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2027 Edition
Magic Circle firm Clifford Chance is among the largest law firms in the world, with global operations in 23 countries. It has offices in Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Munich. The firm has a formidable practice across all sectors. Its standout capital markets practice includes Simon Reitz and Axel Wittmann. In a recent highlight the team advised GD Towers on its EUR 7.7 billion refinancing comprising the establishment of a new common terms financing platform and a record EUR 2.5 billion private placement. The project finance team includes highly regarded practitioner Florian Mahler, who advised Nofar Energy on the project financing of its first battery energy storage system in Germany, a deal that was shortlisted for Deal of the Year at the 2026 IFLR Europe Awards. The corporate team, led by Thomas Krecek, advised Helvetia Holding on its planned merger of equals with Baloise Holding, ultimately forming Helvetia Baloise Holding.

Key clients of the firm include GD Towers, Nofar Energy, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan, MTU Aero Engines, Vantage Data Centers, Aeral Bank, Barclays Bank Ireland, Helvetia Holding, Helvetia Holding, and BNP Paribas.

Testimonials
‘We especially appreciate their teamwork approach, availability, and pragmatism.’ (M&A)
Schalast & Partner was established in 1995 and has offices in Frankfurt, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Stuttgart and is part of the Multilaw network. The firm is experienced in financial services regulation, banking, insurance, and M&A and is often noted for its work in with start-ups, on novel financing products and in the emerging digital finance space. This year, the Banking & Finance department, led by co-managing partner Andreas Walter, advised Raisin Bank on its regulatory assessment of European sustainability and ESG-related legislation and supervisory guidelines included in a regulatory review catalogue. The M&A team, led by managing partner Christoph Schalast, advised Beyond Capital Partner (BCP) on its acquisition of Sanitätshaus blu, requiring the coordination of corporate and real estate law expertise across multiple practice areas. Key M&A clients of the firm include Viessmann Generations Group, Mainova, Beyond Capital Partners, Faber-Castell, and Hannover Finanz. The Banking & Finance department advises DLT, Mondu, Fosun, Wayflyer, Morgan Stanley, and CRX Markets.

Testimonials

“Very active on thought leadership in the financial space and very active in the fintech sector; they are well-versed in working with start-ups and have been successful in areas such as blockchain, distributed ledger technology (DLT) and crypto-currency projects.” (Banking & Finance)

“They have a large team with a lot of dedicated regulatory lawyers and some very talented individuals.” (Financial Services Regulatory)

“Christoph Schalast is highly experienced; excellent rhetoric.”
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom is an American multinational law firm founded in 1948 in New York. It is present in Germany with offices in Frankfurt and Munich. In Banking and Capital Markets, the firm advises on domestic and cross-border transaction, with a focus on structured finance, syndicated lending and debt restructuring, and equity capital markets work. In M&A and private equity, the firm has a strong international focus, advising private equity houses on their inbound buyouts in Germany, as well as pan-European transactions with a strong German component. The team also boasts substantial experience in significant transatlantic transactions involving major US corporates and investors. This year, the Capital Markets and M&A teams, led by Holger Hofmeister and Stephen Hutter, advised CureVac in its all-stock acquisition by BioNTech that valued CureVac at approximately USD 1.25 billion. The Private Equity team, led by Jan Bauer in Frankfurt, advised BlackRock as part of a consortium of investors led by Allianz, in the acquisition of Viridium Group, a transaction that was shortlisted as a Deal of the Year in the 2026 IFLR Europe Awards. Key clients of the firm include BlackRock, CureVac, Paypal, The Middleby Corporation, Qatar Investment Authority, Kulczyk Investments, HSBC, Jefferies, Wells Fargo Bank, Citibank, Hillenbrand, AGRAVIS Raiffeisen, and Energy Infrastructure Partners.
Debevoise & Plimpton
5 practice areas
View profile
Germany
Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson
4 practice areas
View profile
Germany
Arnold & Porter
3 practice areas
View profile
Germany
King & Wood Mallesons
9 practice areas
View profile
Germany
A&O Shearman - Germany View profile
Germany
Hermann
3 practice areas
View profile
Germany
Leonhardt
2 practice areas
View profile
Germany
Magnusson View profile
Germany
Reed Smith View profile
Germany
Rödl & Partner View profile
Germany
Beiten Burkhardt
1 practice area
View profile
Germany
Hasch & Partner View profile
Germany
Brehm & v Moers View profile
Germany
Brödermann & Jahn View profile
Germany
WilmerHale View profile
Germany
ZIRNGIBL View profile
Germany
Squire Patton Boggs
1 practice area
View profile
Germany
Baum Financial Services Law Team View profile
Germany
BBORS Kreuznacht View profile
Germany
Becker Büttner Held View profile
Germany
756 results756 results
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38
Deal Highlights
1,539 results1,539 results
Deal Name Deal Date Firm Name Jurisdiction Deal Type Lawyer Names Client Names Client Role
AGC Glass Europe - M&A
2022-07-12
Freshfields
Germany
M&A
Elliott Fosseprez, Gregor von Bonin, Laurent Garzaniti, Maxim Gomer, Michael Hendricks, Vincent Macq
AGC Glass Europe
Buyer
Advenis Real Estate Investment Management - M&A
2022-05-02
Dentons
Germany
M&A
Dominik Thomer, Holger Holkemeier, Jonas Ulmrich, Nicole Lucks, Thomas Kaspelherr, Torsten Jahnichen, Volker Mergener
Advenis Real Estate Investment Management
Buyer
HIH Invest Real Estate GmbH - M&A
2022-07-06
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek
Germany
M&A
Bettina Neheider, Mathis Dick, Sarah Slavik-Schulz, Sonke Gorgens, Viktoria Kamper, Vivien Tewes
HIH Invest Real Estate GmbH
Buyer
SMAL GmbH - M&A
2022-09-07
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
Germany
M&A
Thomas Schmid
SMAL GmbH
Target
Bain Capital LLC - M&A
2022-05-02
Clifford Chance
Germany
M&A
Gerold Jaeger, Jonathan Klein
Bain Capital LLC
Seller
FUNKE Digital GmbH - M&A
2022-07-07
Baker McKenzie
Germany
M&A
Holger Lutz, Joachim Frohlich, Johannes Teichmann, Kathrin Weber, Lena Weber, Michael Fammler, Silke Gantzckow, Stephan Gonczol, Thomas Seidensticker, Tobias Born
FUNKE Digital GmbH
Buyer
Deutsche Beteiligungs AG - M&A
2022-08-05
Baker McKenzie
Germany
M&A
Anna Bußer, Celina Zaim, Christian Atzler, Christian Lebrecht, Daniel Bork, Fabian Low, Felix Diehl, Frank Pfluger, Holger Lutz, Johannes Teichmann, Katharina Weiner, Lena Weber, Markus Mortel, Matthias Toke, Rebecca Romig, Rembert Niebel, Richard Stefanink, Tobias Born
Deutsche Beteiligungs AG
Buyer
Ypsomed AG - M&A
2022-11-01
CMS
Germany
M&A
Boris Alles, Dirk Smielick, Eduard Kosavtsev, Heike Wagner, Jörg Schrade, Karin Schmidtmann, Michael Kamps, Reiner Thieme, Roland Wiring, Stefan Lehr, Theresa Kipp, Tobias Kilian
Ypsomed AG
Seller
Vhf Group - M&A
2022-08-05
CMS
Germany
M&A
Dirk Baukholt, Joachim Dietrich, Matthias Lohle
Vhf Group
Target
MERULIN Gartenbauservice GmbH & Co. KG - M&A
2022-10-12
CMS
Germany
M&A
Amelie Schafer, Carina Bart, Christopher von Lilien-Waldau, David Hudde, Julia Hellberg, Jurgen Frodermann, Kai Neuhaus, Laura Sygor, Maike Fuchtmann, Martin Friedberg, Moritz Pottek, Nora Zabel, Ole Weyand, Philipp Schonnenbeck, Philippe Heinzke, Thomas Gerdel, Ursula Steinkemper, Veronika Renczes
MERULIN Gartenbauservice GmbH & Co. KG
Target
Cicor Management AG - M&A
2022-11-15
CMS
Germany
M&A
Hendrik Hirsch, Kai Neuhaus, Lisa Stiller, Maren Hoffmann, Martin Friedberg, Maximilian Stark, Maxine Notstain, Moritz Pottek, Stefan Lehr, Sven Krause, Thomas Hirse, Tobias Polloczek, Victoria Alekseeva
Cicor Management AG
Buyer
Altair Engineering Inc. - M&A
2022-06-13
CMS
Germany
M&A
Christian Zielonka, John Hammond, Pia Klages, Rolf Hempel
Altair Engineering Inc.
Buyer
Metro Properties GmbH & Co. KG - M&A
2022-07-07
Clifford Chance
Germany
M&A
Christian Vogel, Claudia Milbradt, Cord von Mandelsloh, Florian Reiling, Gerold Jaeger, Katharina Vollmer, Maria Kohler, Mathias Elspass, Maximilian Sablotny, Olaf Mertgen, Philip Heinzel, Regina Oldenburg, Reinhard Scheer-Hennings
Metro Properties GmbH & Co. KG
Seller
ehret+klein Capital Markets GmbH - M&A
2022-10-11
Clifford Chance
Germany
M&A
Christian Vogel, David Rahmel, Gerold Jaeger, Margret Bootz-Hagen, Marie Karle, Matthias Forster, Olaf Mertgen, Steffen Waadt
ehret+klein Capital Markets GmbH
Buyer
VR Equitypartner GmbH - M&A
2022-11-25
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek
Germany
M&A
Alena Bährholz, Antje Munch, Arietta von Stechow, Benedikt Raisch, Bettina Neheider, Charlotte Schmitt, Emanuel Teichmann, Fabian Gaffron, Lena Wagner, Michael Neises, Rainer Herschlein, Ramona Bauer-Schöllkopf, Ruth Schneider, Veronica Straub
VR Equitypartner GmbH
Buyer
Porth Group - M&A
2022-05-16
Dentons
Germany
M&A
Dominik Thomer, Holger Holkemeier, Jan Hellner, Pamela Riedel
Porth Group
Buyer
Cheplapharm Arzneimittel GmbH - M&A
2022-10-25
Latham & Watkins
Germany
M&A
David Rath, Mike Turner, Oliver Seiler
Cheplapharm Arzneimittel GmbH
Target
ehret+klein Capital Markets GmbH - M&A
2022-09-30
Clifford Chance
Germany
M&A
Anja Roth, Christian Vogel, David Rahmel, Gerold Jaeger, Matthias Forster, Olaf Mertgen, Sabrina Bremer, Steffen Waadt, Stephanie Cohen
ehret+klein Capital Markets GmbH
Buyer
Bioassay Labor fur biologische Analytik GmbH - M&A
2022-12-02
Goodwin Procter
Germany
M&A
Bioassay Labor fur biologische Analytik GmbH
Target
Reaction Biology - M&A
2022-12-02
White & Case
Germany
M&A
Reaction Biology
Buyer
51
of
77
By Firm
173 results173 results
Firm Name Jurisdiction Total Deals Deals (Last 12 Months)
A&O Shearman
Germany
20
0
A&O Shearman - Germany
Germany
32
0
Addleshaw Goddard
1
0
AKD
Belgium
2
0
Alexander Koelle
Germany
1
0
AllBright Law Offices
1
0
Alston & Bird
1
0
ALTENBURG
Germany
6
0
Anderson Mori & Tomotsune
Japan
1
0
Arqis
Germany
27
0
Arthur Cox
Ireland
1
0
Ashurst Perkins Coie
Germany
11
0
Baker & Hostetler
1
0
Baker McKenzie
Germany
22
0
BarentsKrans
Netherlands
1
0
Barnes & Thornburg
1
0
Bech-Bruun
Denmark
1
0
Binder Grösswang
Austria
1
0
Bird & Bird
Germany
10
0
Blake Cassels & Graydon
1
0
1
of
9

Insights editorial only

From Germany to California, we round up key partner moves across private equity, secondaries, finance and venture capital
From UK private capital to Italian consolidation, tier changes demonstrate a more competitive regional cycle
The 2027 edition recognises 3,524 practices across 24 jurisdictions, with France, Germany and the UK driving much of the growth following the introduction of new tables
Eric Romba explains why digital finance regulation has become a live business priority – and why Fieldfisher is using it as a foundation in Berlin
We round up this week’s top moves in the finance, corporate, M&A and PE practices in the UK, France, the US and Germany
We round up this week’s lateral hires at leading firms across Germany, the US, UK and Brazil
New hires made in regulatory, corporate, M&A and finance practices at leading firms across the US and the UK, while German Hengeler Mueller elected two new managing partners
The finalists for the 28th annual Europe awards have been revealed, with the winners to be announced in London on June 11
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