Firm Profile > Horten > Copenhagen, Denmark

Employment Tier 1

Jonas Enkegaard heads up the group at Horten and focuses on the employment aspects of acquisitions; the practice also handles collective agreements, executive liability matters and transactional work. Recent highlights include Enkegaard assisting NGF Nature Energy with its takeover by a consortium of investors, public sector expert Erik Wendelboe Christiansen advising the City of Copenhagen on TUPE regulations relating to outsourcings and public tenders, and Marianne Lage handling Areco Profiles' settlements with its former owner and his wife following a takeover and subsequent termination of their employment. Other clients include Discovery Networks and North Media Group. Managing partner Finn Schwarz is recognised for his work on executive service agreements and severance agreements.

Energy Tier 1

At Horten, the 'excellent' practice is led by Søren Hornbæk Svendsen, who handles transactions, commercial contracts and contentious matters, and recently advised Energinet on its cross-border gas pipeline project that connects Denmark to Poland. Other mandates include Nicolai Mallet assisting Global Wind Power France with the sale of its wind turbine development projects in Germany to Enertrag, and Line Markert advising Assens Forsyning on the provision of a data-driven system for wastewater treatment. Clients also single out oil and gas, and renewable energy transactional specialist Christian Tullberg, who provides 'timely and pragmatic advice'; other noteworthy individuals include Klavs Gravesen, who handles agreements between energy companies and municipalities; and senior associate René Frisdahl Jensen, who specialises in energy and supply law.

Environment Tier 1

Henriette Soja heads up the department at Horten, which has expertise in contentious and regulatory issues; notable recent highlights include Soja advising the municipalities of Halsnæs, Gribskov and Helsingør on the introduction of a coastal protection area across the northern coast line of Zealand, Poul Hvilsted acting for Dragoer Municipality on a €17m coastal protection project, and Line Markert assisting Assens Forsyning with a waste water treatment project. Anne Sophie Kirkegaard Vilsbøll is also noted for her due diligence and regulatory experience.

Insolvency Tier 1

Restructurings, creditor matters, cross-border issues and compulsory liquidations are key areas of focus for Horten's team. Group head Piya Mukherjee is notably strong on cross-border mandates. Other key names include Nicolai Dyhr, who assisted Nordea Bank Danmark with issues relating to its debtor PlusVikar, which declared bankruptcy; and Ulrik Holsted-Sandgreen, who handles insolvencies and restructurings.

Media and entertainment Tier 1

Bet365, Discovery and BBC World Service are clients of Horten, which provides 'practical advice' paired with 'exceptional responsiveness'. Contentious issues are handled by Asger Heine Jensen, who is highly skilled in copyright disputes. Insolvency expert Ulrik Holsted-Sandgreen is also recognised; he advised North Media Online on its acquisition of a minority stake in textbook publishing company, Lix. Nina Henningsen is now with Mazanti-Andersen Korsø Jensen.

Telecoms Tier 1

Horten focuses on contractual and regulatory issues and counts Motorola and Verizon as key clients. Regulatory expert Mads Nygaard Madsen leads the team, which also fields Michael Goeskjær, who regularly advises on telecoms-related contracts and agreements; Goeskjær recently assisted Motorola with regulatory issues. Another key name is Asger Heine Jensen, who advised BD Consult Electronic Engineering on its establishment of a telecoms system which allows its customer to monitor their fixed assets including elevators and refrigerators.

Banking and finance Tier 2

Horten's expertise in the field includes acquisition, real estate and project finance work; restructurings and regulatory issues, and practice head Claus Bennetsen is particularly active in cross-border transactions. Recent work includes Bennetsen advising a consortium of banks on the $41.4bn financing of TDC's acquisition by Macquarie, ATP, PFA Pension and PKA, and Lars Lüneborg assisting Carlsberg Byen with the structuring of the financing for its $10bn urban development of the former site of the Carlsberg brewery.

Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 2

Horten is active in the M&A market, with recent mandates including Klavs Gravesen and Lise Lotte Hjerrild advising eight utility groups on their €1.4bn merger into the Novafos Group, Christian Tullberg and Thomas Francis Beckett assisting Stadtwerke München with its joint venture with Centrica aimed at European oil and gas exploration, and Hans Christian Pape acting for Total Specific Solutions on its purchase of Forsikringens Datacenter from Gjensidige Forsikring. Frans Rossen leads the department, which also fields Mikkel Primdal Kæregaard and Søren Hornbæk Svendsen.

Dispute resolution Tier 2

EU and competition Tier 2

Horten's skillset encompasses competition, public procurement and state aid knowledge. Andreas Christensen leads the practice and advised Nordic Capital on the merger control filing relating to its acquisition of Danish Bake. Other key figures include procurement specialist Annelouise Dalgaard Pedersen and distribution law expert Peter Gregersen.

Information technology Tier 2

Horten handles contractual and contentious matters in the IT sector for a client roster, which includes Motorola and Facebook. Recent highlights include group leader Mads Nygaard Madsen advising 3D printing company 3Shape on its contracts and agreements, Michael Goeskjær acting for Scandi System, which uses technology systems for the issuance of passports and driving licenses, on its contractual agreements with a number of Danish Municipalities, and Asger Heine Jensen representing Kiloo, whose mobile game Subway Surfers was alleged to have breached the privacy rights of its users.

Insurance Tier 2

Disputes and regulatory matters are the two key pillars of Horten's practice. Jacob Møller Dirksen heads up the team and recently advised Zurich Insurance on a fire, which occurred during the construction of the Experimentarium in Copenhagen. Indemnity specialist Christina Steen was recently promoted to the partnership.

Intellectual property Tier 2

Horten has 'all-round expertise and experience in all aspects of IP issues' and acts for a client roster, which includes Facebook, Haribo and Bet365. IP litigators Anders Valentin and Jens Jakob Bugge jointly lead the practice; Valentin defended Sandoz against a trade mark interlocutory injunction action brought by GlaxoSmithKline relating to its new inhaler, and Bugge represented Hästens Sengar in an infringement claim brought by Nordicform relating to a blue checks pattern. Copyright infringement expert Asger Heine Jensen is particularly skilled in issues surrounding the rights of game developers and Christian Kragelund is an expert in trade mark and domain name issues. Nina Henningsen joined Mazanti-Andersen Korsø Jensen in October 2019.

Real estate and construction Tier 2

Horten has 'an extremely professional real estate practice with broad experience in multiple types of real estate and construction deals'. Group co-head Michael Neumann has expertise in transactions, financings, disputes and project development work, and recently acted for Boliggården in an arbitration against a contractor, which requested additional payment following extended works. Fellow practice head Thomas Krucov Jensen 'is always available on small and large matters', and is 'easy to initiate a dialogue with regarding specific legal issues'; he advised the state-owned Flyvestation Værløse on the conversion of land which was previously used as an airbase into a residential and commercial area. Kristoffer Westberg is also noted and represented Peri in a dispute regarding the delivery and rental of building materials to the Maersk Tower in Copenhagen. Construction specialist Niels Jørgen Oggesen is 'highly regarded for his exceptional analytical skills and ability to give first-class legal and commercial advice', and Peter Bisgaard specialises in public-private partnership agreements.

Capital markets Tier 3

Horten is particularly strong in DCM matters; practice head Thomas Francis Beckett predominantly advises sponsor side clients on high-yield bond offerings. Recent highlights include Jim Øksnebjerg advising Jyske Bank on its public tender offer totalling €288m for the remaining interest in Nordjyske Bank, and Henning Aasmul-Olsen assisting Copenhagen Airports with a mandatory tender offer from Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and ATP. Carlsberg Byen and DS Norden are also clients. Claus Bennetsen is also a key name to note.

Tax Tier 3

The team at Horten 'works extremely efficiently' and 'always manages to provide a clear-cut and pragmatic answer'. Key figures from the team include cross-border tax specialist Anne Becker-Christensen and Ulrik Krogh Holst, who is an expert in corporate and business taxation. Niclas Holst Sonne joined Ernst & Young in 2018. Thomas Booker was a new arrival from BACHMANN PARTNERS.