Dr. Christof Häfner

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has advised funds managed by its long-standing client Apera Asset Management on an acquisition financing. Apera Asset Management is providing debt financing for the acquisition of shares in certain DMS Group companies. They are bought by funds managed by Avedon. The seller of the majority of shares is a private individual. The DMS Group is a leading independent BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) service provider in the energy sector in Germany and offers a broad portfolio of services for network and meter operators as well as energy distributors. It has eight locations in Germany and more than 800 employees. The company handles energy management processes for its broad customer base and also supports customers with automation solutions, process and system consulting, and training. Apera Asset Management provides private capital solutions to mid-market companies in the DACH, the UK, the Nordics, France and Benelux. Apera manages more than €2.6 billion of assets and has made 60 investments. The Freshfields team was led by Partner Michael Josenhans and included Principal Associate Vanessa Steiner, Banking Lawyer Aleksandar Djurdjevic and Transaction Lawyers Sazan Isufi and Naomi De Leon Muratalla (all Finance, Frankfurt) as well as Partner Martin Schiessl and Principal Associates Sebastian Jung and Christian Schmidt (all Tax, Frankfurt).

Sep 6

1 min

Latham & Watkins LLP advised Hg on an investment of Permira in GGW Group, one of the leading European insurance brokerage platforms for small and medium-sized enterprises. Founded by CEO Tobias Warweg, GGW Group today comprises more than 50 brokerage companies. Latham has served as legal advisor to Hg and GGW Group from the initial investment and in more than 20 add-on transactions that facilitated GGW Group’s growth. Closing is subject to regulatory clearances and expected in the second quarter 2024. Latham & Watkins regularly advises Hg on transactions most recently on the sale of Transporeon and MEDIFOX DAN. Latham represented Hg with a team led by Frankfurt corporate partners Oliver Felsenstein and Maximilian Platzer with Frankfurt/Munich corporate partner Sebastian Pauls, associates Sönke Bock, Michele Maurice Stephan, Annika Bilics, Nils Horst, and Lennart Werbeck; on finance matters by Frankfurt partners Sibylle Münch, counsel Rainer Adlhart and associates Philipp Guggeis and Jannis Strotmann; on banking and insurance regulation matters by Frankfurt partner Axel Schiemann and associate Dominik Schöneberger; on tax matters by Munich partner Stefan Süss; on antitrust matters by Frankfurt partner Max Hauser, Hamburg counsel Jana Dammann De Chapto and associate Nicolas Jung; on litigation matters by Frankfurt partner Alena McCorkle and associates Anna Henke and Stefanie Engmann; on data privacy matters by Frankfurt counsel Wolf-Tassilo Böhm and associate Clemens Ganz; on corporate/IP matters by associate Daniela Jaeger; on employment matters by Munich counsel Florian Dehmel and associate Martina Hölzer; on regulatory and general compliance matters by Frankfurt counsel Joachim Grittmann and Hamburg counsel Stefan Bartz.~~

Dec 11

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields are advising Property Finder International Ltd. (Property Finder), the Middle East’s leading property portal, on a new $170 million investment from the Mubadala Investment Company, alongside another UAE sovereign wealth fund and BECO Capital. Mubadala and the UAE sovereign wealth fund will each invest $75 million, with BECO Capital committing $20 million. This commitment follows the $525 million investment led by funds advised by Permira, with significant participation from Blackstone Growth in 2025. Property Finder has also raised a further $250 million in debt financing from Ares Management and HSBC. The Freshfields cross-border team was led by partners Julian Pritchard and Maria Ledeneva, counsel Adam Halewood, senior associate Stephanie Paterson and associates Chelsea Burns, Brandon Thompson and Lisha Xu. Financing advice was provided by partner Toby Bingley, senior associates Christina Banz and Sonam Cheema, and associate Joanna Ma. Antitrust advice was provided by partner Paul Van Den Berg, principal associate Jan Jeram and associate Gisela Santos. Tax advice was provided by partner May Smith and associate Ian Galvin.

Jan 29

1 min

Willkie advised Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC on the acquisition of 758 homes in Berlin in a forward purchase deal. Greystar, a leading global property company, is acquiring the Greenpark residential project in Berlin-Neukölln as part of a forward purchase deal for its develop-to-core strategy in Germany and Austria. The Greenpark project will consist of 758 studio, one- and two-bedroom rental apartments and is scheduled for completion in summer 2026. The Willkie team was led by partner Cornelia Thaler and included counsel Henning Aufderhaar, Dr. Moritz Vettermann and Wolfgang Münchow, and associates Marie Möllering and Philip Thürmer.

Mar 5

1 min

Sidley Austin has hired three investment funds partners from Clifford Chance in New York, continuing its aggressive hiring strategy. The firm is bringing in partners Cliff Cone, Michael Sabin and Dan Drabkin into its investment funds group as it continues to build out the practice in the city. At Clifford Chance, Cone and Sabin were co-heads of the firm’s U.S. funds and investment management practice. Cone spent nearly 13 years at Clifford Chance, according to his LinkedIn profile, and Sabin joined the firm in 2017. A recent Law.com analysis found that Clifford Chance reported £385 million in Americas revenue in 2025, up from £332 million the previous year, making the region its third-largest after Europe and Asia-Pacific. Brian Fahrney, chair of Sidley’s executive committee, said the hires bring experience in the funds space and relationships with investment funds and asset managers. The additions come as Sidley has made a series of hires to strengthen its investment funds capabilities. Recent arrivals include Shane Goudey in Palo Alto, who leads the venture funds practice; John Muno in Chicago, who leads the private equity funds practice; Mathew Eapen in Boston, who focuses on venture capital, growth equity, and technology- and healthcare-focused funds; and Ed Gander, Stephen Fox and Peter Boulle in London, who advise global fund managers across private equity, infrastructure, real estate, credit and secondaries funds. For Clifford Chance, the firm added Sheelka Arora-Cox in New York from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman as a partner in its energy and infrastructure finance team, supporting its renewables and project finance practice as well as private equity partner Andrea Gede-Lange from Fried Frank in September 2025. In January 2026 the firm added partner Alexandra Diehl, along with her 14 strong team who are joining the firm’s Frankfurt office from White & Case. A Clifford Chance spokesperson said: "We thank Michael, Cliff and Dan for their contributions to the firm and wish them well for the future."

Jan 20

1 min