Bär & Karrer Ltd. advises listed companies, private equity houses and family offices on mergers, spin-offs, and complex corporate restructurings. Rolf Watter specialises in corporate governance, while Christoph Neeracher is recognised for assisting on both the buy and sell-side of small, mid and large-cap private M&A. Mariel Hoch focuses on public tender offers, and Ralph Malacrida has a strong reputation for advising Swiss and international clients on the full gamut of corporate transactions. Dieter Dubs concentrates on public M&A and is regularly instructed on both acquisitions and divestitures. Martin Anderson has a broad practice and is particularly active in matters involving the IT industry. Corporate relocation specialist Paolo Bottini rounds out the leadership. Philippe Seiler excels in the life science and healthcare M&A space. Raphael Annasohn is an expert in the venture capital and start-up space.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Accolades

Client satisfaction: Lawyer & team quality

Client satisfaction: Sector knowledge

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

Luca Jagmetti and Christoph Neeracher have outstanding negotiation skills and experience, and provide great advice in all kinds of difficult situations during the transaction.
Christoph Neeracher is one of the most experienced M&A lawyers in Switzerland; he has seen it all. Philippe Seiler is extremely responsive, high quality, and gets things done.
Extremely commercial and to the point.
Very diligent and highly competent lawyers, with business knowledge and a great understanding of our needs.
‘Highly professional, high quality from partner down to associate.’
‘Perfect collaboration, the team is perfectly aligned so that core team members were always up to date on various topics and responsive for anyone from the client side. The team is well informed about current market activities, which is extremely valuable for finding the best solutions and terms with banking counterparties.’
‘The team led by Christoph Neeracher and Philippe Seiler really puts the client first. Especially on complex and high-paced M&A projects, the team is always available, delivers quickly and provides clear legal guidance paired with the right amount of pragmatism. It's fun and easy to work with them.’
‘Philippe Seiler does a great job as lead partner on an M&A deal. He's pragmatic, always available and just easy to work with while being very professional and knowledgeable. He quickly involves the right resources and colleagues if needed and is very client and outcome-focused.’
‘Raphael Annasohn is a very intelligent, quick thinker, which is invaluable in negotiations and extremely responsive.’
‘Christoph Neeracher, Raphael Annasohn and Philip Seiler stand out for being strong negotiators who combine deep expertise with pragmatism and speed. They bring broad experience across diverse deal types, consistently delivering quick turnarounds and clear, effective solutions.’

Key clients

4B group
Aebi Schmidt
Amapharm GmbH
Amrize
Axpo Holding
BuildTec Software Group
Capvis AG
Circet Europe
Coatue
Communardo Group GmbH
Constantia Flexibles
Crayon
Deutsche Beteiligungs AG
Deutsche Private Equity
Diploma PLC
DSM-Firmenich
Empira Group
Equistone
EQT
GBA Group

Work highlights

Advised Holcim on the spin-off and public listing of its North American business, Amrize.

Advised Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund as lead counsel on the sale of Hotelplan.

Advises GENUI on sale of Labor TeamGroup to Galenica AG.

Lawyers

Hall of Fame

The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.