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Private Equity Lawyers

As a private equity fund, investor or management team, you face daily pressures of valuations, performance, exit strategies and regulation. The ready availability of debt has strongly impacted the competition for assets and pricing levels. A cohesive private equity strategy will ensure you acquire the right assets and obtain maximum value from your portfolio. We are structured around your business sectors and that of your targets. This means we can advise you on all stages of a fund’s lifecycle, from formation and administration to the making of investments, portfolio monitoring and exiting.

Your deals are executed according to tight deadlines and complex regulatory constraints. Our multidisciplinary specialist teams globally can mobilise quickly, whatever the size and complexity of your transaction. With anti-trust, tax, employment, banking, commercial and disputes expertise, we can also assist in the protection and growth of your funds and investments. Whether your deal is in the upper or mid private equity market, our specialist lawyers can guide you towards the best business outcome in your home markets and across multiple jurisdictions.

Specifically, we have a team of lawyers dedicated to private equity operations who have achieved a first-rate reputation in the following fields: tax structuring with financial and tax modelling; negotiation of purchase and sale contract documents; structuring and issue of complex securities; negotiation of financing and refinancing documentation; control of concentrations; negotiation/renegotiation/restructuring of management packages; structuring of funds and management company (regulatory and tax aspects); support for the management team (structuring of carried interest and joint investments); build-up (in France and abroad); post-operation litigation.

For some years our private equity practice has regularly been listed in the Top 5 of rankings such as Bloomberg, Mergermarket and Thomson Reuters.

Our practice is also listed in the most widely recognised guides, such as Chambers, IFLR and Legal 500. For example, our entry in the 2015 edition of Chambers Europe reads:
"A far-reaching practice in the fields of LBO transactions, risk capital and investment fund structuring. It provides a complete range of services to asset management companies, investment funds and other financial institutions."
Client review: "A full service; the lawyers have business sense and show high commitment towards their clients." - Chambers Europe 2015

Noteworthy clients: 21 Centrale Partners, Chequers Capital, Ardian, Nextstage, Bridgepoint, Windhurst, Vivalto.

 
Virginie Corbet-Picard
Virginie Corbet-Picard
Partner
France, Neuilly-sur-Seine
Virginie Corbet-Picard joined CMS Francis Lefebvre in 2007. Virginie specialises in M&A transactions, particularly private equity, restructuring programmes, joint-ventures and other aspects of corporate...
Jean-Eric Cros
Jean-Eric Cros
Partner
France, Neuilly-sur-Seine
Jean-Eric joined CMS Francis Lefebvre in 1989. He became a partner in 2003. Jean-Eric handles all aspects of mergers & acquisitions and restructurings for both listed and unlisted companies: drafting...
Alexandre Delhaye
Alexandre Delhaye
Partner
Member of the firm’s Advisory Board
France, Neuilly-sur-Seine
Alexandre Delhaye joined CMS Francis Lefebvre in 2001. He is a partner at the Corporate/M&A department. Alexandre specialises in corporate law, M&A and stock exchange law, he handles all aspects of...
Benoit Gomel
Benoît Gomel
Partner
France, Neuilly-sur-Seine
Benoît Gomel joined CMS Francis Lefebvre in 2015
Hains-Thomas
Thomas Hains
Partner
France, Neuilly-sur-Seine
Thomas Hains joined CMS Francis Lefebvre en 2008. Partner in the M&A/Corporate/Private Equity department, Thomas assists strategic investors, family offices and family-owned groups of companies, investment...
Arnaud Hugot
Arnaud Hugot
Partner
France, Neuilly-sur-Seine
Arnaud Hugot joined CMS Francis Lefebvre in 2006. He became a partner in January 2014. He specialises in M&A transactions, in particular private equity, cross-border deals and joint-ventures. He assists...
Christophe Lefaillet
Christophe Lefaillet
Partner
France, Neuilly-sur-Seine
Christophe Lefaillet joined CMS Francis Lefebvre in 1989 and became a partner in 2005. He specialises in all matters relating to consolidation and restructuring operations for listed and unlisted co...
Benoît Provost
Benoît Provost
Partner
France, Neuilly-sur-Seine
Benoît Provost joined CMS Francis Lefebvre in 1990, coopted partner in 2020. Benoît specialises in all matters relating to consolidation and restructuring for listed and unlisted companies
Jérôme Sutour
Jérôme Sutour
Partner
Head of Financial Services
France, Neuilly-sur-Seine
Jérôme joined CMS Francis Lefebvre in 2007. He is responsible for the Financial Services Group within the firm's Banking, Finance & Insurance Department and co-chairs the Funds and Regulation Practice...
Francois Bossé-Cohic
Francois Bossé-Cohic
Counsel
France, Neuilly-sur-Seine
François joined CMS Francis Lefebvre's corporate - private equity team in 2021. He has extensive experience in negotiating and structuring management packages for private equity and capital markets transactions...