Karsten Wöckener
Biography
Overview
Karsten Wöckener is Head of Germany and Partner in the Global Capital Markets Practice. Karsten advises issuers and investment banks on corporate finance matters as well as regulatory capital transactions.
His focus is on equity and debt capital markets. Karsten frequently advises on investment grade, cross-over and high yield bonds, (pre-IPO) convertibles and exchangeables and other hybrid instruments as well as IPOs and rights issues. He also advises on secured bond and private placement transactions, including Schuldscheine, structured notes, exchange traded products and trade finance products across asset classes.
Karsten also advises issuers and banks on the establishment and update of debt issuance, commercial paper and structured note programmes.
Karsten represents several fintech, insurtech and startup companies in connection with their market entry and rounds of financing. This includes the launch of digital platforms, the use of distributed ledger technology (e.g. blockchain) regarding the issuance of securities as well as strategic considerations and the use of new technologies in corporate financing. He regularly advises various associations on "Digital Corporate Finance" matters.
Boston
Experience
EnBW Group
Advised EnBW on the issuance of two tranches of green bonds with an aggregate principal amount of €1.2 billion.
Berlin Hyp
Advised Berlin Hyp AG on the issuance of a blockchain-based mortgage Pfandbrief, the first issuance of a digital mortgage Pfandbrief by a bank.
365.bank
Advised the underwriter on a bond issuance by 365.bank, a.s. with an aggregate principal amount of €150 million.
adidas
Advised a consortium of banks on a bond issue by adidas AG with a total volume of EUR 1 billion, issued in two bonds with a nominal amount of EUR 500 million each.
Adler Group
Advised Adler Group S.A. on a recapitalization of up to EUR 937.5 million and amendment of the terms and conditions of various bonds issued by Adler Group S.A. with an aggregate nominal amount of EUR 3.2 billion.
Advised Adler Group S.A. and its subsidiary Adler Real Estate AG on a tender offer and consent solicitation for Adler RE's EUR 300 million outstanding senior secured notes due 2024.
Aggregate
Advised Aggregate Holdings S.A. on the issuance of notes in the amount of EUR 400 million. The transaction combined both, an offer to new investors to subscribe for the notes and an exchange offer to investors in Aggregate's existing EUR 350 million notes.
Berlin Hyp
Advised the joint lead managers and the co-lead manager on the issue of the debut Sustainability-linked bond issue by Berlin Hyp AG in the aggregate principal amount of EUR 500 million.
Bitpanda
Advised Austrian fintech Bitpanda on the expansion of its product portfolio to include Bitpanda Bitcoin ETC, on the structuring and implementation process, on the approval and notification by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority as well as on regulatory, commercial, corporate and tax aspects.
Branicks Group (formerly: DIC Asset)
Advised the joint bookrunners on the issuance of a EUR 400 million green bond by DIC Asset AG.
Advised DIC Asset AG on a further issuance of sustainability-linked promissory notes (Schuldscheindarlehen) with a volume of EUR 100 million. In April 2021 we advised DIC Asset AG on its first issuance of sustainability-linked promissory notes (Schuldscheindarlehen) with a volume of EUR 250 million.
Brenntag
Advised Brenntag SE on its debut Schuldschein transaction. The EUR 390 million and USD 250 million transaction consists of several tranches with different maturity profiles, interest rates and currencies.
Advised Brenntag Group on a dual tranche issuance with an aggregate principal amount of EUR 1 billion. The notes were issued by Brenntag Finance B.V. and guaranteed by Brenntag SE.
Ceconomy
Advised the joint bookrunners on the issuance of an inaugural bond issued by Ceconomy AG with an aggregate principal amount of EUR 500 million.
CVA
Advised Morgan Stanley Bank AG as arranger on the EUR 250 million Schuldschein transaction of Compagnia Valdostana delle Acque - Compagnie Valdôtaine des Eaux S.p.A. (CVA). CVA is a renewable energy company based in the Valle d’Aosta region, Italy. The transaction consists of two floating-rate Schuldschein tranches with terms of five and seven years.
Continental
Advised the joint bookrunners on a EUR 500 million bond issue by Continental AG.
Covestro
Advised the joint lead managers on Covestro AG’s issue of bonds with an aggregate principal amount of EUR 500 million.
Deutsche Beteiligungs AG
Advised Deutsche Beteiligungs AG on the successful placement of unsubordinated and unsecured convertible bonds due 2030 for an aggregate principal amount of €100 million.
Deutsche Börse
Advised a bank syndicate on a EUR 3 billion bond issuance by Deutsche Börse AG. The issuance is split in three tranches. The notes are represented by central register securities pursuant to the German Act on Electronic Securities (Gesetz über elektronische Wertpapiere). This is the first public issuance of central register securities using the D7 platform.
Deutsche Lufthansa
Advised Deutsche Lufthansa AG on the issuance in two tranches of notes with a principal amount of EUR 1.5 billion. The first tranche has a principal amount of EUR 600 million and the second tranche has a principal amount of EUR 900 million.
Advised Deutsche Lufthansa AG with regard to a EUR 150 million Schuldschein loan agreement.
Elkem
Advised the arrangers NATIXIS and SEB on Elkem ASA's EUR 200 million Schuldschein transaction. The transaction consists of four floating-rate Schuldschein tranches with terms of four and six years.
EnBW Group
Advised EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG on its debut Schuldschein transaction. The EUR 500 million transaction consists of several tranches with different maturity profiles.
Advised EnBW Group on the issuance of Green Bonds with a principal amount of EUR 1.5 billion. The bonds have been issued in two tranches and are guaranteed by EnBW Baden-Württemberg AG.
E.ONAdvised E.ON SE on the issuance of two tranches of notes with an aggregate principal amount of EUR 1.5 billion. Both tranches were issued as green bonds under the Green Bond Framework of E.ON SE.
ETC Group
Advised ETC Group, Europe's leading provider of digital asset-backed securities, on the expansion of its product portfolio to include the first cryptocurrency linked exchange-traded commodity (ETC) based on an index provided by MSCI Inc. In line with the company's other ETCs, the new product, which tracks the performance of the MSCI Global Digital Assets Select Top 20 Capped Index, is traded in fiat currency and connects the crypto market with the traditional stock market, allowing trading with a secure and liquid product on regulated markets.
Eurogrid
Advised Eurogrid on the debut issuance Green Bonds with a total value of EUR 750 million.
Evonik
Advised Evonik Industries AG on its first green hybrid bond issue with a volume of EUR 500 million and a concurrent tender offer relating to its outstanding EUR 500 million Subordinated Resettable Fixed Rate Notes due 2077 issued in 2017, which was the first issuance of a hybrid bond by Evonik Industries AG.
Federal Republic of Germany
Advised the Federal Republic of Germany on the first issue of a EUR 6.5 billion Green Federal Bond.
Advised the Federal Republic of Germany on the issue of EUR 7.5 billion fixed rate bonds.
Advised a syndicate of banks on a EUR 5.25 billion Green Federal bond issued by the Federal Republic of Germany.
Advised a syndicate of banks on the issuance of a bond of the federal Republic of Germany in the amount of EUR 6 billion.
Advised a syndicate of banks on the tap issue of a bond of the Federal Republic of Germany with a principal amount of EUR 3 billion. The total principal amount of the bond is EUR 22.5 billion.
Fidelity
Advised Fidelity International on the expansion of its product portfolio to include Fidelity Physical Bitcoin ETP, on the structuring and implementation process, approval and notification by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, and on regulatory, commercial, corporate and tax aspects.
Hapag-Llyod
Advised Hapag-Lloyd AG on the issuance of a sustainability-linked high yield bond with a volume of EUR 300 million.
Helaba
Advised a banking syndicate on the issuance of the first Green Bond issued by Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Girozentrale in a principal amount of EUR 500 million.
JAB Holdings
Advised the joint bookrunners with regard to the sustainability-linked bond issue by JAB Holdings B.V. in the aggregate principal amount of EUR 500 million, guaranteed by JAB Holding Company S.à r.l.
LBBW
Advised Landesbank Baden-Württemberg on a EUR 1 billion Social bond issued under its debt issuance programme.
Advised Landesbank Baden-Württemberg as issuer with regard to the issuance of EUR 750 million Additional Tier 1 Notes.
METRO
Advised the joint bookrunners on a EUR 500 million bond issuance by Metro AG.
OMV
Advised the global coordinators and the bookrunners on the issue of hybrid bonds by OMV Aktiengesellschaft in the amount of EUR 1.25 billion.
Piaggio
Advised Piaggio & C. S.p.A. in connection with a total of seven Schuldschein loan agreements with a total volume of EUR 115 million between Piaggio & C. S.p.A. as borrower and UniCredit Bank AG as lender.
Schaeffler
Advised the joint bookrunners on a bond issuance by Schaeffler AG with an aggregate principal amount of EUR 850 million.
SC Steelcoin / Frankstahl Group
Advised SC STEELCOIN GmbH, a company of the Austrian Frankstahl Group, on the expansion of its product portfolio to include a steel exchange-traded product (ETP). The company previously created the Steelcoin A token – the world's first security token that puts real steel on the Ethereum blockchain and available to investors. With the newly created Steelcoin ETP, the company now offers investors an exchange-traded product with which investors can participate indirectly in the price development of steel products. Steelcoin ETPs can be traded via traditional stock exchange trading on the open market of the Ba-den-Württemberg Stock Exchange. Investors also can redeem their Steelcoin ETPs for cash with the company twice a year.
Siemens Energy
Advised the managers on the first issuances of a dual-tranche of green bonds by Siemens Energy Finance B.V. The two tranches have a principal amount of EUR 1.5 billion and are guaranteed by Siemens Energy AG.
SIGNA
Advised the joint bookrunners on real estate developer SIGNA Development Selection's issuance of a EUR 300 million unsecured green bond.
UniCredit
Advised a consortium of banks on the EUR 13 billion rights offering of UniCredit S.p.A.
Advised UniCredit Bank AG as issuer on the issuance of two Additional Tier 1 bonds in the amount of EUR 7 billion and EUR 700 million.
Valeo
Advised Valeo SE on its EUR 266 million Schuldschein transaction. The transaction consists of several tranches with different maturity profiles and is divided into three fixed-rate and two floating-rate Schuldschein tranches with terms between three and seven years. Three tranches include an innovative ESG-KPI-linked structure.
Verbund
Advised Verbund AG on its issuance of a Green Bond including biodiversity with a volume of EUR 500 million
Vonovia
Advised the Joint Lead Managers on the issue by Vonovia SE of one social bond and one green bond with an aggregate principal amount of EUR 1.5 billion.
Vossloh
Advised the managers on a EUR 150 million debut ESG-linked hybrid bond issued by Vossloh AG.
Wöckener, Karsten, Becker, Peter: Handbuch der AG-Finanzierung (Publisher: Ekkenga), Chapter 13 Schuldscheindarlehen, 3. Auflage 2024 (3rd edition 2024)
Wöckener, Karsten, Becker, Peter: §§ 7-11 BeckOGK ZivilR Vlg, 2023
Wöckener, Karsten, Artzinger-Bolten, Jochen: Schuldverschreibungen (Publisher: Hopt / Seibt) - §§ 1 - 3, 24 SchVG; Anhänge C, D, 2. Auflage, 2023 (Annexes C, D, 2nd edition, 2023)
Wöckener, Karsten: Art. 16 EU-ProspektVO, Wertpapierprospektrecht (Publisher: Just/Voß/Ritz/Zeising), 2. Auflage 2023 (2nd edition 2023)
Wöckener, Karsten, Gillenkirch, Daniel, Preuße, Dr. Thomas: The law on the introduction of electronic securities - An initial assessment from a practical perspective, BKR 2021, p. 460
Wöckener, Karsten, Preuße, Dr. Thomas, Gillenkirch, Daniel: The draft law on the introduction of electronic securities - Overview and assessment of the future legal situation with regard to the legal systems in France and Luxembourg, BKR 2020, p. 551
Wöckener, Karsten, Gillenkirch, Daniel, Hauman, Mindy, Höfer, Helmut: New German Electronic Securities Regulation to come, IFLR, September 2020
Wöckener, Karsten, Freudenberger, Cristina: KurG (Publisher: Kalss / Moser): SchVG Annex 4 - Exkurs: Überblick zum deutschen Schuldverschreibungsgesetz (Annex 4 - Overview of the German Act on Notes), 1. Auflage 2018 (1st edition 2018)
Wöckener, Karsten, Becker, Peter: Unternehmensfinanzierung am Kapitalmarkt (Publisher: Habersack / Mülbert / Schlitt) - § 13 Genussrechte (Sec. 13 Participation Rights), 4. Auflage 2018 (4th edition 2018)
Wöckener, Karsten, Frankfurt Kommentar, Schuldverschreibungs-gesetz (Publisher: Friedl / Hartwig-Jacob), §§ 7,8 und 18,. 1. Auflage und 2. Auflage 2013 / 2017 (1st edition and 2nd edition 2013 & 2017)
Wöckener, Karsten; Langen, Markus: Negative Zinsen beeinflussen Kapitalmarktrecht (Negative interest rates affect capital market law), Boersen-Zeitung, 2015, p. 9
Wöckener, Karsten; Höfer, Helmut: Fairness-Kodex für bessere Produktinformation (Fairness code for better product information), Boersen-Zeitung, 2013, p. 9
Leading Individuals: Banking and financial law: Bonds JUVE 2023/2024
Highly recommended lawyer: Bonds and Structured Finance, Regulation: ESG, JUVE 2023/2024
Band 2, Chambers Europe Germany 2024 and Chambers Global 2024 Germany - Capital Markets: Debt
Band 4, Chambers FinTech Legal Germany 2024
Expertise based abroad in Austria, Foreign expert in Austria, Chambers Global Capital Markets – Austria 2024
"Karsten Wöckener is praised for being very knowledgeable, professional and reliable", Chambers Global/Europe Germany 2023
"Karsten is extremely good at what he does, he's very well established in the market, and one of the front runners here", Chambers FinTech Legal Germany 2022
Expertise based abroad in Austria: clients appreciate Karsten for being "pragmatic and solution-oriented" and confirm "you see him regularly and he does a lot in the Austrian market", Chambers Global Capital Markets – Austria 2022
Leading Individual: Capital Markets – Debt, The Legal 500 Germany 2024
"Karsten Wöckener has a super understanding of the market, is beyond any doubt as to legal quality, humorous and proactive - that's what makes a good partner.", The Legal 500 Germany 2023
Highly regarded: Capital Markets – Debt, IFLR1000 2024
Frankfurt lawyer with significant capital market business in Austria, JUVE Austria 2023/2024
Best Lawyer 2025: Banking and Finance Law, Capital Markets Law, Regulatory Practice, Best Lawyer/Handelsblatt 2025