The ‘responsive and highly competent’ team at Dechert LLP is routinely instructed by investment funds, management companies and institutional investors seeking assistance with private equity-related tax mandates. Practice head Sabina Comis garners praise for her ’exceptional knowledge of the investment fund market’ and is well-versed in advising on LBOs, restructurings and refinancings. Étienne Bimbeau is also noted for his private equity expertise.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Phone
+33 1 57 57 81 66
Email
Profile

Profile

Work Department
Tax
Position

Partner

Career

Sabina Comis, global managing partner, advises French and international companies, family offices, private equity funds and investment banks on domestic and international tax structuring that arise from complex corporate transactions, restructurings and refinancings, often involving multiple sponsors. She also has a wealth of experience in creating and structuring private investment funds, including joint ventures and private equity vehicles. Ms. Comis also helps clients shape post-Brexit strategy and provides guidance on related tax issues.

She is one of the few practitioners in France equipped to offer both tax advice and handle the legal and regulatory sides of fund formation. Her ability to address private equity and funds matters as an industry expert as well as a tax practitioner enables her to translate advice into tangible figures and models. By partnering with clients in their most business-critical situations, she has created some notable precedents in the French market, for example in developing innovative structuring in relation to the modeling of cash repatriations, waterfall mechanisms in private equity deals and funds documentation. Over the years, she has been a trusted advisor to many French and global private equity fund managers for the tax structuring of their carried interest rights.

Languages
French, Italian, English
Education

The London School of Economics and Political Science, LL.B., 1995; University of Cambridge, LL.M., Commercial Law, 1996; The College of Law, London, 1997

Content supplied by Dechert LLP

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Very disciplined, true overall expertise.'

    ‘Availability, technical expertise, teaching skills, efficiency.’

    ‘A very responsive and highly competent team, especially in the area of structuring investment funds.’

    ‘Sabina Comis is a lawyer with exceptional knowledge of the investment fund market and can very well guide clients in this area.’

    ‘Sabina Comis and Étienne Bimbeau stand out for their technical expertise, innovative spirit, and keen understanding of the structuring and tax challenges facing investment funds. Their approach is rigorous, responsive, and solution-oriented.’

    ‘Sabina Comis perfectly blends sophistication and pragmatism to offer practical, quantifiable, and adaptable solutions.'

    'Etienne Bimbeau has a mastery of tax and cash flow modelling, which lends a concrete dimension to his always insightful analyses. Extremely accessible, Etienne gives the impression of being guided every step of the way while calmly and perceptively offering his advice.’

    ‘An exceptional team, technically very strong, with good reflexes in related subjects or other jurisdictions than France, an excellent knowledge and understanding of the client's issues.’

Key clients

  • ARCHIMED Poxel SA Natixis Ponant Explorations Group Elyan Iconix Brand Group

Work highlights

Advised Poxel SA on its innovative royalty monetisation of its product with OrbiMed, a U.S. investment fund.