Private Equity – Management packages

For 20 years, we have been a pioneering and leading firm – both in France and Western Europe (Germany, the United Kingdom, Benelux, Spain, Italy, Switzerland) – providing advice to directors/managers as part of private equity transactions, whether during negotiation/structuring/implementation of management packages or during their revision.

We also act during management investments (during group carve-outs) and when they are settled (through transfer of control or an initial public offering) as well as restructuring, if required.

Prior to these transactions, we support directors/managers/founder shareholders and their companies with strengthening or restructuring their equity and/or their shareholdings.

Our position as leader is built on our unique and almost exhaustive knowledge of comparable situations and European benchmarks in terms of management packages, the result of our involvement in negotiating some of the largest and most iconic examples.

It is this goodwill that allows us to remain relevant, and often play a pivotal role, in negotiations on sharing value creation with financial partners.

Mergers & Acquisitions (listed/unlisted)

We benefit from a significant reputation and long-standing experience regarding acquisition or transfer of company shares or assets as part of an external growth or restructuring approach.

We support our French and international clients with corporate finance transactions (mergers/splits/partial contribution of assets and all capital transactions) as well as with shareholder agreements (partnership agreements), with particular expertise in family groups.

For listed companies, we are involved in major investments during public offerings, particularly during share withdrawal transactions (public to private) or minority investments (private investment in public equity).

Finally, we are the leading firm for corporate governance, remuneration, and director liability issues for listed and unlisted companies.

Legal support throughout these processes is just one of the components of the services we provide our clients.

As far upstream in the process as possible, we look at the strategic and financial challenges of the transaction being considered, allowing us to understand and create a comprehensive strategy that includes legal, tax and financial elements. Then, still working in support of our clients, we set out the main objectives to achieve and the lines of negotiation to carry out.

Capital Markets and IPOs

We act during capital market transactions such as IPOs, capital increases and the issuance of complex securities (convertible bonds, shares with warrants attached, OCEANE bonds, bonds with warrants attached, etc.), as well as public share offers, private placements, and market disposal of share blocks, including alongside family groups and their directors.

We support our clients with all areas of stock market regulations (including those relating to financial communications) and all corporate governance issues, whether regarding the organisation of work, decision-making processes within company bodies, or matters surrounding directors’ remuneration or their investments in transactions bearing on the company’s share capital (corporate officer contract/executive package/employee share ownership).

We also represent our clients before the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (the French Financial Markets Authority) during investigations and litigation on issues including financial communications and market abuse.

Our work on these topics is profoundly influenced by our strong commitment to directors in their relationships with their shareholders and our close links with family shareholder groups in their relationships with their financial partners.

Restructuring

We also support our clients (listed and unlisted groups, directors of companies undergoing LBOs) in dealing with their difficulties and reorganising their balance sheet, including as part of preventative procedures (ad hoc mandates or conciliation proceedings) working with all sector stakeholders, including administrators and judicial agents, credit institutions’ recovery departments, and CIRI or credit mediation, depending on the case, and in coordination with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers when dealing with listed groups.

Our approach, given our profound understanding of the private equity market, has a particular focus on supporting directors in their relationships with their financial partners when their group’s business activities are facing temporary or structural financing difficulties.