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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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Deal Highlights
1,539 results1,539 results
Deal Name Deal Date Firm Name Jurisdiction Deal Type Lawyer Names Client Names Client Role
RS Group plc - M&A
2023-04-27
Osborne Clarke
Germany
M&A
RS Group plc
Buyer
Apollo Global Management Inc. - M&A
2023-04-26
Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison
Germany
M&A
Brad Okun, Carrie Harrison, David Levine, Elizabeth Scherer, Gabriella Toossi, Jake Glazeski, Manuel Frey, Nadeem Waeen, Sarah Katz, T. Zochowski
Apollo Global Management Inc.
Buyer
Quadriga Capital Eigenkapitalberatung GmbH - M&A
2023-04-27
Arqis
Germany
M&A
Anja Markworth, Conrad Wiza, Daniel Schlemann, Diana Puchowezki, Hendrik Volkerding, Jasmin Grunen, Jens Knipping, Johannes Landry, Jorn-Christian Schulze, Kamil Flak, Laura Rizzi, Marc Alberding, Marcus Nothhelfer, Martin Weingartner, Nathalie Wintermeier, Nora Meyer-Stratmann, Rolf Tichy, Severin Steffens, Sina Janke, Thomas Chwalek, Tim Bresemann, Tobias Neufeld, Ulrich Lienhard
Quadriga Capital Eigenkapitalberatung GmbH
Buyer
Assicurazioni Generali SpA - M&A
2023-05-04
Hengeler Mueller
Germany
M&A
Benedikt Mertens, Carl-Philipp Eberlein, Christian Möller, Christian Wienke, Jan Bonhage, Kim Weisser, Kira Fritsche, Markus Ernst, Markus Rohrig, Matthias Rothkopf, Sebastian Heinrichs, Susanne Koch, Vera Jungkind
Assicurazioni Generali SpA
Seller
3M Co. - M&A
2023-05-02
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Germany
M&A
Aaron Meyers, Anne-Sophie Coustel, Audry Casusol, Daniel Ilan, Edoardo Roversi, Gerolama da Passano, Guillaume Le Masson, Hugo Latrabe, Jerome Hartemann, Joshua Deull, Matteo Montanaro, Maureen Linch, Nickolas Bogdanovich, Patrick Bock, Victoria Ju, Yuan He
3M Co.
Seller
KOSTAL Group - M&A
2023-05-02
Freshfields
Germany
M&A
Alexander Schwahn, Jan-Philip Wilde, Juliane Diekgraf, Lars Westpfahl, Manuel Jager, Max Mahlmann, Mirko Masek, Patrick Cichy, Sebastian Rombey, Simon Ultes, Svenja Ehrmann, Tobias Franz, Tobias Klose, Ulrich Sittard, Vasco Ollero, Vera Barthel-Westphal
KOSTAL Group
Buyer
Ardian SA - M&A
2023-05-04
Latham & Watkins
Germany
M&A
Burc Hesse, Sebastian Pauls, Stefan Süss, Susanne Decker
Ardian SA
Buyer
Seller Group - multiple shareholders - M&A
2023-03-15
McDermott Will & Schulte
Germany
M&A
Michael Cziesla
Seller Group - multiple shareholders
Seller
Rantum Capital Management GmbH - M&A
2023-03-31
McDermott Will & Schulte
Germany
M&A
Holger Ebersberger.
Rantum Capital Management GmbH
Buyer
Ardian SA - M&A
2023-05-04
Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Germany
M&A
Christopher Clerihew, Jan Wilms
Ardian SA
Buyer
Astorg Partners - M&A
2023-05-05
Kirkland & Ellis
Germany
M&A
Astorg Partners
Buyer
Astorg Partners - M&A
2023-05-05
Reed Smith
Germany
M&A
Astorg Partners
Buyer
NORD Holding - M&A
2023-05-05
Milbank
Germany
M&A
NORD Holding
Seller
Astorg Partners - M&A
2023-05-05
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher
Germany
M&A
Astorg Partners
Buyer
NORD Holding - M&A
2023-05-05
Flick Gocke Schaumburg
Germany
M&A
NORD Holding
Seller
Go1 - M&A
2023-05-08
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
Germany
M&A
Go1
Buyer
Go1 - M&A
2023-05-08
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
Germany
M&A
Go1
Buyer
NCAB Group AB - M&A
2023-05-02
Lenz & Staehelin
Germany
M&A
Ann Weibel, Peter Ling, Simone Ehrsam
NCAB Group AB
Buyer
Kebos Group - M&A
2023-04-11
McDermott Will & Schulte
Germany
M&A
Nikolaus von Jacobs
Kebos Group
Target
PIAB Group Holding AB - M&A
2023-03-29
White & Case
Germany
M&A
Alisa Preissler, Andreas van den Eikel, Anna Dold, Jonas Brandt, Justus Redeker, Luisa Kanders, Mathias Bogusch, Patrik Erblad, Paul Kohlhaas, Sebastian Stutze
PIAB Group Holding AB
Buyer
61
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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Insights editorial only cont'd