Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP offers a broadly structured ECM practice, acting for listing companies and their sponsors, as well as syndicates of bank underwriters, on IPOs, bookbuilding transactions and secondary issuances. Heading the team is the duo of Joseph Marx, who accompanies clients through the spectrum of share offerings and is also well versed in Rule 144A placements, and Simon Weiß, who alongside IPOs also oversees capital raises and other equity-linked transactions. Martin Kalbhenn provides combined equity-linked transactions and corporate law expertise.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Accolades
Client satisfaction: Lawyer & team quality
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Focused ECM firm with a hard working and dedicated team.’
- ‘Simon Weiß is an experienced and solution-driven partner. Martin Kalbhenn is a hard working and exceptionally diligent lawyer. Joseph Marx is great to work with.’
- ‘Simon Weiß and Joseph Marx are on top of all things and super integrated and aligned. It is a pleasure to work with them and they will find solutions for every problem. Joe is a dream to work with. He can explain difficult US law questions to a legal and non-legal audience in English and German at any time and with clear recommendations and a thrive to solutions. It is a pleasure to see how well these guys are integrated into their German practice with all partners of different subjects happy to contribute if needed. ’
- ‘One has to mention Martin Kalbhenn, who is for sure and by far the best mid to senior level associate on the German ECM market. He is super knowledgeable, has done secondments with banks, is super reachable and humble, has a great sense of humour and a great communicator. Willkie can only make one mistake in relation to Martin, and this would be not making him the next partner in the capital markets team.’
Key clients
- Barclays
- Citigroup
- Jefferies
- CVC
- Deutsche Bank
- Goldman Sachs
- Berenberg
- Baader Bank
- Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe
- DZ Bank AG
- innoscripta SE
Work highlights
Advised innoscripta SE as issuer counsel on its €218m IPO and €1.2bn listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Advised CVC Capital Partners on the public takeover offer and the following delisting offer of CompuGroup Medical SE & Co. KGaA.
Advised Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and Berenberg on the private placement of shares of ATOSS Software SE by two of its largest shareholders, the founder Andreas Obereder and private equity sponsor General Atlantic.
Lawyers
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Practice head
Simon Weiß; Joseph Marx
Other key lawyers
Martin Kalbhenn