Monard law

Corporate Law Public-Private Partnerships Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity, Venture Capital Real Estate & Construction Non-profit Organizations & Trade Associations

Partner

Benoit specialises in corporate law and more specifically in acquisitions and restructuring. Over the years he has also gained an in-dept experience in Public Private Partnerships (PPPs).

Benoit has two decades of experience in corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and restructurings in which he assists national and international clients throughout the entire transaction process. His experience covers the complete acquisition process, from issuing the letter of intention to the due diligence process, and from contract negotiations to the signing and follow-up after completion. The acquisitions could be share deals or assets deals.

Benoit’s experience in M&A led him to become involved in PPP structures in 2007, for example, through the sale of special purpose vehicles, among other means. Benoit focuses on the development-related aspects of PPP projects (as opposed to the mere financing aspects of them). These include the analysis of contracts (DBFM, DBM, direct contracts, etc.), drawing up risk matrixes and due diligence reports, researching payment mechanisms and causes for termination, drafting term sheets, assisting in the submission of tenders, incorporating a special purpose vehicle in a post-BAFO phase, engaging in final negotiations with various stakeholders, drafting contracts (subcontracting agreements, joint-ventures, etc.), and financial closing procedures.

Benoit has been involved in almost all of the major PPPs in Flanders since 2007, and, as a result of his years of experience in assisting these types of parties regularly, he knows the sensitivities and interests of all PPP parties concerned (government, contractors, financiers).

Benoit started his career as a lawyer in 2002 at the firm Coudert Brothers, Coppens Van Ommeslaghe Faurès (which became Dechert LLP in 2006). He joined NautaDutilh in 2007 and then joined Monard Law as associate partner in October 2014.

Benoit was an assistant at the Judicial Law Department at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (until 2017) and Chairman of the Young Voka Metropolitan (2018).

He contributes to legal journals regularly by writing on selective subject matters in the fields of company law, PPP, and the law of evidence.

Dutch, French, English

Benoit obtained a Licentiate in Law from Ghent University in 2000. He obtained an LL.M. in International Commercial Law and Arbitration from the University of London, Queen Mary and Westfield College in 2001, and afterwards a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA), specializing in European Management, from Solvay Business School (ULB) in 2002. He was admitted to the Brussels bar in 2002.