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Portrait ofVincent Dirckx

Vincent Dirckx

Partner

CMS DeBacker
Chaussée de La Hulpe 178
1170 Brussels
Belgium
Languages French, English, Dutch

Vincent started his career in New York working for Kelley Drye & Warren and then Baker & McKenzie. He then joined Freshfields’ Belgian practice and worked mostly in Brussels but also from London. From 2003 to 2009, he was a corporate and finance partner at Lydian.

In 2009, Vincent became a partner at CMS. In addition to sitting on the Corporate/M&A Management Committee of CMS, Vincent heads CMS Belgium’s M&A department. Vincent’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital in connection with both private and public transactions, whether cross-border or domestic, essentially on behalf of large Belgian and non-Belgian corporates and investment funds.

Vincent is ranked and recommended in Chambers Europe.

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"Thanks so much Vincent (...), I couldn’t be happier with the outcome or with the level of service provided by you and your colleagues at CMS."

Lisa Giles-Klein, Burger King

"I value the fact that Vincent specializes not only in M&A, but also in corporate. For an international group like Delhaize it is crucial to be able to rely on the expertise and swift availability of CMS. Vincent and his colleagues understand the dynamics of international business and the Delhaize way of working. This is of vital importance to us."

Philippe Dechamps, (former) General Counsel Delhaize Group

Relevant experience

  • Norkring | Advising Ancala Partners, a UK-based infrastructure investment manager, in connection with their acquisition of 75 % of the equity of Norkring Belgium, a subsidiary of Norkring AS from Norway, which is a leading player in the field of wireless distribution and transport of digital Television, radio and other data applications.
  • Centrica | Advising Centrica in connection with its acquisition of the Belgian company REstore NV, Europe’s leading demand response aggregator.
  • Ahold Delhaize | Advising Ahold Delhaize, the Dutch new parent company of the Belgian Delhaize Group following their recent 10.6 billion merger, in connection with a range of equity transactions both in Belgium and in the US
  • Delhaize Group | Assisting Delhaize Group, Belgium’s largest retail chain, in connection with the 1 billion acquisition of a competitor across eight European jurisdictions.
  • Burger King | Advising Burger King on the acquisition (including due diligence, share purchase agreement and merger control analysis and advice with regard to franchise aspects) of Quick Restaurants (Belgium's largest fast food chain) operated in French overseas territories with the help of CMS Luxembourg and CMS France.
  • Korys | Assisting Korys in connection with various investments in the equity Belgian and non-Belgian companies active in the energy sector.
  • Bakkavor | Assisting in the sale of Bakkavor Limited’s Belgian business (ready meals) to Culinor, a well-known Belgian player in the same sector.
  • Delhaize | Assisting Delhaize in the sale of its brand Tom&Co, the specialist store chain for pet food and care, to investment group PetSerCo.
  • Deutsche Bahn | Assisting Deutsche Bahn with the restructuring of their Belgian operations
  • Marsh | Assisting Marsh, the worldwide leader in insurance brokerage, in connection with the acquisition of a Belgian market leader in the same sector.
  • Johnson & Johnson | Advising the American multinational consumer products company in connection with a range of divestments through asset transactions.
  • Assisting large and mid-cap listed companies in connection with both debt and equity public and private issuings of up to EUR 900 million, as well as on a range of corporate governance and market abuse issues.
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Publications

  • V. DIRCKX, "Les acquisitions vont-elles résister au virus ?", L’Echo, 01/04/2020
  • Vincent is the author of various publications in French and English in connection with public take-over bids and M&A transactions. He has also spoken at conferences on topics that relate to his practice areas, including directors’ liability.
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Education

  • 1995 - Bar admission (Brussels, Belgium)
  • 1991 - University of Louvain, UCLouvain (Law Degree)
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20/06/2017
Shareholder Activism: A European Perspective
In recent years, there has been significant growth in shareholder activism. These “activist shareholders” are fund managers (typically hedge funds) who usually acquire minority interests in listed...

Feed

21/03/2024
CMS European M&A Study 2024
CMS has announced the findings of the 16th edition of the CMS European M&A Study 2024, offering an in-depth analysis of the mergers and acquisitions landscape based on transactions CMS advised on. The...
13/09/2023
Turning the Corner? CMS European M&A Outlook 2024
We are pleased to share with you the 2024 edition of the European M&A Outlook, published by CMS in association with Mergermarket.
13/09/2023
Turning the corner? CMS European M&A Outlook 2024
43% of dealmakers predict a decline in European M&A activity over the next 12 months, whilst 35% foresee an increase, with private equity dealmakers displaying heightened optimism. This time last year...
29/09/2022
Boom & Gloom? CMS European M&A Outlook 2023
We are pleased to share with you the 2023 edition of the European M&A Outlook published by CMS in association with Mergermarket.
22/09/2022
Dealmakers bullish despite challenging market conditions
M&A expectations run high: Almost all respondents (88%) are currently considering M&A. Undervalued targets and distressed sales to drive activity: The biggest buy-side driver of M&A is expected to be...
23/03/2022
CMS: European M&A bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, with a return to...
Multi-year analysis by CMS reveals that ‘normal service’ had resumed in European dealmaking as familiar patterns in deal metrics returnPrimary deal driver for transactions is buyers entering a new...
15/11/2021
CMS Belgium and CMS France advised Gryphon Investors on their acquisition...
CMS Belgium and CMS France successfully advised, alongside Kirkland & Ellis, Gryphon Investors (“Gryphon”), a leading middle-market private equity firm, on the Belgian and French aspects of Gryphon’s...
14/09/2021
The Road to Recovery: European M&A Outlook 2022
71% of dealmakers agree that private equity (PE) firms are better placed than corporates to take advantage of buying opportunities presented by COVID-19, according to the ninth edition of the European...
28/05/2021
CMS advises Worldline on asset divestments in Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg
International law firm CMS has advised longstanding client, Worldline, a leading European player in payment services, on its divestment of business assets in Austria, to buyer, Global Payments s.r.o...
24/03/2021
CMS European M&A Study 2021: Europe pivots to become more ‘buy­er-friendly’...
Europe has returned to a ‘buy­er-friendly’ environment, similar to the US where more ‘buy­er-friendly’ positions are common, after the COVID-19 pandemic created more risk-averse attitudes. As a...
10/03/2021
CMS Belgium advised on the sale of the Scaldis Group to Elis
CMS Belgium advised the shareholders of Scaldis Group on the sale of their group to Elis, the French stock-listed company. Scaldis is a major European player in the "Cleanroom" sector (workwear for sectors...
12/01/2021
CMS Belgium advised Ecclesia Group on the acquisition of Kegels & Van Antwerpen
CMS Belgium advised Ecclesia Group, the German parent company of Concordia, on the acquisition of Antwerp based insurance broker Kegels & Van Antwerpen. Through this acquisition Ecclesia becomes the fifth...