Dr. Peter Veranneman

With more than 25 years' experience in corporate law, my clients appreciate me as a seasoned transaction lawyer who guides them through the shallow waters of any transaction without bothering them with every legal detail. This long and diverse experience as a lawyer also helps me with the strategic (re)-alignment of our international Corporate Group, which I head. Moreover, I am operating as Head of Germany since 2022.

The transaction landscape has been changing continuously since I started my career as a lawyer back in 1993. I owe part of my success to several years of working in the UK and the US, which gave me the privilege of preparing myself for globalisation early on. The rest lies in being open to new trends and topical areas to incorporate into my practice.

My capabilities as a lawyer today are a product of the following experiences:

Even though traditional M&A is a recurrent theme throughout my legal career, I spent the first 15 years working intensively on venture capital and private equity investment.

Due to the increase in the exits on the stock market in the late 90s I took advantage of the opportunity to be among the first lawyers in Germany to become an expert in initial public offerings. Since 1997 I have advised a variety of stock market candidates (e.g. ADVA, OHB, UCB) and investment banks (e.g. Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank) on IPOs and acquired significant capital market expertise.

In 2002 the Securities and Acquisitions Act (Wertpapiererwerbs- und Übernahmegesetz) entered into force and – in response to the clients' increasing appetite for takeovers – I set out to develop specialist knowledge and become a recognised expert in this area. This expertise opened doors for me to large-scale international corporate takeovers (e.g. € 4.4bn takeover bid by UCB for Schwarz Pharma).

In addition, over the years I have acquired sector know-how through advising various automotive suppliers (e.g. Continental AG) in the M&A setting. This know-how is not only of benefit to our clients, I also make sure to pass it on to our younger lawyers. Besides my passion for the sector and in-depth experience advising on various automotive transactions, I am also one of the founders of Automotive Connect, an annual Bird & Bird event focusing on the most recent as well as visionary issues affecting OEMs and suppliers in the automotive industry.

Finally, my active involvement as a member of our German China Desk as well as a member of our international China Outbound Steering Committee show my keen interest in the Chinese M&A market in relation to the EU as well as my desire to make sure our firm is ideally positioned for the increasing China outbound business. I regularly travel to China to meet with our clients and potential clients there and in 2018 alone advised on three Chinese outbound investments in German companies (e.g. Fuyao Group on the acquisition of SAM Automotive out of insolvency).

• Continental AG: Advised on the purchase of Automotive Products Italia (SV) S.r.l. by Bosch, on the sale of two divisions to Brose and in connection with the hostile takeover by the Schaeffler Group.
• Dalli-Werke: Advised on the acquisition of a large portfolio of Procter & Gamble trade marks.
• EWV Energie- und Wasser-Versorgung GmbH: Provided highly complex corporate, tax and regulatory advice in connection with the merger with STAWAG AG.
• Fuyao Group: Advised on the acquisition of all assets from the insolvency estate of SAM Automotive.
• Hager & Meisinger: Advised on the sale of a subsidiary to Henry Schein Inc., a US Fortune 500 company.