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Private Equity & Venture Capital

What others say about us

  • "A leading firm for private equity and venture capital, with one of the broadest practices in the market."(JUVE)
  • "The PE practice is one of the market leaders and boasts exceptional strength in breadth."(JUVE)
  • "The firm attracted a lot of interest when it was chosen to advise on the first German SPAC."(JUVE)
  • "An impressive year for a firm that has been raising its standards on all counts. Not only has the corporate practice, one of the largest in Germany, maintained its performance with another very good year, but there were some surprising developments that showed a firm in full flight and going places."(The Lawyer Awards )
  • "CMS Hasche Sigle is the leading law firm in Germany for mid-cap acquisitions."(Financial Times Deutschland)
Private Equity Expertise

Focus

Providing comprehensive advice on private equity transactions is one of our core strengths. The prestigious JUVE Handbook has long ranked our 70-headed team among Germany’s top five private equity practices. We advise our clients throughout the acquisition and ownership phases. Our successful track record of advising on large buy-out transactions is complemented by a long-established focus on the mid-cap segment.

Pioneering role

Our private equity team has carved out a pioneering role for itself in the market by developing new and innovative solutions.

Awareness of the wider context

Rather than being a private equity boutique focused purely on transactions, we have in-depth expertise in all legal areas relevant to private equity.

Market and industry expertise

The special strengths of our practice include detailed expertise across all sectors and markets.

Regional coverage

The full breadth and depth of this expertise is immediately available at all our German locations.

At home in Europe

As an integral part of CMS, the leading organisation of international law and tax firms, we offer direct access to offices in 59 locations and 33 jurisdictions. Strong partner involvement

Strong partner involvement

guarantees outstanding expertise, continuity, reliability and efficiency, plus smooth workflows throughout the CMS organisation.

Optimised advice

We are committed to tailor-made, pragmatic solutions as well as effective – and costeffective – advice.

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Venture Capital
Your leading venture capital adviser with innovative Solutions. Venture capital transactions are a key strength of CMS Germany. Clients and the presti
28/07/2022
CMS Private Equity Global Brochure
Private equity investors face daily pressures of origination, valuations, execution, performance, exit strategies, fund raising and regulation. At CMS, our private equity strategy is designed around our...

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01/03/2024
CMS advises existing investors on exit from solar company Enviria
Frankfurt/Main – Enviria, one of Germany's leading providers of decentralised energy solutions, has entered into a definitive agreement on an equity investment from Blackrock, through its Global Renewable Power IV fund. As part of this transaction, the existing investors, Galileo Green Energy, BNP Paribas, Alter Equity and Redalpine, are selling their stake in Enviria.A CMS team headed by Dr Florian Plagemann advised the existing investors on all legal aspects of their exit. CMS regularly advises venture capital investors and start-ups and has already advised in connection with the previous financing round of Enviria. Enviria, based in Frankfurt/Main, offers innovative En­ergy-as-a-Ser­vice solutions for the B2B sector. The start-up takes on the financing, planning, installation and operation of solar systems, as well as the integration of charging stations and energy storage. CMS Germany Dr Florian Plagemann, Lead Partner Dr Friedrich von Spee, Counsel Carmen Hübner, Senior Associate Dr Maximilian Eitelbuß, Senior Associate, all VC/PE Birgit Wagner, Legal Manager Jule Marie Holz, Legal Specialist, both Smart OperationsPress Con­tact presse@cms-hs. com
25/01/2024
Emerging Europe M&A Report 2023/2024
Despite geopolitical tensions, fears of recession and strong inflationary pressures across the EU, as well as the fiscal tightening needed to contain them, M&A in the CEE region has remained reasonably buoyant. Findings from the CMS Emer­ging Europe M&A 2023/24 report, published in cooperation with EMIS, demonstrate the resilience of the Emerging Europe deals market as activity holds firm against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions and strong inflationary pressures. Welcome to the 2023/24 edition of the Emerging Europe report.
24/10/2023
CMS European Energy Sector M&A and Investment Outlook 2024
As the world economy increasingly embraces the push towards decarbonisation, Europe has actively sought to place itself at the vanguard of the discussion on energy trans­ition. Op­por­tun­it­ies to deploy capital abound as power sources switch further towards offshore and onshore wind, solar, heat, hydrogen, battery storage, new networks, carbon capture, and industrial decarbonisation. The latter brings an interface with other sectors such as technology companies (with power hungry data centres a particular focus), real estate, low carbon transport and decarbonisation of industrial processes such as cement, glass and steel production. As much as it is difficult, complex and highly political, the energy transition is also a huge business opportunity. To reach net zero by 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that global investment in clean energy alone will need to increase from the USD390bn in the first half of 2023, to USD 1.3tn in 2030. Many commentators worried that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would put back the transition and shift Europe back towards fossil fuels. While it appears to have resulted in a renewed political focus on energy security it has also laid bare the financial and political consequences of relying on oil & gas imports, giving further impetus to renewables as a secure form of energy. Europe has also sought to be a leading light on the concept of “reaching net zero”, with the European Union (EU) having set out its ambition, back in 2019, to become the world’s first major economic bloc to be climate-neutral by 2050. This has added momentum to energy investment and M&A over recent years – 2021 and 2022 saw the second and third highest annual aggregate values of Western European M&A in the sector on record, at USD 59.8bn and USD 53.7bn, respectively, bested only by the anomalously high total of USD 89.4bn logged in 2018. Energy M&A in the region has been more subdued in 2023, but our survey demonstrates that energy executives are gearing up for a more active dealmaking period, with most expecting more opportunities and anticipating increased levels of investment in the year ahead. Capital looks set to continue to flow primarily to renewable energy projects and related assets, with solar and batteries topping the list of attractive subsectors among our respondents. Consistent with this, South West Europe takes pole position as the most promising region for investment opportunities. But there are thorns among the roses. Our respondents are cognizant of the challenges in the energy market, with supply-chain volatility and commodity price increases emerging as a prominent concern. This is unsurprising after a period of dislocation following the pandemic and amid a time of rising global demand for renewable products and commodities. Persistent inflation and elevated interest rates, combined with an uncertain macroeconomic outlook, are raising investors’ concerns, with financing risk (including the increased cost of financing) also coming to the fore for respondents. Overall, while some sense a recent softening of the market due to these fundamentals, our survey paints a picture of steadily improving investor sentiment in Europe’s energy sector, laying the foundations for a busier period ahead for M&A activity.
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.
05/09/2023
CMS European Real Estate Deal Point Study 2023
The state of the real estate transaction market in Europe The new CMS European Real Estate Deal Point Study 2023 now includes more than 2,500 transactions. Compiling the study involved comparing all the transactions on which we advised in the period 2010 to 2022, enabling us to highlight developments and trends in the real estate market. The market response to our study indicates that over the years it has repeatedly proved to be a valuable tool when preparing for contract negotiations. CMS’ analysis of the real estate market in 2022 revealed the following key trends
06/07/2023
CMS advises fitness technology provider EGYM on €207 million comprehensive...
Munich – German fitness technology and corporate fitness provider EGYM has received €207 million in fresh capital from US investor Affinity Partners and existing investors Mayfair Equity Partners...
12/05/2023
Consultation on the EU’s interim emissions reduction target for 2040
Until 24 June 2023 the European Commission is consulting to gather views on the EU’s climate target for 2040.Since the Communication of the European Green Deal in late 2019, there have been a raft of...
10/05/2023
At last: invalidity and revocation actions now available before TM offices...
One of the most significant innovations introduced by the EU Trade Mark Directive 2015/2436 (the so-called trade mark reform package) was the requirement for all EU countries to implement – where not...
21/04/2023
Key changes for companies related to the new General Product Safety Regulation
On 30 March 2023, the European Parliament adopted the General Product Safety Regulation for consumer products, which replaces the General Product Safety Directive of 2001 (2001/95/EC). The Council must...
04/04/2023
European Commission amends Article 102 TFEU guidance paper and announces...
In 2008, the Commission adopted its Guidance on the Commission`s enforcement priorities in applying Article 82 of the EC Treaty (now Article 102 TFEU) to abusive exclusionary conduct by dominant undertakings...
28/03/2023
European Parliament and Council ready to start negotiations on EU Data...
In February 2022 the European Commission presented its proposal for the EU Data Act, which – if adopted - will introduce a far-reaching legal regime on access to and use of non-personal data in the...
20/03/2023
Out with the old, in with the new? Considerations for patentees in opting...
So far in this series of blog posts, we began with an article that highlighted some of the key changes between the current European system of patent prosecution and enforcement and the new Unitary Patent...