Clifford Chance
The group at Clifford Chance has ‘very good sectoral knowledge coupled with strong commercial acumen’ and is routinely instructed by mid-cap and large-cap private equity houses, infrastructure funds, and financial institutions. The department is jointly led by Fabrice Cohen, who handles both cross-border M&A and private equity transactions. Alongside him, Benjamin De Blegiers has notable experience in infrastructure-related transactions. Emmanuel Mimin is an additional key contact.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Very good sectoral knowledge coupled with strong commercial acumen.’
‘Benjamin de Blegiers: very good commercial knowledge which allowed us to manage a complex situation.'
‘I regularly work with Clifford Chance (and in particular with Benjamin de Blegiers) on LBO (Large cap) transactions. Their geographic presence and sectoral expertise are assets that few firms in Paris can claim at this level! It is in the most complex deals that they can express all their talent. They are constantly reinventing themselves.’
‘Clearly, Benjamin de Blegiers is above the rest. He is undoubtedly the best private equity lawyer of his generation. He is an outstanding technician but above all the best negotiator I know. He does what few other lawyers are capable of doing - helping you win a deal through his ingenuity and personality. He's a real dealmaker.’
‘Clifford Chance is our go-to for complicated M&A transactions in Europe and they deliver consistently excellent results and advice. The team offers an excellent balance of commercial cut-through measured with the technical skills of a top-tier firm. The team is extremely responsive, they provide sound commercial advice and due to their wide range of experience are always able to give indicators on market positions.’
‘Benjamin is one of the finest infrastructure-focused lawyers in Europe and has great connections in the French market so is always well-informed. He gives very well-considered advice and has deep technical expertise and commercial nous.’
‘Benjamin de Blegiers is very commercial, very responsive and has a keen sense of which workstreams to lead on and always be present on, and which to effectively delegate to others. He is a highly skilled negotiator and communicator. Alexandre Namoun is extremely capable and will be a name to watch for in the future.’
‘Impressive team, both in terms of the quality of its advice and the experience of its members, as well as their always commercial and constructive approach to negotiation. Team constantly capable of finding innovative solutions. Our joint work was a real success, in particular thanks to the extreme clarity of the explanations from the Clifford Chance Paris team. Probably the best lawyers I have ever had the opportunity to work with!’
Key clients
- PE
- 3i
- Apax Partners
- Blackstone
- Bpifrance
- Bridgepoint
- The Carlyle Group
- Cinven
- Clayton Dubilier & Rice
- KKR
- PAI Partners
- Partners Group
- Perceva
- Permira
- Triton
- Wendel
- Infrastructure
- Apollo
- Ardian
- Macquarie
- Meridiam
- Mirova
- Omnes Capital
- DIF Capital Partners
- Eurazeo
- InfraVia
- Financing
- BNP Paribas
- Crédit Agricole
- Natixis
- Société Générale
- Ardian Private Debt
- Ares Capital
- Barings
- BlackRock
- LBPAM
- SCOR Investment Partners SE
- Bank of America Merrill Lynch
- Barclays
- Crédit Suisse
- Deutsche Bank
- Goldman Sachs
- HSBC
- IKB
- JP Morgan
- UniCredit
- Capzanine
Work highlights
- Advised a consortium of private equity funds, composed of DIF Capital Partners and PGGM, on the acquisition of c. 50% of the SAUR group, a leading innovator and service provider in the global water sector with operations in more than 20 countries, from EQT.
- Advised Cinven on the sale of the Tractel Group, a global security specialist that provides reliable and innovative vertical access solutions and services to the building and industrial sectors, to Alimak.
- Advised Permira on the disposal of the Vacanceselect Group to European Camping Group (ECG), the recently acquired portfolio company of PAI Partners.
Lawyers
Next Generation Partners
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Fabrice Cohen, Benjamin de Blegiers