelinges keeps a good overview of the entire deal and negotiations. Kept the process on track in a transaction with highly complicated dynamics. Anticipated our needs at every step and quickly became a trusted advisor.’
‘Ruben Koslar is knowledgeable professional, always calm, quick and precise, which is a great asset in those crunch moments that happen in every M&A process.’
‘Perrine Fuchs is thorough in due diligence, always helpful in summarising key aspects of contracts.’
‘Jeantet’s broad range of corporate services and a very sizeable team of experts, in the context of a critically time-pressured business opportunity, delivered flawless in-depth commercial, technical, and transactional sector knowledge.’
‘Jeantet’s M&A team is a top notch team. It is a very professional team which is also flexible and attentive to the expectations of clients or foreign law firms.’
Key clients
ALSTOM
ENBRIDGE
GEA GROUP
STMICROELECTRONICS
OTTO GROUP
SARTORIUS STEDIM BIOTECH
NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
Work highlights
- Advised PreZero on the signing of a strategic partnership of intent and entering into exclusive negotiation for the sale of SUEZ’s Recycling and Recovery operations in Germany, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and Poland for €1.1bn.
- Advised The Carlyle Group on acquisition of Flender GmbH for €2.025bn.
- Advised Thoma Bravo on the acquisition of Talend for $2.4bn.
Jones Day
Noted for its track record in ‘several major M&A deals’, US firm Jones Day fields a global M&A team of 400 lawyers located in over 17 countries. Its Paris team is geared for both high-end and mid-market transactions, routinely overseeing public and private M&A, private equity and capital market deals on behalf of both local and multinational clients. Practice head Sophie Hagège also boasts a track record in joint venture, commercial and industrial, strategic alliance and outsourcing project agreements, particularly in the life sciences and chemical sectors. Up-and-coming partner Audrey Bontemps is acclaimed among clients for her ‘remarkable quality of pedagogy on technical aspects and flawless reliability.’
Practice head(s):
Sophie Hagège
Other key lawyers:
Alexandre de Verdun; Gaël Saint Olive; Audrey Bontemps; Delphine Sauvebois-Brunel
Testimonials
‘Professionalism of the M&A team: review of technical aspects with the relevant specialists of the firm (as opposed to certain firms where the partner in charge wants to handle everything alone).’
‘They run a very capable and truly international team managed by Alexandre de Verdun. They have their own network of best friend firms across Europe and are able to assemble a perfect team for a specific transaction. They have unparalleled experience and an amazing M&A track record in financial services industries. They are our first choice.’
‘Alexandre de Verdun is one of the best international M&A lawyers that we came across internationally. He is a charismatic lawyer with top expertise in banking M&A, and his entire team has a very structured and efficient approach to deal management. Alexandre’s unique talent is to create trusted and respectful relationship between all persons engaged on the transaction, and to smoothly close even the most complex deals without major frustrations. Both clients and counterparties feel safe in his hands and have full trust and confidence in what he does.’
‘A team totally dedicated to its clients.’
‘Always attentive to his clients, with absolute availability, Alexandre de Verdun is an excellent negotiator, tenacious, but always courteous. Delphine Sauvebois-Brunel also demonstrates excellent negotiating skills.’
‘The Jones Day team has done an amazing job. Its primary qualities are its responsiveness, its strong technical expertise on complex projects and its ability to offer solutions when pitfalls are encountered.’
‘Audrey Bontemps has done a remarkable job cultivating three qualities highly appreciated in complex cases: a strong listening capacity, a remarkable quality of pedagogy on technical aspects and flawless reliability.’
‘Audrey Bontemps is a partner with a remarkable management of files/timing/issues, who knows how to convey the right messages to advise us on a given subject and accessible when necessary. Too bad we can’t always have her on our side.’
Key clients
Bombardier
DataBank
EDF
Framatome
Pisto
Suez SA
Sanofi
TotalEnergies Gaz Electricité de France
TotalEnergies SA
Work highlights
- Advised the French listed company SUEZ SA on its largest sale of its recycling & recovery operations—excluding plastic recycling and hazardous waste treatment activities—in four continental European countries.
- Assisted TotalEnergies Gaz Electricité Holdings France in connection with the acquisition of Fonroche Biogaz, a company that designs, builds and operates anaerobic digestion units in France.
- Advised as antitrust and French corporate counsel on the €6.2bn sale of client Bombardier Inc.’s transportation business to Alstom S.A.
Lacourte Raquin Tatar
Hailed for its ‘consistently high-quality work’, Parisian firm Lacourte Raquin Tatar frequently handles standout transactions in the transport and infrastructure, beverage, professional services, real estate, banking and finance sectors. Team head Serge Tatar is the key point of contact for M&A and joint venture transactions in addition to strategic partnerships and alliances; his team is often engaged on matters throughout Europe and Africa, from both an inbound and outbound perspective, and is also well placed to support on capital market, corporate governance and reorganisation matters.
Practice head(s):
Serge Tatar
Other key lawyers:
Nicolas Jüllich; Renaud Rossa; Guillaume Roche; Renaud Rossa; Nicolas Jüllich
Testimonials
‘Flawless involvement of the teams. The partners Renaud Rossa and Serge Tatar follow the files perfectly and are very involved in all phases. The allocation of work within their team between the time of the partner and that of the associate is perfectly adjusted/reliable according to the files. Renaud and Serge take the time necessary to understand the project at stake. This desire to understand the in-depth business of their client is one of the remarkable qualities of this team.’
‘Responsiveness, availability and unique commitment on the Paris market, coupled with a first-rate quality of work.’
‘We work with Renaud Rossa and Serge Tatar, who are very experienced, reliable and very committed professionals for their clients.’
‘Excellent practice of real estate M&A, business oriented with very pragmatic and creative approach but always looking out for a secured solution.’
‘Nicolas Jüllich: very precise, excellent anticipation, very committed and straightforward communication’.’
‘Perfect legal expertise, great understanding of business subjects, adaptability, proactivity, responsiveness, pragmatism are the main qualities of the mergers-acquisitions department of Lacourte Raquin Tatar. Excellent communication skills.’
‘Serge Tatar and Guillaume Roche are dealmakers who know how to navigate complex transactions, especially with cross-border implications. Solution-oriented, they not only have the technical skills but also the macro vision necessary to get all those involved in these operations (investment bank, auditors, local councils) to work together and bring them to fruition.’
Key clients
SNCF
Orange
Tikehau
BPI France
BNP Paribas
Groupe CASTEL
Oddo BHF
Korian
Amundi Immobilier
MCS & Associés – iQera
Ceetrus
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
Vinci Immobilier
Frey
Aermont
Poste Immo
Work highlights
- Advising SNCF in connection with the contemplated combination of Eurostar and Thalys.
- Advised Korian in connection with the conclusion of its long-term partnership with EDF Invest and BNP Paribas Cardif in a real estate vehicle controlled and managed by Korian, made up of 81 real estate assets (retirement homes and clinics) located in France, Belgium, Italy and Germany, worth €1bn.
- Advised Group CASTEL in connection with the reorganisation of the shareholding structure of Société Anonyme des Brasseries du Cameroun.
Orrick Rambaud Martel
Founded in California, Orrick Rambaud Martel is acclaimed for its ‘great experience with cross-Atlantic companies operation in the US’. The French practice acts on a mixture of local and cross-border mandates, forming part of a 1000 lawyer team spread across 25 global offices. Practice head Patrick Tardivy provides the group with M&A, buyout and joint venture expertise. Jean-Pierre Martel is very experienced in multijurisdictional transactions, restructurings and corporate disputes. At the more junior end of the partnership spectrum, Olivier Jouffroy is cited as ‘tech savvy, accessible and hardworking.’
Practice head(s):
Patrick Tardivy
Other key lawyers:
Jean-Pierre Martel; Olivier Jouffroy; George Rigo; Gergana Rodriguez-Bacarreza
Testimonials
‘M&A expertise, pugnacious, perpetual search for solutions, responsiveness.’
‘A team that adapts to the needs and culture of its clients and actively participates in making deals a reality.’
‘Excellent understanding of our challenges, our businesses and our expectations.’
‘Great team and internationally great coverage.’
‘Olivier Jouffroy is tech savvy, accessible and hardworking.’
‘Georges Rigo is a great professional with exceptional finesse. Very nice, hyper responsive. An iron fist in a velvet glove!’
‘Professionalism in all areas of law, thoroughness, availability, negotiation skills, multilingual skills.’
‘The Orrick team is distinguished by many aspects, but especially by its ability to adapt and its ability to manage complexity in due diligence and negotiations. The names to mention are George Rigo and Gergana Rodriguez.’
Key clients
Assystem
Auchan
AXA IM
BT Group Plc
CNP Assurances
EOS Holding
EPF & FFP
Euro Disney
Getaround
Groupe Bertrand
Hemeria
Jaguar Network
Mercialys
Michelin
Naturex
RATP
Saur
SIB (Société d’Investissement Bastide)
3i Group plc
Magna
Antin Infrastructure Partners
Oeneo
Eurofiber
Almaviva Santé
Work highlights
- Advised Axa Investment Managers – Real Assets on (i) the negotiation of a €2bn long-term strategic partnership with In’li, a subsidiary of Groupe Action Logement, to develop almost 20,000 affordable housing units over the next 10 years and (ii) as part of the buying consortium (which also includes OMERS and GS Infrastructure) on the acquisition of German laboratory group Amedes from French infrastructure investor Antin.
- Advised CNP Assurances (i) in its capacity as member of a consortium of investors comprising Global Infrastructure Partners, Meridiam and La Caisse des dépôts in connection with the negotiation and signing of binding contractual commitment to purchase the new SUEZ and (ii) the negotiation of a binding agreement with Engie for the acquisition of an additional 11.5% stake in GRTgaz, a deal worth around €1.6bn.
- Advised Antin Infrastructure Partners on the sale of Almaviva Santé to Wren House Infrastructure, SRS and Bpifrance, as well as Almaviva, its portfolio company and a leading private hospital in southern France, on (i) its acquisition of Centre Médico-Chirurgical Floréal in Bagnolet and (ii) its acquisition of the Maymard group’s hospital facilities in Haute-Corse.
Paul Hastings LLP
At LA-headquartered Paul Hastings LLP, the practice has developed a prominent reputation for mid- and upper mid-market transactions. Olivier Deren, proficient in both M&A and private equity deals, fronts the offering and is supported by Arthur de Baudry d’Asson, a specialist in cross-border transactions, takeovers, joint ventures, spin-offs and carve-outs. The team includes Charles Cardon who routinely supports domestic companies on their growth projects overseas and whose focus is directed towards highly regulated sectors, including life sciences and telecoms.
Practice head(s):
Olivier Deren
Other key lawyers:
Arthur de Baudry d’Asson; Charles Cardon; Etienne Mathey
Testimonials
‘Great ability to build deal structures that meet client needs.’
‘Business-oriented.’
‘Charles Cardon is efficient, discreet, competent, and has long-term vision.’
‘Charles Cardon is a star in the making! Compassionate, serious and relevant advice. A real asset to lead an M&A operation.’
Key clients
Jones Lang LaSalle
Oceinde Communications
UTAC CERAM
DLPK
ATOS
GIAT Industries
Nexter Systems
Société Générale
Antin Infrastructure Partners
Circet
Provalliance
Compagnie de Developpement de l’Eau
Cobham
Work highlights
- Advised UTAC CERAM on its share purchase agreement with Spectris with respect to the £118m acquisition of the UK-based group Millbrook.
- Advised DLPK on its acquisition of Tailor, which specialises in asset management focused on bonds.
- Advised Antin Infrastructure Partners regarding the €360m sale of the Inicea Group to Korian.
Simmons & Simmons
Simmons & Simmons, originally founded in London, is distinguished via its in-depth focus on four highly regulated industry sectors, namely life sciences and healthcare, asset management and investment funds, financial institutions and TMT. Practice head Christian Taylor, also qualified to practice in England Wales, is almost exclusively focused on cross-border transactions; he is supported by Simonetta Giordano who is well connected to the Italian market and specialises in M&A, joint venture and commercial contract mandates.
Practice head(s):
Christian Taylor
Other key lawyers:
Simonetta Giordano
Testimonials
‘Simonetta Giordano is very easy to communicate with, very engaged and willing to go the extra mile, willing to invest in the relationship with the company, excellent legal services and crisis management.’
‘The team intervenes in an integrated and extremely pragmatic way, taking into account the needs of the business. It offers innovative solutions tailored to each case in both operational and financial terms.’
‘Close proximity and unwavering involvement with a real desire to support the company’s projects, to ensure its legal security as well as possible while keeping in mind the need to preserve and support the business.’
‘The team in Paris communicates well, takes a commercial view which is critical, and is also technically strong. Good approach, personable and a pleasure to deal with.’
‘The coordinated cross-border work, which always sought the client’s interest first, was very much appreciated by my company. Clean invoicing, always within the budget established at the start of the project. S&S stands out for being a human, available and professional team, able to link questions from different fields (tax, labor law, corporate, regulatory). I have only good memories of our beautiful transaction.’
‘One of the firm’s best assets is Simonetta Giordano. An exceptional person, of character, very intelligent and able to manage complex operations. Her best qualities are her good humor and professionalism. Her ability to look at the operation as a whole and pay attention to detail are also noted.’
Key clients
Colosseum Dental
Cooper Consumer Health
Blédina
Invesco
Natixis
Work highlights
- Advised medical device company Balt on the creation of a joint venture with its former distributor in Italy, ab medica SpA.
- Advising Colosseum Dental in connection with the acquisition of Dentelia.
- Advising Italian CTA group on the acquisition of Alco, a distributor of stainless steel pipes for multiple industry sectors.
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP covers a broad range of corporate and M&A transactions, including disposals, contested takeovers, acquisitions, strategic alliances, management buy-outs and reorganisations. The team is particularly active in cross-border matters, bolstered by its integration with the firm’s other European and US offices. Co-managing partner of the Paris office Eduardo Fernandez is well versed in the business services, consumer products, food and healthcare sectors.
Other key lawyers:
Eduardo Fernandez; Grégoire Finance; Gabriel Flandin; Cédric Hajage; Daniel Hurstel; Annette Péron; Brice Pommiès
Testimonials
‘Great capacity for work and execution, power with the mobilisation of teams when necessary, responsiveness, and precision in the opinions delivered.’
‘Gabriel Flandin is a partner particularly oriented towards business and the conclusion of transactions, preferring simple and effective solutions rather than theorizing. Pure and perfect legal solutions. Very appreciable in a transactional logic.’
Key clients
CMA CGM
TechnipFMC
Thales Group
Orange S.A.
Arkema S.A.
Air France
Elior Group S.A.
Lagardère
Bonduelle
Bpifrance
BEL Group
BUT
Arch Capital Group Limited
Cérélia
ADVANT Altana
Practice head(s):
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Extremely professional and involved team with great human qualities and understanding, client-oriented and able to adapt to changing situations and environments, imaginative and flexible.’
‘They are covering a large scope of services in a small team, so the time spent on a dossier can be significantly reduced, they are great people and client-focused.’
‘An efficient and complementary pair between Jean-Nicolas Soret and his associates.’
‘Jean-Nicolas Soret is a brilliant above average lawyer, but I also appreciate his pragmatism and ability to complete the transaction. A real business and relational sensitivity not so common in the profession!’
‘Jean-Nicolas Soret has excellent technical skills. His approach to negotiation resulted in an agreement being reached quickly. In short: pragmatic, friendly and professional quality.’
‘Excellent support in M&A project by Bruno Nogueiro and Geraldine Malfaite. Very hands-on advice. Highly responsive and deal-driven.’
Key clients
AEMA (MACIF + AESIO)
AG2R LA MONDIALE
ALDI
A MEDIUM CORPORATION
CEGID
CEA (COMMISSARIAT A L’ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES NOUVELLES)
EURAPHARMA (CFAO group)
EUREDEN
GROUPAMA
LA POSTE GROUP
LIMAGRAIN
MONNOYEUR GROUP
MUTARES
OHM GAMES
PUIG
RENAULT
SANCARE
TUI
TUTELAIRE/ APRIL
Work highlights
- Advising the German discount distribution leader ALDI on the € 735m acquisition of LEADER PRICE in France from CASINO, i.e. the acquisition of approximately 600 stores, as well as warehouses, etc.
- Advised Cegid for the acquisition of ACA SOFTWARE, a company which offers flow management solutions in SaaS mode.
- Advised the group RENAULT on a joint venture with a specialist in electric mobility and solar energy to create MOBILIZE which will provide turnkey recharging solutions to help companies developing their fleets of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
August Debouzy
Practice head(s):
Gilles August; Pierre Descheemaeker; Valéry Denoix de Saint Marc; Julien Aucomte; Julien Wagmann; Jérôme Brosset
Key clients
Dassault
Meridiam
Bertelsmann
Veolia
Majorelle International
Alsid
Trigano
Laboratoires Grimberg
NK Group Limited
Thales
Total Energies
Total Nature Based Solutions
Argos Wityu
Orange
Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations
Société Bic
Adecco Groupe France
Work highlights
- Assisted a consortium including Meridiam and GIP with the carve out to be carried out for the acquisition of New Suez, in particular with respect to IP, key assets of the operation, and employment law considerations, as well as their M&A translation in the documentation.
- Advised Bertelsmann, a German media group, in connection with the conclusion of a put option agreement pertaining to the contemplated sale of 100% of Prisma Média, France’s leading print and digital media group, with twenty flagship magazine brands, to Vivendi, a French global content, media and communications group.
- Advised the founders of Laboratoires Majorelle in the context of its sale to investment fund EW Healthcare Partners.
CMS
Practice head(s):
Jean-Robert Bousquet; Christophe Blondeau
Other key lawyers:
Arnaud Hugot
Testimonials
‘Constructive with a tenacity to find solutions.’
‘Dedicated, available and therefore responsive.’
‘Apart from being good as M&A counsels, CMS people know that each business is special (tailor-made approach coupled with the specifics of M&A peculiarities) and what other law fields specialists can be useful to assist.’
‘Jean-Robert Bousquet is available, listens carefully to what clients have to say and is always straightforward in his advice. He also delivers the goods efficiently and adequately. His negotiation skills have been very useful to us.’
‘Responsive, competent team with all the required skills.’
‘Good English-speaking lawyers we could communicate with.’
Key clients
BIOGROUP
AGTA RECORD
NORDEX SE
AXA International New Markets
The second largest shareholder of DUTSCHER
RAMSAY SANTE
EUROFEU COMPANY
BPI FRANCE and LABELYS shareholders
BRITVIC
INFOGENE and its shareholders
EIFFAGE GROUP
SOFISPORT
KSB SAS
Work highlights
- Lead corporate adviser to Biogroup on the acquisition of the Belgian group Medina along with a reinvestment of the seller at Biogroup level.
- A sophisticated M&A process on behalf of Agta Record, as is usually a transaction which involves a private transaction on a listed company (such private transaction generating a public tender offer).
- Structuring, vendor due diligence, negotiation of the transactional documentation and obtaining third-party consents on behalf of Nordex SE.
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Practice head(s):
Jacques Naquet-Radiguet
Other key lawyers:
Georges Terrier
Key clients
LVMH
Millicom
Pernod Ricard
Solvay
Starwood Capital
TE Connectivity
Technip Energies
Tencent
Valeo
Work highlights
- Advised a Tencent-led consortium on its acquisition of an additional equity interest in Universal Music Group by exercising a call option to acquire an additional 10% equity stake in UMG from its parent company Vivendi, based on an enterprise value of €30bn.
- Advised Meridiam in connection with the signing, along with Global Infrastructure Partners and the CDC Group, of an agreement in principle with Suez and Veolia to form the long-term shareholding of New Suez.
- Advised Solvay, an advanced materials and specialty chemicals company, on its €1.6bn divestiture of its global polyamides business to BASF (€1.3bn) and, as required by the European Commission, to Domo Chemicals (€300m).
Dechert LLP
Practice head(s):
Alain Decombe; Ermine Bolot
Other key lawyers:
Delphin Boucher
Testimonials
‘Dechert delivered an exceptional level of service, both perfect from a point of view of the legal fundamentals associated with M&A operation, knowing how to bring an extraordinary creativity and experience throughout our project.’
‘Professionalism, experience and creativity constitute an alloy of skills, incredibly powerful, at a unique level in the place of Paris from my point of view, and absolutely decisive in a context of M&A operation.’
‘Ermine Bolot offers tailor-made support by taking into account and anticipating the specificities and needs of her client. At each stage of a project, the team is always responsive and a source of proposals to iron out difficulties.’
‘Ermine Bolot is an excellent professional. She always brings pragmatic solutions, she is very knowledgeable and always available and makes sure that the services rendered meet our high expectations.’
‘Delphin Boucher: very reliable and diligent. Strong understanding of client needs.’
‘Well-composed team with good coordination, efficient and rapid execution.’
‘Great mastery for each lawyer in his field. Alain Decombe is very business-oriented which makes things easier. Very good network that he puts to the benefit of his clients so that they develop more business.’
Key clients
Arkema
Air Liquide
Bénéteau
Crown
Groupe Bel
HysetCo / STEP
Pepsico
Seppic (an Air Liquide subsidiary)
Unibel
Virbac
Work highlights
- Advised Virbac in connection with several asset purchase agreements with Elanco Animal Health Inc. regarding certain components of their research programs and products.
- Advised Air Liquide France Industrie in connection with the sale of SUDAC Air Service, a subsidiary specialised in compressed air services for industrials, to Veolia Industries Global Solutions.
- Advised Crown Holdings, Inc. in connection with the sell its European Tinplate business to an affiliate of KPS Capital Partners, LP for €2.25bn.
Dentons
Practice head(s):
Olivier Genevois
Other key lawyers:
Pascal Chadenet; Catherine Joffroy; Ralf Nitschke; Pirouzan Parvine
Testimonials
‘Catherine Joffroy is an excellent lawyer, very responsive, business-oriented and very attentive to her clients.’
‘The practice is unique insofar as, in particular, the sense of listening is exceptional. This makes it possible to apprehend and understand the problems always in a relevant, efficient and sometimes creative way. The dematerialisation of processes and invoices are innovative and appreciated measures.’
‘Jean-Marc Grosperrin is a committed, precise and rigorous person. Available and straightforward, he is an excellent professional in his field. His technique and practice in M&A are impeccable.’
‘Competent, fast, reliable and persistent.’
‘The team is extremely competent, proactive, resolves all problems, has specialists in all subjects. A pleasure to work with them.’
‘A very useful ability to coordinate cross-border teams.’
‘Catherine Joffroy has the energy, the taste and the availability to effectively assist her clients.’
Key clients
Accor
AmRest
Anno 1969
Archimed
AVSimulation
Bayer
Biogaran
BPCE
C. Mertz Conseils
Dentsply-Sirona
Dradura
Dries Van Noten
EDF
Editions Lefebvre Sarrut
Emil Frey
Généthon
Géodis
Gilde Healthcare
KSL Capital Partners
Lactalis
Lesaffre
Lisi Group
Marietton Développement
Mayr-Melnhof Karton
Media 6
Nexira
Paref
Pfizer
Piquadro S.p.A.
Proseniors
PSA Group
Qair
Renault
Rio Tinto
Servier
Société Générale
The Hain Celestial Group Inc
Trèves S.A.S
Wavestone
Zentiva
Work highlights
- Advising KSL Capital Partners on the acquisition from the Loubet family of two hotel resorts, consisting of hotels and guest houses, in Lourmarin and Bonnieux as well as restaurants, including a 2-star Michelin restaurant, by way of company purchase, business and premises.
- Advised Geodis, a global transportation and logistics specialist, on its acquisition of Peakaes from Innova Capital.
- Advising Marietton Développement (Havas Voyages) on the acquisition of 100% stake in Le Monde à la Carte (Austral Lagons).
DLA Piper
Other key lawyers:
Simon Charbit; Sonia de Kondserovsky; Laurence Masseran
Testimonials
‘Very high quality expertise and business-oriented which make it possible to think (and win) a deal. The execution that follows is also very rigorous.’
‘Robust global coverage.’
‘Paris-based partner Simon Charbit fully understands our way of working and consistently delivers value.’
‘The DLA Piper team is very responsive and very reliable in their advice and guidance. This team guides you in your operations and you really feel advised and guided.’
Key clients
France Air
Société Générale
Medtronic France SAS
Pierre Fabre
Sopra Steria
Webhelp
Michelin
Bpifrance
ETEX Group
Haemonetics SA
Cushman & Wakefield International Limited
Fosun International Limited
Pacific Media Group Ltd (ASNL)
Algeco SAS
Pelsis Limited
AON
Kiloutou
Illumina, Inc
GoFLUENT
ALD SA
Work highlights
- Advising full fibre broadband operator G. Network in connection with a successful fundraising to invest over £1bn in rolling out connectivity in London.
- Advising Worldline on its acquisition of Handelsbanken’s SHBa.ST card-acquiring activities in the Nordic countries as it posted a rise in first-half core profit on the back of a post-lockdown recovery in its main markets.
- Advising Medtronic France SAS in the context of the acquisition of Medicrea International.
Eversheds Sutherland (France) LLP
Practice head(s):
Eric Knai
Other key lawyers:
Franck Bourgeois; Catherine Detalle
Key clients
Teledyne
Cube Infrastructure
Veolia
Transdev
Systra
Owens & Minor
EQT Ventures
Element Solutions
Work highlights
- Advised Owens & Minor on its sale of the Movianto group to EHDH, a company specialised in logistics and transport in the pharmaceutical sector.
- Advised Teledyne on its attempted acquisition of Photonis, a French high-profile strategic group operating mainly in the military sector, with manufacturing plants in Europe and in the US.
- Advised Element Solutions on its binding offer to acquire Coventya Holding SAS (Coventya) for circa €420m.
Fieldfisher
Practice head(s):
Philippe Netto
Other key lawyers:
Christopher Mesnooh; Jean-Baptiste Van de Voorde
Key clients
Computacenter
Autodistribution
Groupe Casino
DXC (ex CSC – Computer Sciences Corporation)
Cantabria Labs
Quotient (coupons.com)
Wavin France
Smart Energy
Groupe Indigo (INTM)
Excelya Group
Insight
Paradox Interactive
Glory Global Solutions (International) Ltd
Apivia Macif Mutuelle
Sonova
Hexagon AB
Work highlights
- Advising the Spanish pharmaceutical company Cantabria Labs on the acquisition by the RE group of the Elancyl brand, an expert body care brand and pioneer in anti-cellulite care.
- Advising Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence Division on the acquisition of CADLM, a leading French provider of applied technology to industry (data analysis, prediction, reduced models, optimisation, artificial intelligence, data fusion), based in Wissous, France.
- Advising Apivia Macif Mutuelle, with the assistance of longstanding client Swen Capital Partners, on a fundraising and partnership with Office Santé group and Banque des Territoires, to improve healthcare access to as many people as possible by reducing the number of medical deserts throughout France.
Goodwin
Practice head(s):
Maxence Bloch
Other key lawyers:
Thomas Maitrejean; Jérôme Jouhanneaud
Testimonials
‘Incredible availability. Very strong relationship of trust. Relevant and responsive advice. Pragmatic.’
‘The lawyers are very available and have good knowledge of our activity and technical competence.’
Key clients
Adista
Bruneau
Cerba Healthcare
Demand Science Group
Exclusive Networks
Novepan
OpusLine
Orolia
Plug Power
Rabot Dutilleul
Repligen Corporation
Rossignol
Salsify
SparingVision
Wiser Solutions, Inc
Zionexa
Work highlights
- Advising Zionexa and its shareholders on the sale of the group to GE Healthcare Holding, a leading global medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics and digital solutions innovator.
- Advising Plug Power Inc on the creation of a hydrogen mobility joint venture HyVia, with Renault Group.
- Advising Exclusive Networks on the acquisition of the entire distribution business of the Polish value-added distribution group Veracomp S.A..
Latournerie Wolfrom Avocats
Practice head(s):
Christian Wolfrom; Hervé Castelnau; Thibaut Kazémi; Pierre Lafarge
Testimonials
‘Hervé Castelnau is always very attentive to his clients.’
‘Strong expertise and understanding of the law. Well-reasoned and clear advice which is concise and to the point. Commercial approach to transactions.’
‘Pierre Lafarge was a pleasure to work with. He was extremely knowledgeable and able to convey his points clearly. He has a commercial mindset and was able to balance business interests and legal risks.’
‘The Latournerie Wolfrom Avocats M&A team offers unique quality, availability and operational understanding of issues, particularly in the telecoms, media and IT industries.’
‘The people of the M&A team who stand out are Thibaut Kazemi and Hervé Castelnau. Their expertise and experience in M&A is first rate. What is different: their understanding of operational and financial issues, allowing the documentation and legal sequencing to be adapted in all circumstances, and their availability.’
Key clients
Bobst Group SA
Focus Home Interactive
Euronext
Groupe Almage
ASGARD group
Orange SA
Mintee/Asacha Media Group
Tentamus Analytics GmbH
Terega SA
Symphony
Indorama
Sentelis
Groupe Cholet Dupont
SQLI
ADP
Althea/Atechsys
Oxygn
Agence France Presse
EXFO Inc.
HeliCoJyp
HMData Lab
Waga Energy
Askia
Mesdames Productions
SNCF Group
Asgard Group
Avesta
574 Invest
Arkos
mLogica
Proviridis
Lumenpulse
Work highlights
LPA-CGR avocats
Practice head(s):
Raphaël Chantelot; Julie Cittadini
Other key lawyers:
Philippe Raybaud; Frédéric Bailly; Florence Trognon-Dumain
Key clients
Orano
Symrise
Banques des Territoires
31Ten
IFMG (Impact Field Marketing Group)
iHealth
Unither Pharmaceuticals
Laboratoires Delbert
Arcelor Mittal
Mayer Brown
Practice head(s):
Guillaume Kuperfils; Emily Pennec
Other key lawyers:
Olivier Aubouin
Testimonials
‘Strengths: responsiveness and complementarity.’
‘Responsiveness, proactivity, friendliness and a pleasant attitude despite the pressure.’
Key clients
Acolad
Accor SA
Asacha Media
Chateauform
Epsa
Mediawan (and founders)
Messier & Associés (and founder)
Pernod Ricard
Sogal
UI Investissement
Panhard Group
Unilever
Work highlights
- Advised Mediawan-Leonine Studios (formerly BidCo Breteuil), a new holding company created by KKR and the founders of the French listed Media group Mediawan, on the launch of a tender offer on all Mediawan securities not held by Mediawan’s founders and MACSF.
- Advised Messier Maris & Associés and Jean-Marie Messier (founder) on the departure of his co-founder Erik Maris.
- Advising ACG Participations on the sale of its interest in Eurogerm, supplier of bread making ingredients for bakeries to Naxicap Partners.
McDermott Will & Emery AARPI
Other key lawyers:
Jacques Buhart; Bertrand Delafaye; Guillaume Kellner; Nicolas Lafont
Key clients
Cryoport Systems
Pierre Fabre
Juratoys
Récupération Valorisation Aluminium (‘RVA’)
Yposkesi
Gallimard/ Madrigall
Action Logement
Avison Young
Bridgepoint
Deluxe Media
Playrion
Tiller Systems
Ovrsea
Maïsadour and Groupe Aqualande
ESI Gorup
Work highlights
- Advised Pierre Fabre, a French pharmaceutical and dermo cosmetics group, on the sale of the brand Galénic, expert in face care, to Yatsen, a Chinese cosmetics company.
- Advised Yposkesi, 1st French pharmaceutical manufacturer dedicated to the production of gene and cell therapy drugs for rare diseases, on its acquisition by SK Holding, a South-Korean investment conglomerate.
- Represented the shareholders of Récupération Valorisation Aluminium (‘RVA’), a France-based specialist in salt slag recycling on the sale of RVA to US-based Real Alloy, a leading recycler of aluminum and light metals.
Norton Rose Fulbright
Practice head(s):
Bénédicte Denis
Other key lawyers:
Karine Montagut; Alain Malek
Key clients
Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel
Digiciel
LFIS Capital
Allianz SE
Allianz Africa
Axis Communications
TotalEnergies SE
Liberty Group
Work highlights
- Advised Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel and Euro-Information on the disposal to Bouygues Telecom of Euro-Information Telecom, the 5th French telecom operator, by Euro-Information, a group member of Crédit Mutuel, which resulted in Bouygues Telecom becoming the 3rd biggest French telecom operator.
- Advising LFIS Capital Partners on the entry of Canadian Walter Global Asset Management (GAM), a Canadian private placement platform specialising in the field of asset management, in the capital of the French company LFIS Capital, one of the main quantitative asset management companies in Europe.
- Advising Digicel, a Caribbean telecommunications operator, on the creation of its joint venture with the French group Iliad, owner of Free and Free Mobile, to establish a shared network in the French West Indies.
Peltier Juvigny Marpeau & Associés
Practice head(s):
Benoit Marpeau
Other key lawyers:
Julie Herzog
Testimonials
‘The team is very solid, always available and the quality of its work is excellent. Very pragmatic and always in a good mood. Prices in the market, but without excess.’
‘Benoit Marpeau is quite simply amazing: always available, capable of an enormous workload, true leader of his team, very pragmatic with a high negotiation capacity and persuasive, the work done is always of a high level and finally very nice and full of humor which allows him not to take himself too seriously. For me one of the very best advocates of the Paris market practice.’
‘Highly available and efficient team. Lawyers who handle a very wide range of cases, from the simplest to the most complex, with a lot of commitment and rigour.’
‘Very high responsiveness and intelligence to deal with complex subjects.’
‘Small, but very complementary team, with a seamless service.’
‘The partner Benoit Marpeau is very available and accessible and has an excellent mastery of M&A subjects. He is effectively supported by his staff, including Solène Thomas, who demonstrates calm and efficiency.’
‘Benoit Marpeau’s team has become essential in a few years in Paris. Their technicality and responsiveness are at the level of the best teams in the market, and they add an excellent relationship with clients.’
‘Benoit Marpeau manages to reconcile in a rare way the qualities of a formidable negotiator and a very sharp technician.’
Key clients
Casino
Indigo
Impala
Agrial
Compagnie des Alpes
Séché Environnement
Altarea Cogedim
Altran Technologies
HSBC
Poclain
Agora Technologies
Lov Group
Content Square
Mirakl
Apax Partners
Work highlights
- Advising Groupe Casino in the context of a €735m transaction: sale to the Aldi group of 545 Leader Price stores, 2 Casino supermarkets and 3 warehouses.
- Advising Indigo Group, the world-leading car parking and individual mobility group, in the context of two different but linked acquisitions (off-street parking activities of Transdev Group and parking concessions and long-term leases portfolio of Covivio).
- Advising Groupe Séché Environnement in the context of the acquisition of eight waste collection and sanitation centers of the Véolia group.
Pwc Société d'Avocats
Practice head(s):
Yannick Olivier; Thomas Bortoli
Other key lawyers:
Christophe Guénard; Gilles Semadeni
Testimonials
‘Ability to mobilise a multi-specialist team quickly.’
Key clients
Bouygues Telecom
AG2R la Mondiale
Ortec Groupe
Malakoff Humanis
Korian
Mobivia
Vivendi SA
Medisys
Cémoi
Futjitsu Limited
Work highlights
- Assisted Ebro Foods with the disposal of its pasta, rice, couscous activities (under Panzani Brand) to CVC Capital Partners.
- Provided full Legal M&A assistance (SPA, negotiation and drafting of the legal documentation, legal and IPIT due diligence) for Futjitsu Limited in relation with the disposal of Run My Process, a digital cloud platform, to Akorbi Digital.
- Advised Keyyo, a subsidiary of Bouygues Telecom Entreprises specializing in video assistance solutions for VSEs and SMEs, in relation with the acquisition of Apizee.
Racine
Practice head(s):
Maud Bakouche; Jean-Christophe Beaury; Bruno Cavalié; Mélanie Coiraton; Luc Pons; Marie Pouget
Testimonials
‘Recommended for their knowledge and experience in the field of M&A and also the importance that they direct to the finer details in their negotiation strategy.’
Key clients
Iris Knobloch, Groupe Artemis et Combat Holding
AG2R La Mondiale
Axtom
Montana Aerospace
Ellisphere
La Maison Bleue
Lucca
MVVH
Mediawan
2MX Organic
Samfi Invest
Orange Bank
Suez
Alliance Champagne
Composite One
Knauf
Perial
Bridgepoint
Adeo
Coopérative Régionale des Vins de Champagne
Work highlights
- Advising the founders Iris Knobloch, Artemis Group and Combat Holding on the creation of the first European special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) dedicated to the entertainment and leisure industry, I2PO.
- Advising Montana Aerospace, a global player in the aerospace sector, on the acquisition of 90% of Cefival, a manufacturer of special extruded profiles for the aerospace and energy industries, from Siderval S.p.A, a subsidiary of the Italian group Calvi.
- Advising Suez in the context of the takeover bid by Veolia on the group, intervening on the order preventing the filing of the takeover bid, the seizure of article 145 and the commitment of amicability.
Sekri Valentin Zerrouk
Practice head(s):
Franck Sekri; Géraud de Franclieu; Pierre-Emmanuel Chevalier
Testimonials
‘Independent firm offering quality services.’
‘Proximity of teams – Continuity of relationships – expertise and network.’
‘They were were decisive in the negotiations and the outcome of any strategic issues.’
Key clients
SPIE GROUPE
IN GROUPE
IM GLOBAL PARTNER
MMS – JRI – CIET
PARIS SOCIETY
TURENNE CAPITAL
LBO FRANCE
SELLERS AND MANAGERS OF LIMONETIK
ZOUARI FAMILY
VALTUS
ALL IN FOODS
EMEFIN
Work highlights
- Advised Valtus on the acquisition of Nordic Interim Sweden and Nordic Interim Finland.
- Advisd Spie Group on multiple transactions.
- Advised Turenne on several acquisitions and disposals.
Veil Jourde
Veil Jourde
Practice head(s):
François de Navailles; Géraud Saint Guilhem; Laurent Jobert
Other key lawyers:
Jean Veil
Key clients
Lagardère
Alès Groupe
Perceva Capital
Jacquet Metal Service
Publicis
Albada Jelgersma Family
Covivio
G2C – Champeau
Mazarine
Novencia
Foncière Numérique
Work highlights
- Advised Alès Group on judicial reorganisation and the sale of its cosmetics groups to Impala.
- Advised Covivio Hotels on its share capital increase via an offering of preferential subscription rights to existing shareholders.
- Advised the Albada Jelgersma Family on the cession of Château du Tertre (Great classified growth Margaux since 1855) to a French insurance group, operation entrusted to the Helfrich Family, founders of Les grands Chais de France.
Viguié Schmidt & Associés
Practice head(s):
Fabrice Veverka
Other key lawyers:
Nicolas Viguié; Yves Schmidt
Testimonials
‘Impeccable responsiveness, availability, technicality, whatever the complexity of the file (listed/unlisted, international, foreign rights).’
‘Relationship of trust with Fabrice Veverka who knows how to support a corporate over time.’
Key clients
PPF Group
Alstom
Unify (TF1 Group)
M6
Galeries Lafayette
Groupe Cahors
Mediawan
Danone
Saint-Gobain
HiPay Group
Crédit Agricole / CASA
SNCF / Geodis
Amaury Group
Sonepar
Work highlights
- Acting as sole counsel to PPF Group in connection with its acquisition, through a joint venture formed with Bénéteau Group, of a controlling stake in Dream Yacht Charter.
- Advising Alstom on several complex disposal required as a consequence of the acquisition of the rail business of Bombardier Transportation.
- Advised the board of directors of Suez S.A. on the combination with Veolia S.A.
Villey Girard Grolleaud
Practice head(s):
Pascale Girard; Daniel Villey; Frédéric Grillier
Testimonials
‘Efficient, motivated professionals.’
‘In a complex situation the team demonstrated exceptional tenacity and a remarkable capacity for initiative to move the file forward. This made a transaction possible, the action of our board was decisive.’
‘Daniel Villey is a high-class professional, combining a lively intelligence and an extraordinary knowledge of files. He also knows how to tell his client what he doesn’t want to hear, arguably the most valuable quality in a lawyer.’
‘Very pragmatic and efficient team. Business vision, which I consider very important, in the analysis of legal documentation, and not just from a legal point of view.’
‘We particularly appreciate Fréderic Grillier.’
‘High availability of partners, ability to become personally involved in files.’
‘VGG’s mergers-acquisitions team combines very high-level technical qualities, on all aspects of an acquisition transaction, including financial aspects, with a real method of identifying the major points to arbitrate in negotiations with the opposing party. This pragmatic and rigorous approach allows rapid progress in the negotiation of deals, in total security.’
‘Frédéric Grillier combines great availability with perfect technical ease. He knows perfectly how to prioritise negotiation points and anticipate with the opposing party what will pose a problem for his client and what can be discussed. He is therefore both an excellent technical expert and an indispensable partner in negotiations.’
Key clients
Conforama
Abénex Capital
Bpifrance
Lafuma
FDJ
Vallourec
Hachette Livre
Groupe Bordeaux Nord Aquitaine
Carrefour
Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations
Clarins
Famille C (famille Courtin Clarins)
Stellantis
Suez
Winston & Strawn LLP
Practice head(s):
Jérôme Herbet
Other key lawyers:
Jean-Patrice Labautière; Sara Susnjar; Nicola Di Giovanni; Julie Vern Cesano-Couffrant
Testimonials
‘W&S lawyers specialising in M&A have great business acumen and a global vision of cases. They are very involved and devoted to their clients, making them real partners of the companies they support. The success of operations is very important to them. A recent sale was carried out brilliantly, to my greatest satisfaction.’
‘Jérôme Herbet is very client-oriented. He is intelligent, pragmatic, available and sympathetic.’
‘Friendly team and close to its clients. Good analysis.’
‘Jérome Herbet is very talented, with rare intellectual flexibility. He finds solutions to any problem.’
Key clients
ACON Investments
Danfoss
MedEuropa
Croix-Rouge Française
Motorola Solutions, Inc.
I@D International
Aliactor
Chart Industries, Inc.
Double A
Amphenol Corporation
Teréga
Work highlights
- Advised Motorola Solutions, Inc in connection with its acquisition of Pelco, Inc., a video surveillance specialist.
- Advised la Croix-Rouge Française in connection with the acquisition by Cofinimmo of a stake in a real estate company.
- Advised Amphenol Corporation in connection with its acquisition of Positronic Industries, Inc., including Positronic Industries SAS.
Bignon Lebray
Practice head(s):
Edouard Waels
Other key lawyers:
Thomas Buffin; Florence Dedieu; Alexandre Ghesquière; Neil Roberston
Testimonials
‘Edouard Waels brings a pragmatic approach to cases.’
Key clients
Vivendi
Fnac-Darty
Arthur Loyd
Groupe Manpower
Nactis Flavour
Delsey
Satys
Altima
Capital Croissance
Arjowiggins
Atlantic Dawn
Sighor
Happiness Capital
Wine Bankers
ITP
Kuehne + Nagel
La Revanche des Sites / Meet your Date
ESRI
NH Hotels
Aptea
Distell
Fedrus International
WayKonect
Work highlights
- Acted for Nactis Flavours, the French and Belgian leader in the production and distribution of aromatic raw materials, food flavourings and aromatic and functional ingredients for the food industry, on the sale of its stake to the Italian company Nactarome S.p.A.
- Advised the historical partners of 3D Soft in relation to the sale of the company specialising in the organisation, production and operation management for car dealerships, to Bee2link.
- Advised on an MBO of Arjowiggins.
Franklin
Practice head(s):
Yam Atallah; Alexandre Marque
Other key lawyers:
Lionel Lesur; Numa Rengot; Antoine Fouassier
Testimonials
‘The team demonstrates impressive speed of analysis and execution. The challenges and needs are well integrated, in a dynamic dealmaker fashion that is much appreciated.’
‘Numa Rengot, Yam Atallah and Antoine Fouassier in particular are intellectually able to integrate all business issues. Their negotiating and analytical skills are very strong and highly appreciated during negotiations.’
Key clients
Ace Capital Partners (Tikehau Group)
Altice
Eclosing
ENI
Gefran
Groupe Magellim
Guest First
Luminultra Technologies
Sprint Group
Zur Rose Group
Work highlights
- Advising Altice on the acquisition of MVNO Afone Participations.
- Advising Ace Capital Partners on its acquisition of Brown Europe from Eramet.
- Advising Biotech Investissement on the sale of its subsidiary Diaclone to Finland-based, Medix Biochemica and in the establishment of commercial agreements between Diaclone and RD-Biotech, another subsidiary of the Biotech Investissement group.
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
Practice head(s):
Dana Anagnostou; Alexandre Omaggio; Sébastien Pontillo
Testimonials
‘Sébastien Pontillo and his team provide high-quality, creative, sharp, domestic & cross border support to their clients within very short timelines. Things cannot go wrong with him.’
Key clients
Arcure
Atos
Domidep
Oodrive
Ossiam
Voodoo
Work highlights
- Advised Atos in the acquisition of Econocom Digital Security.
- Advised Oodrive in the sale of a majority interest in CertEurope to InfoCert, owned by Tinexta.
- Advised Domidep in the acquisition of the control of Groupe Almage, and their partnership agreement with the founders (family Saillon).
AyacheSalama
Practice head(s):
Bernard Ayache; Olivier Tordjman
Other key lawyers:
David Ayache; Gwenaëlle de Kerviler; Alain Levy
Key clients
Louis Capital Market (LCM)
Harris, N. Computer Corporation
Paine Schwartz Partners – FoodChain ID
ESRI France
Refresco
Chausson Matériaux
D & A / D & A Corporate Finance
Groupe Holder
TDF
CompuGroup Medical (CGM)
Volaris Group Inc.
Reed Smith
Practice head(s):
Marc Fredj; Guilain Hippolyte; Isabelle MacElhone; Caroline Ledoux
Testimonials
‘The partner (Marc Fredj) was completely dedicated with a very pragmatic approach. Great responsiveness.’
‘Marc Fredj has a very professional approach, totally dedicated to serving his client. Reliable and rigorous. Responsive and proactive team, good understanding of the sector, excellent pragmatic approach, attentive to client expectations and business needs.’
‘Marc Fredj is a remarkable lawyer, attentive, responsive, of exemplary professionalism. He puts legal tools at the service of business and operational needs.’
‘Pragmatism and efficiency in negotiations. Excellent knowledge of the industry and usual market practices, including recent transactions.’
Archers A.A.R.P.I.
Other key lawyers:
Mark Richardson; Marc Baffreau; Audrey Wendling; Céline Maironi-Persin
Key clients
Assa Abloy
SEGRO
K&L Gates LLP
Practice head(s):
Raphaël Bloch
Testimonials
‘Young team, experienced, eager to get market share in the competitive French market. Has a good deal flow from their international network.’
‘Raphael Bloch is experienced, flexible on pricing, well structured and available 24/7. Great professional to work with.’
‘Very proactive and attentive in the follow-up and negotiations of the cases in which we are supported. A real pleasure to have been able to collaborate with them and to have been able to benefit from their experience.’
‘Raphael Bloch is a partner who is not only an expert in his field, but also a true business partner. He directly understands the needs of our business, and only stops when we reach our goals! A real asset.’
Key clients
Nielsen
AR24
ChannelAdvisor Corporation
DDW Inc.
Masraf Al Rayan QSC
Work highlights
- Assisting Nielsen with the acquisition of 100% a French growth company specialising in the development of digital efficiency measurement solutions intended for advertisers.
- Assisting the founders of French tech company, AR24, specialising in the electronic registered letter, with the sale of a majority stake to Docaposte (sub of French state postal group La Poste).
- Advising the American food colouring company DDW Inc. on its investment in the French company Fermentalg (convertible bonds / listed shares) as well as on the establishment of a strategic partnership.
FIDAL
Practice head(s):
Alain François Cheneau; Mathilde Dubois
Other key lawyers:
Olivier Josset; Vianney Soudant; Anne Mehu; Joanna Candelier; Antoine Gelle
Testimonials
‘The team has a very good knowledge of the market and its transformation and is excellent at negotiations.’
‘Their market knowledge makes them stand out, as does the confidence and capabilities of the partners.’
‘A competent and multidisciplinary team, able to answer all of my questions both on the legal and fiscal plans of the operation but also on the personal impacts.’
‘Excellent technical mastery coupled with a strong ability to understand the human stakes of the operation. A relationship of trust has been established between Fidal’s teams and ours. Vianney Soudant and Antoine Gellé pay attention to our wishes.’
Key clients
KONICA MINOLTA INC
Work highlights
- Advised KONICA MINOLTA on the acquisition of part of the shares held by the Managers of MGI (listed on Euronext Growth).
Valther
Practice head(s):
Velin Valev; Bruno Fiacre
Key clients
LEBONCOIN
ACTUAL LEADER GROUP
GROUPE BURRUS
PROVALLIANCE
CARIBBEAN CINEMAS
CHAPSVISION
HONOTEL
ASCORA
SACCOF PACKAGING
ABEO
Work highlights
- Advised the Group Burrus on its merger with Siaci Saint Honoré.
- Advised the Fayat group on the acquisition of Dulevo International S.p.A.
- Advised FIMAR group on the carve-out and sale of parts of its real estate activities to the minority shareholder of the company.
Alerion
Practice head(s):
Pierre-Olivier Brouard; Christophe Gerschel; Vincent Poirier; Antoine Rousseau
Key clients
BIGBEN Interactive
Ponticelli
Bureau Vallée
Labelium
Isatis Capital
Margo Conseil
Bolloré SE
NACON
The Blockchain Group
Groupe Cyllene
Bee up Capital
Groupe Médiamétrie
Faurecia
Work highlights
- Assisted Santarelli and its shareholders with an LBO in the process of creating the Santarelli group.
- Assistance to Groupe Bolloré with the acquisition of a majority stake of the French start-up Ovrsea.
- Acted for Médiamétrie Group Capital on the acquisition of 2.4 % stake by Orange.
Almain
Practice head(s):
Edgard Nguyen; Cécile Davanne-Mortreux; Stéphanie de Robert Hautequère
Testimonials
‘A tight team in terms of staff, but very versatile, able to intervene in classic M&A as well as in private equity.’
‘Cécile Davanne-Mortreux relies on flawless technique to identify the practical solutions most suited to her clients. Edgard Nguyen is an excellent negotiator, extremely pragmatic.’
‘Almain is an excellent choice of firm for small/mid-size operations. Hourly rates are reasonable and the assistance provided is of a high standard. The team is very responsive and extremely invested alongside its clients.’
‘We work with Cécile Davanne-Mortreux, who demonstrates great technical expertise and mastery of M&A operations, she also has an excellent ability to understand and apprehend our business challenges, which makes her a strategic partner for our M&A operations.’
‘Almain’s M&A team meets all the expectations of a legal director: expertise and responsiveness at reasonable hourly rates. The work provided is of high quality, with a remarkable ability of the team to listen and adapt to the constraints of his client to achieve the objectives he seeks.’
‘Cécile Davanne-Mortreux is impressive in the quality of her advice and the production of contractual documents. Her perfect mastery of acquisition operations allows her to provide expert advice that precisely guides his client towards the right choices.’
‘Availability, very professional teams, and ‘straight to the point’.’
‘Edgard Nguyen is an outstanding negotiator who knows the practice of the market. He is also very creative on the files, and always finds the appropriate solutions so that the operations can succeed.’
Key clients
Bpifrance Investissement
Société Générale
EDP Renovaveis
EIM Capital
OpenGate Capital
Capza
Etoile Capital
Maisons Options
Perwyn
Argynnis Group (formerly Binar AB)
Omnes Capital
Mirabaud Patrimoine Vivant
EPC SA
Kol
Gaztransport & Technigaz
Unexo
Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations
Maxburg Capital Partners
Alten
Econocom
In Vivo
Jardiland
Gamm Vert
Axens
Work highlights
- Advising Société Générale on the acquisition of tech company Reezocar.
- Advising Maxburg Capital Partners on a BIMBO on SMH Equipment, AB Equipment and Agirent for one of its portfolio companies.
- Advising EIM Capital on the acquisition of Bonna Sabla from Consolis, a portfolio company of Bain Capital
Ashurst LLP
Practice head(s):
Noam Ankri; Anne Reffay; Vincent Trevisani; François Hellot
Key clients
wpd Offshore
Ophiliam
Octopus Renewables
Coup Mobility
Kasada Hospitality Fund
Opera Tech Ventures S.L.P.
Soludec
Dexia Crédit Local
ALD
Castlelake and Melcombe
Work highlights
- Advised Ophiliam on the sale of its majority shareholding in Volta, a French independent green power producer, to Eiffel Investment Group.
- Advised Kasada Hospitality Fund on the acquisition from AccorInvest Group and SEORIM of a majority stake in companies operating 8 hotels in Cameroun, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire.
- Advised Agilitas in the context of the acquisition of TenCate Advanced Armour Group.
Astura
Practice head(s):
Raphaël Dalmas
Testimonials
‘Very versatile M&A practice. Multisectoral. Team working with great efficiency (among themselves and for the needs of the client). Listening skills and strength of proposal – which save a lot of time (internally, with the client, with the counterparty lawyer and the counterparties).’
‘Raphaël Dalmas: good advice on the decision of points to be agreed on or not in negotiation.’
‘Raphaël Dalmas has shown exceptional leadership within the framework of this project. Very good ability to persuade, empathise and listen. His contributions are always impactful and constructive. He knows how to say no when needed with the necessary authority and courtesy.’
‘Astura immediately understands the stakes of a transaction, the expectations of the client and quickly and efficiently delivers a high-quality ‘work product’. The team is extremely responsive and available. The legal advice is of high quality, technically and commercially. We value the independence and structure of the firm, which often allows for the rapid elimination of conflict-related constraints and the cost-efficient approach to the client. The service provided by the firm is nevertheless often much superior to that provided by Anglo-Saxon or French firms in Paris. Their flexible approach in terms of fee structure is highly appreciated.’
‘Raphaël Dalmas is a brilliant, extremely intelligent lawyer, well-versed in M&A matters, be they simple or complex. His advice allows you to quickly solve the problems of a transaction. His exceptional legal culture and holistic approach also allow him to raise (and resolve) points that are neither obvious nor very often identified by traditional M&A lawyers. His pragmatism allows him to be efficient and concrete. Furthermore, Raphael’s character and sense of humour make him an extremely pleasant interlocutor.’
‘Astura combines a strong demand for excellence in operational and financial results for its clients, impeccable ethics, a relationship of trust and daring in projects.’
‘Multidisciplinary team, dynamic, sharp, available, demonstrating a great technical expertise and very close to its clients.’
‘Raphaël Dalmas is an outstanding lawyer: available, human, innovative, technically irreproachable, he knows how to put his client in confidence thanks to ‘tailor-made’ advice. He is also a real ‘dealmaker’ whatever the type and size of the files.’
Key clients
Vista Bank Group
Boats Group
CDC
HISI
Work highlights
- Advised the Vista Bank Group on two major transactions in Western Africa: the acquisition of BNP Paribas’ subsidiaries in Burkina Faso and Guinea.
- Advised the Boats Group on the acquisition of the leading boating marketplaces in the Netherlands, Botentekoop.nl, Boten.nl and Botenbank.nl, from Arimpex Media Solutions.
- Advised a leader in digital transformation in the context of a complex corporate re-organisation, including with respect to the exit of a minority shareholder.
BG2V
Practice head(s):
Jérôme Albertin; Roland Gueny; Hervé de Kervasdoue; Stanislas Richoillez; Camille de Verdelhan
Testimonials
‘Speed. Efficiency. Good commercial sense.’
‘The BG2V team and especially Hervé de Kervasdoue are very competent, responsive and understandable. In addition, he understands all the subtleties of Anglo-Saxon law. He only charges a fair price for the work done and always makes himself available.’
Key clients
METROPOLE TELEVISION (M6)
CAISSE DES DEPOTS ET CONSIGNATIONS
MOVE PUBLISHING
PLEIADE INVESTMENT
RGREEN
NEWFUND
INNOVAFONDS
SIPAREX
GENERALE DU SOLAIRE
NEXTSTAGE SCA
GROUPE FAYAT
DROUOT
KPH
SOPIC
GENETEC
GROUPE FAUBOURG
PHYSITEK DEVICES
EASIWARE
ELEPHANT AT WORK
CA C’EST PARIS
POTAGER CITY
VENTE-UNIQUE.COM
AÉROPLAST INDUSTRIES
SERVEURCOM
CAFOM SA
GROUPE SARTORIUS
LA CABANE DES BAMBINS
GROUPE DIVALTO
ACADEMAIL
INTERPUBLIC GROUP
ETUDES ET TRAVAUX D’ARMOR
RECHERCHES EXPLORATION PRODUITS
GROUPE DUVAL
SOCIÉTÉ NATIONALE DE DIFFUSION
IVC EVIDENSIA FRANCE
BUILDERS & PARTNERS
UNYC
AEROPLAST INDUSTRIES
COOPERATIVE AXEREAL
DIVALTO
LA CASA
ORFEOR
PHIXEN
QUIETALIS
ALTAVIA
ONEFIELD
Work highlights
- Acting as lead counsel in connection with 95% of the acquisitions in France by the IVC EVIDENSIA group of veterinary clinics.
- Assisted M6 with negotiating the sale of HSS to STARS, a company which acquired previously the teleshopping activities of TF1.
- Assisted Quiétalis with the acquisition of Sopreco with the support of Pléiade Investissement.
Bird & Bird
Practice head(s):
Emmanuelle Porte; Gildas Louvel
Other key lawyers:
David Malcoiffe; Anne-Cécile Hansson; Bertrand Lévy; Carole Bodin
Testimonials
‘Very good mastery of files and autonomy in monitoring. Good contact and responsiveness.’
‘Carole Bodin – deal maker; good technique and very good contact; careful follow-up of the file; reasoned and efficient delegation.’
Key clients
BPI (Fonds SPI)
Groupe PSA (now Stellantis following merger with FCA)
PIXIUM VISION
Sparing Vision
IMPLANET
Ahlstrom-Munksjö
Celeste
Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations
SUEZ
SVP Group
Covetrus
NovAlix
Work highlights
- Assisted Groupe PSA (PSA Automobiles SA and Opel Gmbh) with setting up a joint venture, Automotive Cells Company (ACC), with Total/Saft, dedicated to the production of batteries for electric vehicles.
- Advising Fonds SPI on the sale of its stake in Yposkesi (together with H-MRB, from the AFM-Téléthon group, seller as well) to SK Pharmteco (South-Korean industrial).
- Advising Celeste, a French optical fiber operator, on two acquisitions: Groupe Stella, a regional optical fiber operator and Oceanet Technology, a regional optical fiber and data center operator.
Coblence Avocats
Practice head(s):
Alexandre Brugière; Ludovic Dorès; Marion Fabre
Key clients
ZUCCHETTI
RCD EXCEPT
BIOGROUPE
HUMANS4HELP
LE DELAS
CTS COMPUTER AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS
UNIGRAINS
BUGBUSTERS
Work highlights
- Advising the Italian group Zucchetti (software, hardware and services for companies) in connection with the acquisition of the French software editor DVSI.
- Advising Humans4Help (French company located in Europe, UK, North and South America specialised in intelligent automation for companies) in connection with the acquisition of Little Big Smala (French innovative digital studio).
Cohen Amir-Aslani
Practice head(s):
Gérard Cohen; Ardavan Amir-Aslani; Karine Fitau; David Amiach
Key clients
Inetum (ex GFI Informatique)
SPIE Batignolles
Altavia Group
Aciernet
Zenika
VAP EXPRESS
Komax
Zapa
Cita Investissement
Jimmy Fairly
Groupe Furnotel
OkiVét
Cornet Vincent Ségurel
Other key lawyers:
Alexis Marchand; Pierre Lamidon; Adrien Debré; Emmanuel Mansillon; René-Pierre Andlauer
Key clients
UI Gestion
Crédit Mutuel Equity
Eurazeo PME
Unexo
Euralis Semences
Arthur D. Little
Berlin Packaging
China Jianyin Investment (JIC)
Delsol Avocats
Practice head(s):
Séverine Bravard; Henri-Louis Delsol; Jean-Philippe Delsol; Philippe Dumez; Pierre Gougé; Emmanuel Kaeppelin; Philippe Malikian; Manuel Wingert
Testimonials
‘The team is pragmatic and client-oriented as well as attentive to our requests.’
‘The people care about a job well done and their clients’ satisfaction.’
‘Recognised expertise is provided by Philippe Dumez and his associates.’
‘The Delsol team is a particularly competent, committed and efficient team. In a complex and highly regulated process, we felt confident and benefited from very proactive support which guided us, giving us a clear view of the stages and deadlines. We particularly appreciated not having any surprises on the aspect managed by the Delsol team.’
‘The Delsol team was particularly committed and supportive, making us feel confident throughout the process. Their mastery of the various subjects allowed us to avoid surprises and to finalise the project as initially planned (excluding surprises from other actors). I particularly appreciated the support and competence of Maître Pierre Gougé.
‘Henri-Louis Delsol and his team have always been extremely responsive and available. Getting straight to the point, there are few convolutions, allowing rapid progress on the files. The advice of the Delsol teams is at the expected level and separates things between the essential and the accessory.’
Key clients
Amplexor
Bage
BMG
Bollinger
Dentsu France
DocuSign France
Dupi MGA Invest
EDH
Fareneït
Geopost / DPD
Hellowork
LSDH
LumApps
Minet Lacing Technology
Groupe Télégramme
New MT / King Jouet
Novadis
Plath
Promoval
Santé Cie
Serge Ferrari
Toptex Cube
Union Générale des Placements
Work highlights
- Advised Amplexor group on the acquisition of Amplexor Business Services by Hivest Capital Partners.
- Advised Dentsu on the assignment of three of its activities.
- Advised Union Générale des Placements on the entry of Primonial in its capital.
FTPA
Practice head(s):
Nathalie Younan
Other key lawyers:
Sylvain Clérambourg
Key clients
Veolia Group
CNES
Retail Robotics
JCDecaux
Quodagis
Geveko Markings
Grant Thornton Société d’Avocats
Practice head(s):
Stéphane Bénézant
Other key lawyers:
Marc Huynh
Testimonials
‘Stéphane Benezant is recommended for his expertise and knowledge of the practices of large groups.’
‘Very good relationship established with the target, high-quality due diligence and in excellent cooperation with the target company, excellent analytical ability and to respond to the client’s needs, adaptability during the process to be as close as possible to the client’s needs.’
‘Grant Thornton is a very good firm, very close to the partner in charge of the acquisition file as well as the associates (very flexible and collaborative). A very appreciable ability to adapt, especially in remote work with sometimes very short processing times. Very appreciable simplicity of processing the tasks to be accomplished as well.’
‘It was a real pleasure to work with Stéphane Benezant and his team. Very flexible and very close to his client and his team, the acquisition file went very well. His flexibility in the work and exchanges with his client allowed the file to go smoothly and also in very good communication, which is essential in M&A where communication between teams (firm/company) is very important.’
‘Strong presence and detailed and precise support.’
‘They listen and adjust according to the needs of the industry.’
‘Ability to provide a tailor-made response, adapted to the specificities of the project. Ability to respond to unforeseen demands with precision, responsiveness and availability. A multidisciplinary firm with transversal skills.’
‘In addition to their experience and recognised competence, the essential differentiating characteristics and much appreciated by Stéphane Bénézant and his team lie in their availability and responsiveness. Note also a remarkable ability to adapt, particularly with regard to the personality of each interlocutor concerned by the project.’
Key clients
SUEZ SMART SOLUTIONS
TIMETONIC
VINCI CONSTRUCTION
RICOH IMAGING EUROPE
KAWANTECH
EURAZEO
IK INVESTMENT PARTNERS
FENWICK LINDE
MULTICROISSANCE
ALLIANCE ENTREPRENDRE
SCHINDLER FRANCE
SUD CROISSANCE
CLOUDIXIO
Work highlights
- Advised French Investment fund EURAZEO in relation to the acquisition of the investment fund Kurma Partners, specialized in biotechnologies.
- Advised SUEZ SMART SOLUTIONS, a subsidiary of the SUEZ Group, in relation to the acquisition of Hydrelis, a French manufacturer of a water breaker which automatically cuts the inflow of water in case of leakage or pipe bursts.
- Advised SCHINDLER FRANCE, the French subsidiary of the SCHINDLER Group which manufactures lifts and elevators, in relation to the acquisition of Automat Ascenseurs.
HPML
Practice head(s):
Thomas Hermetet; Nada Sbaï; Aurélie Bonsch
Testimonials
‘I salute their ability to adapt their processes to the specificities of SME acquisitions, in order to take into account the sometimes very specific requirements/wishes.’
‘Aurélie Bonsch is very available, flexible and efficient.’
Key clients
SERB
VENUS MEDICAL
GROUPE RC
GROUPE IMX
PROPRIETES.COM
GROUPE PENELOPE
ERGALIS
SOFILAB
GROUPE ORYX
ALLIANCE ENTREPRENDRE
FINANCIERE FONDS PRIVES
CHARTERHOUSE
MOMENTUM INVEST
CICLAD
DEMETER VENTURES / TARGA CAPITAL / IRPAC DEVELOPPEMENT (UI GESTION)
UI Investissement, IRPAC, ESFIN Gestion, BTP Capital Investissement, Bpifrance
DEMETER
Somat
Work highlights
- Advising SERB’s founder on the investment of Partners Group and Mérieux in the Group and for the acquisition of Boston Scientific, BTG Specialty Pharmaceuticals for a cash consideration of $800m.
- Advising Sofilab 5 in connection with its takeover of Bayle-Industries and CK-Industries.
- Advising Venus Medical partners on the sale of Nicesoft to Softway Medical Group.
Joffe & Associés
Practice head(s):
Aymeric Dégremont; Virginie Belle; Romain Soiron; Thomas Saltiel; Thomas Lepeytre
Testimonials
‘Efficiency, pragmatism and adaptability.’
‘Availability, subtlety and involvement.’
Key clients
LA COMPAGNIE DES VETERINAIRES
FOUNTAINE PAJOT
FRENCHFOOD CAPITAL
Bpifrance
SIPAREX
DACO BELLO
PLENITUDE
ESSLING CAPITAL
COMPAGNIE DU CATAMARAN
MessageBird
GENEO CAPITAL
A PLUS FINANCE
HEROÏKS
Work highlights
- Advising managers and sellers on the sale of their shares in the Cie des Vétérinaires, in addition to a substantial investment in the company. Matter value: €150-250m.
- Advising Bpifrance on the sale of Ovrsea, an online platform for organising international transport, to Groupe Bolloré, one of the leaders in traditional freight. Matter value: €50-150m.
- Advising Daco Bello, holding a leading position in France on the healthy snacking market, on the acquisition of Balarama, a specialist in nutritional bars.
Koehler-Magne Serres
Practice head(s):
Lionel Koehler-Magne
Other key lawyers:
François Serres; Christine Bougis-Stentz
Testimonials
‘To work with François Serres is always a satisfying experience: his answers come quickly, are precise and complete and his suggestions are perfect. We will continue to work with him certainly.’
Key clients
Danone
Red Bull
Citeo
Livelihood Fund
Sylvan Inc.
Kronenbourg
Sharp Corporation
Arrow Food
Corteva Agroscience
Courrèges
Osborne Clarke
Practice head(s):
Catherine Olive; David Haccoun
Testimonials
‘The Osborne Clarke team is always available and proactive. It is distinguished by the in-depth knowledge of our group and its sector of activity as well as the quality of the client relationship.’
‘David Haccoun, Catherine Olive and Anne-Laure Laroussinie are particularly accessible and very constructive in our M&A operations.’
‘Very good quality/price ratio: high-quality service by professionals from more expensive firms who have retained their initial qualities at more controlled prices. Fairly developed network of correspondents outside of France and role of facilitator of the Paris office with this network.’
‘David Haccoun: dynamism, spontaneity in the relationship, direct implications in the files with if necessary support of one or two people maximum, but avoiding duplication or re-invoicing linked to exchanges between partners/associates.’
Key clients
CAPGEMINI
Warburg Pincus
Ambienta
onepoint
Groupe Casino (RelevanC and others)
Causeway Technologies
Hadean Ventures Sunstone Life Science Ventures
Carglass (Belron Group)
Safran
Labeyrie Fine Foods
Work highlights
- Advised Carglass on the disposal of Carglass Maison (CGM – Ex Maisonning), through a bid process intermediated by , to a joint-venture created by Mutarès (80%) and Homeserve (20%).
- Advised Capgemini on the acquisition of 70.1% of the capital of the French company Five by Five.
- Advised RelevanC, an affiliate of the listed retail group Casino headquartered in Paris (Casino, Monoprix , Franprix..) on the acquisition of a majority stake in Inlead, a digital marketing agency specializing on geo-localized advertisement, which activities will complete the digital marketing activities of RelevanC.
Reinhart Marville Torre
Practice head(s):
Sacha Benichou; Laurent Cavallier; Dominique Dermerguerian; Pierre-Menno de Girard; Philippe Torre; Laurent Marville
Key clients
AEROW
EUROFINS SCIENTIFIC GROUP
Groupe FACTORIA
Laboratoires VIVACY
Mr BRICOLAGE
METROBUS (Régie publicitaire des transports parisiens)
VALIMMO
RED ELECTRIC GROUP
CITYSCOOT
SID LEE
VIAREPORT
Taylor Wessing
Practice head(s):
Gilles Amsallem; Nicolas de Witt; Laurence Lapeyre; François Mary; Anne-Juliette de Zaluski
Testimonials
‘Gilles Amsallem is incredibly responsive (even given time differences), commercial, and well-informed of the industry and market trends. He is a pleasure to work with.’
Key clients
Pentalog
Carboat
Knotel
Buzzman
Pros
Rambus
Ubm warimpex
Quaero Capital
Adaxtra Capital
Datadog
DT Consulting
La grosse équipe
Vivien & Associés
Practice head(s):
Laetitia Amzallag; Jean-Luc Bédos; Emmanuel Chauvet; Jacques Epstein; Judith Fargeot; Jean Reynaud; Julie Tchaglass; Nicolas Vivien
Testimonials
‘The quality of the V&A team lies in several factors: – partners who are passionate about their profession and who have a good knowledge of the company they advise – partners who are personally involved in the files, go into detail, are constructive and offer solutions – light teams who always work together on the same client – partners who work well together between practices. With respect to other firms, I find them more involved, offering high-quality work with reasonable fees.’
‘Two partners stand out: Nicolas Vivien and Judith Fargeot. They are both very experienced, maintain an Olympian calm and facilitate transactions while ensuring that the interests of the client are well defended.’
Key clients
Engie SA
Groupe La Poste
Pathé
Akuo Energy
Union InVivo
Schlumberger
Dassault Systèmes
Hirsch Gruppe
Nexity
Wessanen/Ecotone
BVA
PSB Industries
Assistance Publique/Hôpitaux de Paris
Idemia
Mediawan
Aryzta Group
Brammer/Orexad
Work highlights
- Advised InVivo Wine, the subsidiary of Union In Vivo dedicated to the wine activities, on the acquisition from two French cooperatives of the control of Vinadeis, specialised in the wine distribution, and on the following merger to create Cordier by In Vivo.
- Advised CCFA, minority shareholder of UTAC CERAM, on the sale of its minority participation to Eurazeo PME.
- Advised Nexity and the holding New Port on the acquisition of a stake by AG2R La Mondiale in Nexity.
Watson Farley & Williams LLP
Practice head(s):
Arnaud Félix; Pascal Roux
Other key lawyers:
Thomas Rabain
Testimonials
‘Responsiveness, practical in their advice and hands-on.’
‘Arnaud Felix stood out as he was responsive, hands-on, worked fast and very practical.’
‘Good responsiveness and great solution proposal.’
‘Thomas Rabain, good advice points to be agreed on during negotiations.’
Key clients
BW Offshore
Glennmont Partners
Predica
Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (Banque des Territoires)
Work highlights
- Advising BW Offshore on the acquisition of Ideol, the French floating offshore wind technology specialist, to create BW Ideol, a global integrated floating offshore wind company. Following completion of this acquisition and of a private placement, BW Ideol’s shares were admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo.
- Advising Glennmont Partners in relation to the sale of 8 operational onshore wind farms across Northern France with a total capacity of ca. 100 MW to the Belgium developer TTR Green Fund IV and its co-investors.
- Advising Predica, an investment subsidiary of Crédit Agricole Assurances, on its share acquisition in the Renvico 329 MW Franco-Italian wind portfolio from Engie.