P+P Pöllath + Partners has its fans. "P + P are very strong," says one competitor, adding: "they do a really good job"....
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P+P Pöllath + Partners has its fans. "P + P are very strong," says one competitor, adding: "they do a really good job". The firm is renowned for representing management in private equity deals and this is where peers say it excels, but there are doubts over the firm's straightforward M&A capabilities.
The corporate group has expanded significantly in 2011 with the appointment of Jan Wildberger as partner, Eva Nase as counsel and six new associates.
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Commended for its expertise and extensive experience in representing management on deals, competitors say on the flip side that the firm is rarely mandated on the sponsor's side of larger transactions. "They have huge market share in representing management teams, probably one of the best two funds practices in Germany, but you barely see them on the transactional side," says one....
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Commended for its expertise and extensive experience in representing management on deals, competitors say on the flip side that the firm is rarely mandated on the sponsor's side of larger transactions. "They have huge market share in representing management teams, probably one of the best two funds practices in Germany, but you barely see them on the transactional side," says one.
Market feedback on the firm is positive and lawyers feel it deserves its ranking: "Pöllath is well placed, you certainly see them lot," says one peer. Another recommends Matthias Bruse: "There is one specific guy that is really driving their business there and that is Bruse. He is certainly a big name and a good partner."
On the management side the firm has been active on several headline deals. Jan Wildberger, who joined the firm from Simmons & Simmons in February 2011, headed a team advising the authorities at CABB when the company exchanged hands between private equity houses Bridgepoint and Axa in March 2011. Another notable deal saw Benedikt Hohaus and Barbara Koch-Schult represent the management of German fashion retailer Takko, which was purchased by Apax from Advent International..
Wolfgang Grobecker acted for Amergion on the takeover of WET Automotive Systems for €150 million in February 2011 and Jens Hörmann advised Citrix Systems on buying fellow software company Netviewer in the same month.
Another IT related transaction saw the firm advise Hasso-Plattners-Ventures as the main shareholder of RIB Software which went public. Partner Christian Tönies lead the team advising the private equity house on the €90 million IPO which closed in February 2011.
On the fund side, partner Andreas Rodin advised Deutsche Beteiligungs on the structuring of a €250 million Expansion Capital Fund in May 2011 and he also worked with partner Patricia Volhard on structuring a private equity real estate fund with a target of €887 million.
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