Paul Hastings Further Strengthens German Presence with Premier Global M&A Partner

FRANKFURT – Further bolstering its German and European M&A offerings, Paul Hastings (Europe) LLP announced today that the firm has added leading corporate lawyer Dr. Nikolaos Paschos as a partner in Frankfurt and chair of Germany M&A.

Dr. Paschos is consistently recognized as one of Germany’s leading corporate and M&A lawyers by legal publications including Chambers and JUVE, representing clients including technology company, TeamViewer, chemicals distributor, Brenntag, and financial services provider, Allianz, on complex domestic and cross-border transactions, including public takeovers and defense, shareholder activism, public company mergers and spin-offs, and strategic acquisitions and divestitures. He joins from Latham & Watkins LLP

“We remain focused on investing in Germany and across Europe with elite talent to provide our premier global corporate clients excellence in service,” said firm Chair Frank Lopez. “The arrival of Niko continues the strategic growth in our cross-border M&A and private equity capabilities and servicing our corporate clients on their most complex matters.”

Key matters on which Dr. Paschos has advised include Bayer AG on the carve-out and IPO of its material science business, Covestro AG; CPPIB, on its investment in the public takeover offer and the delisting offer for Axel Springer by KKR; and Siemens AG on the IPO of its healthcare equipment business, Siemens Healthineers. He also advises public companies and their boards on shareholder litigation, activism defense, and issues around corporate governance and other corporate matters.

“The current momentum at Paul Hastings is unrivalled, and the firm has attracted some of the most exceptional lawyers in the market across many of its practices globally,” said Niko. “I could not pass up the opportunity to join its outstanding team, and I look forward to building upon the synergies between the firm’s exceptional global M&A and takeover offering and my practice,” said Dr. Paschos.

The hiring of Dr. Paschos follows last year’s strategic investments by the firm in Germany, including private equity and infrastructure M&A partner Frederik Mühl, global finance partner Dr. Melchior Raiser, and private equity partner Gerd Hegele. 

Dr. Paschos is the latest in a succession of elite corporate and transactional lawyers to join Paul Hastings’ premier global M&A practice in recent years, including preeminent M&A and corporate takeover defense lawyer Eduardo Gallardo in New York from Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP and top-ranked infrastructure M&A partner Jessamy Gallagher in London from Linklaters LLP. Other notable recent additions include leading M&A lawyer Jon Kubek from Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, a prominent insurance M&A team led by partners Kirk Lipsey and Chad Vance from Sidley Austin LLP in New York, and, in Frankfurt, Mühl and Hegele from Clifford Chance LLP, and Raiser from Milbank LLP.

The Paul Hastings global M&A team handled many large and complex transactions through 2023, including advising Francisco Partners and TPG in the $6.5 billion take-private of New Relic; Abry Partners in the acquisition of Chambers and Partners, and alongside Castik Capital in £1.15 Billion Sale of Reward Gateway to Edenred; Symphony Technology Group in its $1.5 billion take-private of Momentive Global, the maker of SurveyMonkey, and its $1.4 billion take-private of Avid Technology; Quotient Technology, Inc. in its take-private by Neptune Retail Solutions; and Nokia in its sale of Device Management and Service Management Platform businesses to Lumine Group.

About Paul Hastings

With widely recognized elite teams in finance, mergers & acquisitions, private equity, restructuring and special situations, litigation, employment, and real estate, Paul Hastings is a premier law firm providing intellectual capital and superior execution globally to the world’s leading investment banks, asset managers, and corporations. For more information, visit www.paulhastings.com.