IFLR is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement


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
1
of
38
Deal Highlights
1,539 results1,539 results
Deal Name Deal Date Firm Name Jurisdiction Deal Type Lawyer Names Client Names Client Role
Ardian SA - M&A
2023-11-13
Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Germany
M&A
Christopher Clerihew, Jan Wilms
Ardian SA
Seller
CapVis Equity Partners AG - M&A
2023-11-15
Hengeler Mueller
Germany
M&A
Constantin Wegener, Daniel Moritz, Daniel Wiegand, David Negenborn, Dirk Uwer, Gunther Wagner, Jan Adami, Jan Schülting, Lena Bohringer, Lukas Kleeberger, Sarah Milde
CapVis Equity Partners AG
Seller
GENUI GmbH - M&A
2023-11-17
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
Germany
M&A
GENUI GmbH
Buyer
Thoma Bravo LP - M&A
2023-11-16
Kirkland & Ellis
Germany
M&A
Amy Fox, Anthony Antioch, Antonia Gaupp, Benjamin Leyendecker, Friedrich Focke, Johannes Rowold, Katie St. Peters, Kirsteen Nicol, Matthew Sinclair-Thomson, Philipp Keinath, Vincent Bergin
Thoma Bravo LP
Buyer
EQS Group AG - M&A
2023-11-16
GLNS
Germany
M&A
EQS Group AG
Target
Maxburg Capital Partners GmbH - M&A
2023-11-17
Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Germany
M&A
Maxburg Capital Partners GmbH
Seller
Partners Group AG - M&A
2023-11-20
Latham & Watkins
Germany
M&A
Alexander Wilhelm, Burc Hesse, Chris Freitag, Florian Dehmel, Joachim Grittmann, Johannes Lieb, Judith Jacop, Julia Braeuer, Lena Hummel, Martina Hoelzer, Max Hauser, Nicolas Jung, Sebastian Pauls, Stefan Süss, Susan Kempe-Muller, Sven Nickel
Partners Group AG
Seller
Compass Group Deutschland GmbH - M&A
2023-11-20
Freshfields
Germany
M&A
Aleksandar Atanasov, Alex Potts, Carsten Bork, Emily Szasz, Geronimo Benedict, Ilko Trenn, Joseph Williams, Katrin Gassner, Lucy Cliff, Lukas Pirnay, Martin Rehberg, Natascha Doll, Panagiota Kavvada, Rhys Evans, Steffen Blume
Compass Group Deutschland GmbH
Buyer
Zhongzhi Enterprise Group Co. Ltd. - M&A
2023-09-04
Debevoise & Plimpton
Germany
M&A
Cameron Sim, Christina Heil, E. Raman Bet-Mansour, Mark Johnson, Oliver Krauss, Philipp von Holst, Sergej Brauer
Zhongzhi Enterprise Group Co. Ltd.
Seller
Grounds Real Estate Development AG - M&A
2023-10-13
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek
Germany
M&A
Anja Harms, Christian Staps, Christoph Wetzler, Fabian Burk, Kai Erhardt, Meike Daniels, Meike Dresler-Lenz, Michael Neises, Philipp Jansen, Thorsten Kuthe
Grounds Real Estate Development AG
Target
Jiliti SAS - M&A
2023-11-10
Germany
M&A
Nicole Chakraborty, Thomas Jefferson, IV
Jiliti SAS
Buyer
HQ Equita GmbH - M&A
2023-10-31
Clifford Chance
Germany
M&A
A. Rick Thoben, Avrohom Gelber, Frank Scholderer, Lisa Giroux, Mark Aschenbrenner, Samuel Frommelt, Sonya Pauls
HQ Equita GmbH
Seller
HQ Equita GmbH - M&A
2023-10-31
CMS
Germany
M&A
Hendrik Hirsch, Maximilian Stark
HQ Equita GmbH
Seller
Verdane Capital Advisors AS - M&A
2023-10-31
Milbank
Germany
M&A
Verdane Capital Advisors AS
Buyer
Jiliti SAS - M&A
2023-11-10
CMS
Germany
M&A
Aleksandra Dalecka, Amelia Goodair, Amy Bainbridge, Antoine Melchior, Benedikt Forschner, Bjorn Herbers, Blazej Zagorski, Christian Linseisen, Christoph Kuster, Clemens Grossmayer, Daniel Jenny, David Parrish, Dominik Penkov, Dylan Allali, Emma Burnett, Fatima Butt, Felix Glocker, Ferdinand Blezinger, Florian Jung, Florian Mayer, Frederick Cruz, Georgia Fishwick, Jessica Mohaupt, Jonas Ohmann, Jörg Schrade, Jorge Duran, Kai Neuhaus, Katharina Hirzle, Luis de Dios, Marcellina Rietvelt, Marielouise Emmer, Mark Cagienard, Markus Kaulartz, Martika Jonk, Matthias Unger, Moritz Pottek, Omri Shirion, Pablo Bonet, Philip Walton, Pieter de Kanter, Raghav Vohora, Richard Curtis, Saphira Mouzayek, Sarah Schafer, Sibylle Novak, Simon Evans, Thomas Hains, Thomas Liegl, Tilman Weicher, Tobias Kalski
Jiliti SAS
Buyer
Riesa noodles - M&A
2023-10-13
CMS
Germany
M&A
Boris Alles, Christian Linseisen, Dirk Baukholt, Jakob Steiff, Joachim Dietrich, Jörg Schrade, Matthias Lohle, Nicole Koppen, Philipp Rohdenburg, Thomas Hirse, Ulrich Becker
Riesa noodles
Target
ARTiBack GmbH - M&A
2023-11-13
CMS
Germany
M&A
Christian Haellmigk, Daniel Mahn, Lukas Braun, Malena Hansen, Martin Mohr, Maximilian Eitelbuss, Tobias Schneider
ARTiBack GmbH
Target
Mutares SE & Co. KGaA - M&A
2023-11-06
CMS
Germany
M&A
Anne Brobeil, Christoph Ceelen, Christoph Kuster, Michael Wangemann
Mutares SE & Co. KGaA
Buyer
KfW Group - M&A
2023-11-17
Freshfields
Germany
M&A
Andreas von Bonin, Florian Reiter, Friedrich von der Heydt, Jens-Ole Steiner, Jonas Levermann, Juliane Diekgraf, Mirko Masek, Simon Schwarz, Ulrich Scholz
KfW Group
Buyer
DigiComm GmbH - M&A
2023-11-16
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek
Germany
M&A
Michael Sorgel
DigiComm GmbH
Target
72
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
Sponsored

Sponsored

IFLR Sponsored

bg #f6f8fb

Insights editorial only cont'd