The banking practice at Milbank Tweed is considered to be extremely client focussed. "Very valued, seriously loyal and deliver on time....
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The banking practice at Milbank Tweed is considered to be extremely client focussed. "Very valued, seriously loyal and deliver on time. They work well with tight deadlines. They produce what we ask for," says a client.
"I think Milbank is definitely strong, in particular [practice head] Rainer Magold," says a peer. Magold has been active for the sponsors on two notable transactions, most recently securing €145 million in financing for The Carlyle Group's acquisition of four companies held by Primondo Specialty Group in January 2011. He also acted as lead counsel for Triton on securing €175 million to purchase the companies in 15 different jurisdictions owned by the Wittur Group in December 2010.
The same month saw one of 2010's rare leveraged finance transactions, in which Margold led a team advising the Unicredit on providing syndicated loan facilities for the acquisition of the Schneider Versand Group for €113 million.
The firm's other listed leading lawyer, Thomas Ingenhoven, is a favourite of clients, one of whom describes him as a "self-starter, very proactive, very broad". He is also praised for considering every eventuality. Another says: "[He] understands the commerciality of the deal. Very knowledgeable and diligent. He knows the business inside out. If he was to leave I would probably follow."
Ingenhoven was active on the arrangers side in late 2010, acting for UniCredit on refinancing €360 million in credit facilities extended to shipping group Hapag Lloyd and representing Commerzbank on arranging a €400 million syndicated loan for biotechnology company Sartorius Stedim.
In March 2011, Ingenhoven also advised a consortium of German municipal utility companies on financing the acquisition of Evonik Steag for €528 million.
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Perception of Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy's M&A practice is inconsistent. Some peers consider it a contender for the rankings while others argue it is predominantly focused on private equity....
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Perception of Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy's M&A practice is inconsistent. Some peers consider it a contender for the rankings while others argue it is predominantly focused on private equity. Although in the latter area the firm is stronger it has secured several significant M&A mandates.
Peers recommend Norbert Rieger. One of the two corporate founding partners of Milbank's Munich office, Rieger leads the practice with Peter Nussbaum.
A headline deal for the firm saw Rieger lead a team to advise NYSE Euronext on the much anticipated merger with Deutsche Börse. Elsewhere, acting for ProSiebenSat.1 Media, Rieger advised on the sale of TV broadcaster N24 and the production company MAZ&MORE.
In a further deal the firm acted for car rental company SIXT in establishing a car sharing joint venture with BMW.
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"Milbank are definitely the strongest of that group," reflects one competitor on the second tier. "Milbank is a small operation but very successful in Germany....
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"Milbank are definitely the strongest of that group," reflects one competitor on the second tier. "Milbank is a small operation but very successful in Germany. It's all about this guy [Norbert] Rieger," says one corporate competitor.
Unanimously praised and respected by the market, Milbank's private equity practice does not have a head, instead it is governed equally by the two corporate founding partners of Milbank's Munich office, Peter Nussbaum and Norbert Rieger, and Frankfurt partner Peter Memminger.
Known for his strong long-standing relationship with The Carlyle Group, Rieger was active for the private equity house on acquiring six specialist shopping chains of Primondo Specialty Group from the insolvent German retailer Arcandor in November 2010.
Again active for the buyers, Memminger and Nussbaum advised Levine Leichtman Capital Partners on the acquisition of Luminator Technology Group, a global supplier of LED products.
On the sell side, Memminger led a team involved in the sale of Loyalty Partner Holdings, a marketing services company that operates in Germany, Poland and India, to American Express Loyalty.
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