Milbank

Firm overview: Milbank LLP is a leading international law firm. More than 800 lawyers worldwide provide integrated services combined with technical excellence and genuine sector expertise throughout the world, as they have been doing for over 150 years. Milbank is headquartered in New York and has offices in Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Munich, São Paulo, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington DC.

The first German office opened in 2001 in Frankfurt, followed by Munich in 2004. As part of the global network, these offices give Milbank a strong local presence. The experienced resident partners have a long-standing and in-depth knowledge of the German market. More than 80 lawyers in Germany provide high-level legal advice in all areas that are key to the structuring, financing and successful implementation of transactions. Listed groups, SMEs, financial institutions and global investors have placed their trust in Milbank’s expertise for many years, and continue to do so with great success.

In order to achieve the best possible solutions for its clients, Milbank works in refined, partner-led teams individually staffed to meet the specific demands of each mandate. The highly specialised lawyers offer top-level legal advice and master the most complex projects. Lawyers regularly counsel on transactions that set new standards in their sector.

Main areas of practice
Antitrust and competition: The lawyers in Milbank’s German and European antitrust and competition practice in Munich advise on matters covering the entire spectrum of this practice area. These include applying merger control regulations to complex private equity and hedge fund structures, as well as in the strategic planning and subsequent implementation of acquisitions by companies that are already market leaders in their respective areas, cartel and dominance investigations, antitrust litigation, compliance know-how.
Contact: Alexander Rinne

Banking and acquisition finance: Milbank’s German finance practice focuses on complex cross-border and domestic financing transactions, ranging from acquisitions to corporate, infrastructure, asset and project financings. Working as an integrated team with the London and New York offices, the firm’s finance lawyers in Germany provide comprehensive advice on the German, US and English law in connection with financings in the public and private market to lenders, underwriters/arrangers, sponsors, institutional and corporate clients.
Contacts: Thomas Ingenhoven, Barbara Mayer-Trautmann, Mathias Eisen

Corporate advisory: Milbank’s corporate advisory practice is well known for its expertise on all aspects of German corporate and capital markets law and corporate reorganisations. Given the potential impact of minority shareholders’ actions for a successful and timely implementation of corporate reorganisations in Germany, the corporate team focuses on the preparation and the coaching of shareholders’ meetings of public companies, as well as corporate litigation and appraisal proceedings following corporate reorganisations. The team also advises on liability matters of board members.
Contacts: Ulrike Friese-Dormann, Christoph Rothenfusser

Litigation: German qualified lawyers represent clients on corporate litigation resulting from M&A transactions as well as in the context of shareholder meetings, corporate reorganisations and liability matters of board members. In addition, US-qualified litigation lawyers in the Munich office specialise in IP litigation, in particular related to the pharmaceutical industry.
Contacts: Ulrike Friese-Dormann, Christoph Rothenfusser

Private equity: Integrated teams of highly specialised lawyers support sponsors in their investments at home and abroad. Clients turn to Milbank in all stages of private equity transactions from the establishment of funds and the acquisition of portfolio companies to exit strategies. The range of services includes: leveraged buy-outs, take privates, PIPEs, public M&A, fund formation, venture capital, joint ventures, management incentive programs.
Contacts: Michael Bernhardt, Sebastian Heim, Markus Muhs, Steffen Oppenländer, Leopold Riedl, Norbert Rieger

Private M&A: The team focuses on advising public groups, financial institutions and medium-sized companies on complex national and international acquisitions, sales of companies, joint ventures and other transactions. The range of services includes: transaction structuring, due diligence, sale and purchase documentation, post-merger integration, restructuring.
Contacts: Michael Bernhardt, Martin Erhardt, Sebastian Heim, Markus Muhs, Steffen Oppenländer, Leopold Riedl, Norbert Rieger

Public M&A: Milbank’s public M&A team focuses on advising on all aspects of takeovers and mergers of public companies. A close working relationship with the German Securities Agency, broad experience in advising on all corporate law aspects and intensive cooperation with Milbank’s public M&A teams in London and New York ensure a high-level service which is complemented by the corporate advisory practice.
Contacts: Norbert Rieger, Christoph Rothenfusser

Restructuring (insolvency and finance): The German restructuring teams advise companies, funds, private equity houses and their portfolio companies, financial institutions and other creditors and debtors in respect of all areas of financial restructurings, corporate workouts, turnarounds and insolvencies, and represent entities interested in acquiring troubled companies, their assets or their debt. Together with Milbank’s restructuring practices in the USA and London, the team provides seamless legal advice spanning all major jurisdictions.
Contacts: Mathias Eisen, Thomas Ingenhoven, Barbara Mayer-Trautmann

Tax: The tax team advises on all aspects of national and international corporate tax law, focusing on the development and implementation of tax-optimised acquisition and financing structures. The team further advises clients on tax matters of corporate restructurings and other complex and constantly changing matters of corporate tax law.
Contacts: Rolf Füger, Thomas Kleinheisterkamp, Matthias Schell