Christian A.Krebs (Chris)

Partner

Frankfurt + 49.69.9726.3939

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Christian Krebs has more than 15 years of experience advising international corporations and financial sponsors on cross-border M&A transactions, corporate law, and corporate governance. He is recognized as a renowned corporate and M&A lawyer in Germany by Juve, WirtschaftsWoche, Handelsblatt, and Best Lawyers and recommended for large M&A transactions by The Legal 500.

Chris provides counseling on all aspects of sales of private and public corporations, including private equity transactions (public-to-privates, LBOs, MBOs), on both the buy- and sell-side, as well as on early to late-stage financing rounds in venture capital contexts. He also provides boardroom advice regarding the latest trends in shareholder activism and corporate governance.

Clients in recent representations, in which Chris acted as lead or co-lead lawyer, include Aurora Resurgence, Bessemer Venture Partners, Deutsche Beteiligungs AG, Deutsche Börse, DPD, EDF (Hynamics), Partners Group, Procter & Gamble, PTT Global Chemical, Valmet, and Verizon.

Chris has worked at international law firms in New York, Brussels, and Buenos Aires. As a result of his international experience, he is especially apt at and has specific experience in advising foreign investors.

Chris has published extensively on matters of corporate law and speaks publicly on M&A topics. He is a coauthor of leading treatises Hölters/Weber on the law of corporations and Semler/Stengel on reorganizations. As deputy president of the German American Lawyers Association (DAJV), he organizes its annual symposium on transatlantic legal issues. He is also a member of the Association for Corporate Law (VGR).

Experience

  • DPD partners with GLS to expand parcel shop network and launch nationwide open locker networkJones Day advised DPD in its partnership with GLS to offer their respective customers one of the densest networks of drop-off and collection points in Germany by promptly putting a nationwide ‘Out of Home’ partner network (parcel shops and open network of lockers) into operation.
  • Spark Networks obtains chapter 15 recognition of first-ever cross-border restructuring under German StaRUGJones Day represented Spark Networks SE in the first-ever cross-border restructuring under the recently enacted German restructuring law ("StaRUG") and chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code involving over $100 million of funded debt issued by a U.S.-based credit fund and guaranteed by other German and U.S. entities.
  • WEG acquires industrial electric motors and generators business from Regal Rexnord CorporationJones Day advised WEG S.A. in the $400 million acquisition of the industrial electric motors and generators business of Regal Rexnord Corporation.
  • Société Générale sells Société Générale Equipment Finance's (SGEF) activitiesJones Day is advising Société Générale in the sale of the professional equipment financing businesses operated by Societe Generale Equipment Finance (SGEF) to Groupe BPCE.
  • Valmet acquires process gas chromatography business of Siemens AGJones Day advised Valmet Oyj in the €102.5 million acquisition of the process gas chromatography business of Siemens AG.
  • Parmaco (member of Partners Group) acquires majority stake in mobispace GmbHJones Day advised Parmaco Oy, a portfolio company of Partners Group, in the acquisition of a majority stake (51%) in mobispace GmbH, a German company specializing in modular design and construction of sustainable wooden buildings.
  • NEP Group sells SOS Global to Rock-it CargoJones Day advised NEP Group in its sale of SOS Global (SOS) to Rock-it Cargo, the global leader in end-to-end logistics for live events and high net worth goods.
  • LyondellBasell acquires minority stake in Source OneJones Day advised LyondellBasell in the acquisition of a minority share in Source One GmbH, Leiferde, Germany, a plastic waste sourcing and engineering company, specialized in developing technical solutions for hard-to-recycle post-consumer plastic waste.
  • OVHcloud acquires gridscaleJones Day advised OVHcloud, the European Cloud leader, in the acquisition of the German company gridscale, a software provider specialized in hyperconverged infrastructures.
  • Ahlström Capital BV and Nidoco AB invest in the Decor business of Ahlstrom-MunksjöJones Day advised Ahlström Capital BV and Nidoco AB in the acquisition of the Decor business of Ahlstrom-Munksjö.
  • Bessemer Venture Partners leads $42 million Series B investment in UpvestJones Day represented Bessemer Venture Partners as lead investor in the $42 million Series B financing round of Upvest, a company that provides cloud-based banking-as-a-service (BaaS) by offering their ready-to-go APIs to fintechs to offer their end customers investment products including everything from ETFs and stocks to crypto assets.
  • Simpson Manufacturing Company announces offer to acquire Etanco GroupJones Day advised Simpson Manufacturing Company, Inc. in the €725 million acquisition of the Etanco Group.
  • Deutsche Börse invests in and partners with the AirCarbon ExchangeJones Day advised Deutsche Börse AG on its investment in AirCarbon Exchange, a global carbon exchange using distributed ledger technology on a traditional trading architecture. 
  • PTTGC acquires allnex from AdventJones Day advised PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited in the €4 billion acquisition of allnex Holding GmbH from Advent International.
  • Solmax acquires TenCate GeosyntheticsJones Day advised Groupe Solmax Inc. (Solmax), the global leader in the production of high-quality polyethylene geomembranes for industrial and environmental applications, and its shareholders (including institutional investors Caisse de dépot et placement du Québec and Fonds de Solidarité FTQ), in connection with Solmax’s acquisition of TenCate Geosynthetics Holding B.V., a global provider of geosynthetics and industrial fabrics, from Dutch conglomerate Koninklijke Ten Cate (Royal Ten Cate, the Netherlands), and advised on the related senior secured financing to support the acquisition.
  • SUEZ sells its SUEZ Recycling & Recovery operations to PreZeroJones Day advised the French listed company SUEZ SA in its largest sale of SUEZ Recycling & Recovery operations - excluding plastic recycling and hazardous waste treatment activities - in four continental Europe countries: the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, and Poland to PreZero, the environmental division of Schwarz Group.
  • Verizon acquires incubed ITJones Day advised Verizon Communications, Inc. in its acquisition of incubed IT, the creator of a software platform providing autonomous navigation tools to administer, manage, and optimize mixed fleets of robots in industrial settings.
  • Deutsche Börse AG participates in €14.4 million strategic Series B financing round of HQLAx, a FinTech developing innovative DLT/blockchain solutions for liquidity managementJones Day advised Deutsche Börse AG in connection with the €14.4 million strategic Series B investment round of financing for Luxembourg-based FinTech HQLAx.
  • Bessemer Venture Partners participates in $135 million Series D financing round of Mambu GmbHJones Day represented Bessemer Venture Partners on its participation in a Series D further financing round in Mambu GmbH, one of the market leaders in the field of SaaS Banking Platforms, totaling $135 million.
  • Japanese industrial conglomerate settles product liability claimsJones Day represented a Japanese industrial conglomerate in relation to damage claims for the alleged supply of defective electronic components for the solar industry.
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    April 2020 White Paper

    Act to Mitigate the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic Under Germany's Civil, Insolvency and Criminal Procedure Law of 27 March 2020

    Additional Publications

    • February 2019
      Author, The In-House Lawyer Comparative Guide on Corporate Governance, Germany Jurisdiction
    • December 2018
      Tailwind for MAC clauses, Börsenzeitung, p. 9
    • November 2015
      Internationale Zuständigkeit bei Geschäftsführerhaftung, GWR 2015, 450
    • October 2015
      Haftung des übertragenden Rechtsträgers nach Ausgliederung für „Goodwill“-Ausgleichsanspruch des Versicherungsvertreters, GWR 2015, 402
    • August 2015
      Aufhebung eines Unternehmensvertrages ist auch im GmbH-Konzern nur zum Ende des Geschäftsjahres zulässig, GWR 2015, 340
    • October 2014
      Commentary on decision II ZR 174/13 of the German Federal Court regarding indemnification of officers of a stock corporation for criminal law penalties, BB 2014, 2512
    • September 2014
      Nicht aus eigener Tasche, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
    • June 2014
      Gewahrte identitaet (Maintained Identity), Unternehmermagazin
    • May 2014
      BGH konkretisiert und stärkt Auskunftsverweigerungsrecht der Aktiengesellschaft/SE, BB 2014, 1168
    • May 2014
      Nicht geltend gemachte Lohnforderungen eines Arbeitnehmer-Gesellschafters sind im Insolvenzfall nachrangig, GWR 2014, 225
    • May 2014
      Gesamtrechtsnachfolge der WEG-Verwalterstellung einer juristischen Person durch Verschmelzung, Kommentar zu BGH V ZR 164/13, GWR 2014, 194
    • April 2014
      Grenzüberschreitender Formwechsel nach Deutschland – Einordnung, Voraussetzungen und Praxisfolgen, GWR 2014, 144
    • May 2013
      Grenzüberschreitender Formwechsel nach Deutschland – Einordnung, Voraussetzungen und Praxisfolgen, GWR 2014, 144
    • February 2013
      Vorsicht bei Zahlungsversprechen an Gesellschafter: BGH konkretisiert Anforderungen, Handelsblatt Rechtsboard
    • February 2013
      BGH-Entscheidung zur HSH-Nordbank, Finance Magazin
    • Oktober 2012
      BGH-Entscheidung zur HSH-Nordbank, Finance Magazin
    • August 2012
      Freeze-Out Transactions in Germany and the U.S.: A Comparative Analysis, German Law Journal 13(8):941-978
    • August 2012
      Non-Reliance Letter - ein wirkungsvolles Gestaltungsinstrument?, NZG 2012, 847

    Additional Speaking Engagements

    • May 15, 2019
      CFIUS and European Foreign Direct Investment Control Event
    • May 8, 2019
      Circular Lecture (Ringvorlesung) on Corporate Law: Shareholder Activism, University of Freiburg Law School
    • April 5, 2019
      Transatlantic Legal Conference 2019, Moderator M&A Panel "The MAC is back"
    • November 6, 2018
      Einführung in den Unternehmenskauf, Universität Freiburg
    • March 2, 2018
      Working Group Day 2018 of the DAJV (German-American Lawyers’ Association)
    • November 6, 2017
      Movers and Shakers: Shareholder Activism in the U.S. and Germany
    • September 29 - October 2, 2014
      Sommerlehrgänge des ILF (Institute for Law and Finance) 2014
    • March 4-15, 2013
      Unternehmensrecht in der Beratungspraxis plus Fallstudie
    • March 4-15, 2013
      Advising on Corporate Law in Legal Practice - Spring Seminar (Frühjahrslehrgang) of the ILF (Institute for Law and Finance) 2013

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