The 'committed and solution-minded' multi-disciplinary team at Arendt & Medernach offers 'pragmatic advice', and is 'well-placed to provide a view on market trends', for an impressive roster of financial sponsors including Blackstone and Apax Partners. Team head Pierre Beissel embodies the firm's overarching strength in the sector, adept as he is at advising on the structuring of the fund, as well as on the subsequent downstream investment/exit work. Laurent Schummer is 'a great strategist and an excellent negotiator'; he regularly advises private equity firms on their M&A activity.

Closely-aligned with the office's funds and investment management group and also able to leverage the firm's wider international resources, Clifford Chance's Luxembourg-based corporate and M&A team has a strong following among many conventional private equity sponsors (including KKR and BlackRock), as well as more niche players, including Global Infrastructure Partners. Christian Kremer and Katia Gauzès co-head the firm's overarching corporate group and have significant experience handling private equity-led M&A transactions.

Led on the corporate front by the 'very helpful and hands-on' Toinon Hoss and also able to draw upon the expertise of lawyers in complementary practice areas including finance, investment funds and tax, Elvinger Hoss Prussen is a popular choice among many leading sponsors to provide advice across the full range of their Luxembourg-based needs associated with big-ticket international mandates. Hoss continues to handle a significant amount of M&A work for Cinven, either on its own or as part of an investment consortium.

Loyens & Loeff is appreciated by financial sponsor clients for its 'collaborative approach' among lawyers within the firm's M&A, finance, investment management, tax and restructuring groups, enabling it to provide 'exceptional quality' on the Luxembourg-related law advice relating to work throughout the fund lifecycle. The 'outstanding' Guy Palmaers has many years' experience in the space and has superb insight into the structuring of cross-border private equity-led M&A. Michael Scott 'takes ownership of all transactions', and has a particular strength advising funds on distressed M&A and in a restructuring context. The 'very proactive and professional' Mathilde Lattard was promoted to partner in January 2020 and continues to grow her reputation in the market for a number of well-known global sponsors. Frédéric Franckx heads up the private equity transactions team following his move back to Luxembourg in February 2020 after a three year stint in charge of the firm's New York representative office.

Bonn Steichen & Partners provides a 'hands-on and very approachable service' to private equity and venture capital funds, including Advent International and Index Ventures, on the Luxembourg aspects of their transactional work. Team head Linda Harroch is well-versed in advising financial sponsors on fund formation, as well as on the structuring and financing of international buy-out transactions.

The arrival of a fully-formed two-partner corporate/M&A team from Dentons in January 2020 ensured that CMS has immediately gained substantial exposure to the private equity ecosystem, given their ties with some significant players in the market. Gérard Maîtrejean was one of these new hires and he now heads up the practice that, despite its infancy, is well-positioned to handle the full spectrum of investment strategies including M&A (share and asset deals), exits, strategic partnerships and joint ventures, and is also able to draw upon resources from across the firm's broader international network.

Private equity-related work forms a key part of Dechert Luxembourg's overarching strength in the investment funds space. Working on its own, as well as often in co-operation with practitioners from across the firm's international network, the team is well-versed in setting up the Luxembourg vehicles for private equity investments, as well as advising on ongoing operational matters and the underlying transactional work. Jean-Louis Frognet is a key practitioner on the private equity transactional front and has expertise on both the financing and corporate aspects of sponsor-led deals. Managing partner Marc Seimetz co-heads the team.

Increasingly recognised as a viable alternative to the country's more established firms, independent business law-focused boutique LexField has developed a strong reputation among financial sponsors, as well as international law firm referrers, as a result of its 'technically very capable and commercial service' on the Luxembourg corporate structuring aspects of cross-border sponsor-led M&A. 'Very business-oriented and pragmatic' team head Aldric Grosjean has the 'ability to identify solutions' and 'works well in conjunction with other law firms on cross-border transactions'. 

The five-partner, multidisciplinary team at NautaDutilh provides 'practical and effective' advice to financial sponsors on their M&A, finance, fund formation and tax structuring Luxembourg-related requirements. Corporate head Margaretha Wilkenhuysen regularly handles private equity-related M&A, often involving a Benelux nexus. Yoanna Stefanova is also a key practitioner and combines both investment fund structuring expertise with M&A prowess.

'Highly knowledgeable of local corporate practice', yet also praised for its ability to 'work very well with other advisors involved in deals', PwC Legal Luxembourg has proved to be a popular choice among a growing roster of sponsor clients to advise on the Luxembourg structuring necessary to facilitate their cross-border acquisitions and exits. Catherine Baflast heads up the overarching corporate offering but it is the 'very friendly and no-nonsense' Saskia Myners who is the primary contact for private equity-related work, particularly on matters with a nexus to the UK and German markets.

With three partners now focused on private equity-related M&A work, following Bernard Beerens ' arrival from AKD, Stibbe has significant resources to deploy on behalf of an impressive roster of fund clients, including KKR and Investindustrial. The 'pragmatic' Gérald Origer leads the office's sponsor-led transactional offering, which stands out for its ability to 'really understand its clients' needs' and thereby to effectively act as an extension of the client's in-house function. The firm's strong and established presence in the Netherlands and Belgium ensures that the team is also well-suited to advising clients on regional Benelux mandates.

Now headed by Cedric Bless, following the departure of Bernard Beerens to Stibbe in February 2020, AKD remains focused on work in the private equity sector and handles a sizeable amount of work for sponsors on the Luxembourg structuring to facilitate international M&A transactions.

Led by Frédéric Lemoine and Chantal Keereman, Bonn & Schmitt regularly advises core clients EQT and Capvis on the structuring of Luxembourg investment vehicles to facilitate their cross-border M&A.

The 'knowledgeable and professional' team at KLEYR GRASSO has broad transactional expertise, which includes a not insignificant amount of financial sponsor-led work, often on behalf of core client, TA Associates. Rina Breininger is the primary contact.