Tobias combines excellent technical M&A skills with wide-ranging experience in complex, cross-border transactions. He is ranked by JUVE 2016/2017 as a highly recommended lawyer.
Tobias combines excellent technical M&A skills with wide-ranging experience in complex, cross-border transactions. He is ranked by JUVE 2016/2017 as a highly recommended lawyer.
Tobias advises on major domestic and international M&A transactions, takeover law, reverse mergers, joint ventures and core corporate matters. Clients also benefit from his thorough grasp of stock corporation law and securities regulation.
In recent years, Tobias has developed particularly extensive knowledge and experience of matters in the automotive, chemicals and technology sectors. Adept at steering clients through challenging, cross-border deals, he is accustomed to leading and working as part of international teams of the Firm's lawyers.
Recent matters include M&A transactions for Clariant, Daimler, Nidec Corporation, SGL Carbon Group and AIXTRON.
A partner in the M&A practice of the Firm's Frankfurt office, Tobias has worked at White & Case since 2004. Noted for his knowledge of the latest legal developments, he regularly contributes to professional journals on a variety of current topics.
Experience
Advising the founders and shareholders of Autonomos GmbH, a Berlin-based autonomous driving start-up, on the sale of all shares in Autonomos GmbH to TomTom, a global leader in traffic, mapping and navigation products and solutions. Autonomos specializes in research and development services in the areas of automotive software, digital image processing and 3D sensor technology.
Advising TecDAX and NASDAQ listed Aixtron SE on the intended approx. €670 million takeover by the Chinese financial investor Fujian Grand Chip Investment. Germany-headquartered Aixtron is a leading provider of deposition equipment for the semiconductor industry. The transaction had to be abandoned by prohibitive order of US President Obama regarding Aixtron's US business.
A leading global technology company in multiple recent acquisitions of technology companies in Germany.
Advising Luxoft Holding, Inc, a leading global provider of software development services and innovative IT solutions, (i) on the acquisition of Symtavision GmbH, a provider of software tools and services for real-time system design and development for the automotive industry, and (ii) on the acquisition of Pelagicore AB, a leader in open source software platforms services for in-vehicle infotainment and human machine interface development.
Advising Ziylan Group, a Turkven Private Equity holding, on the acquisition of the German HR Group, parent company of the shoe chain Reno, from the Hamm family, the former Metro manager Siegfried Kaske and further shareholders. Other investors include capiton AG, the Germany-based private equity firm, and the current Reno management.
Advising Store Electronic Systems SA (SES-imagotag), the global leader in electronic shelf labels for retail, in connection with its strategic partnership with the German start-up company findbox GmbH.
Advising Avid Technology, Inc., a US media software company, on the €66 million acquisition of all shares in Frankfurt-listed Orad Hi-Tec Systems Ltd., Israel, by way of a reverse triangular merger. Avid is a Massachusetts-based company specializing in video and audio production technology. Orad is a developer, marketer and distributer of real-time 3D broadcast graphic, video server, and media asset management solutions.
Advised the Japanese Nidec Corporation on the acquisition of the Germany-based automotive supplier GPM from several private shareholders. This transaction represented one of the largest Japanese direct investments in Germany in recent years.
Advised Clariant on the establishment of a 50:50 joint venture with Wilmar to serve as a global platform for the production and distribution of amines and selected amine derivatives worldwide.
Advised Daimler AG on the establishment of a 50-50 joint venture with Robert Bosch GmbH.
Advised the Swiss specialty chemical group Clariant AG on the acquisition of more than 95 percent of the shares in Süd-Chemie AG from its majority stockholder One Equity Partners, and numerous family shareholders. The value of this transaction was approximately €2 billion.
Advising Sberbank, the largest bank in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, on the planned joint acquisition, together with Canadian auto-parts manufacturer Magna International, of a 55 percent interest in Adam Opel GmbH from the US automobile producer General Motors.
Violations of reporting obligations becoming costly – Federal Ministry of Finance presents draft bill for the implementation of the EU Transparency Directive, Börsenzeitung, Issue 46, p. 9, 2015, (co-author with Lutz Krämer)
The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority’s (BaFin) new guidelines on fines pursuant to the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG) – critical observations and European perspectives, ZIP, Issue 33, p.1557 et seqq., 2014, (co-author with Lutz Krämer and Ole Mückenberger)
Commentary on §§ 10, 15a, 15b, 25, 25a, 27a of German Securities Trading Act as well as Introduction, Kölner Kommentar WpHG, Ed, Heribert Hirte and Thomas Möllers, 2nd ed., 2014
Issuers Guidance ‘reloaded’ – A Review of BaFin’s Issuers Guidance dated November 8, 2013 with an outlook on future changes of the supervisory practice by the Transparency Directive 2013, CORPORATE FINANCE Law, Issue 5, p. 225 et seqq., 2013, (co-author with Lutz Krämer)
Commentary on § 32, Kommentar Investmentgesetz mit Bezügen zum Kapitalgesetzbuch, Ed, Thomas Emde et al, 1st ed., 2013
Introduction, Kölner Kommentar WpÜG, Ed, Heribert Hirte and Christoph von Bülow. 2nd ed., 2010
M&A