Finance

Roads, schools, athletic facilities, court buildings, harbors, private industrial plants and building complexes – state-of-the-art infrastructure forms the backbone of modern economies. 
The involved assets are often organized and financed as independent projects. Common standards regarding structure, procedures, contracts and finance have developed in the course of national and international project finance activities. These standards serve as guidelines which the large number of parties sometimes involved in such projects (sponsors, technical advisers, banks, mutual funds, government licensing officials, guarantors, construction companies, operators, users and customers) can use to bring the work to a successful conclusion. 

For years now, our law firm has helped structure and implement projects conducted on the basis of project finance, structured finance and public-private-partnership models. 

We assist our public- and private-sector clients during all phases of a project:

Early-stage scoping to determine the suitability of a plan for alternative finance structures

Structuring of the procurement process

Risk analysis

Support provided to sponsors regarding the commercial structuring of their activities and participation in competitive bidding

Drafting and negotiating license agreements, EPC contracts, O&M contracts, finance agreements including security packages

Integration of export credit agencies to hedge investment risks associated with international investments

Collaboration with international financial institutions

Refinancing and restructuring

We advise borrowers, lenders and investors on the finance and refinance of individual property and real-estate portfolio acquisitions, as well as on the restructuring of existing financing. In addition to classical bank finance, our advice also includes finance through mezzanine and shareholder loans or typical and atypical forms of shareholdings as well as on structuring closed real estate funds.
Our advice covers both finance under German law as well as international finance, particularly standard LMA contracts. We work closely with colleagues in our foreign partner law firms in this area, as needed. If several financing parties are involved, we also advise on the relationship and security among individual lenders. In addition, we also support lenders in the purchase of credit receivables.
We advise lenders and borrowers about the risks involved with, and possible solutions for non-performing loans as well as on matters of breaches of contract and the liquidation of collateral.
In addition, we support our clients in the finance of larger construction projects and real estate development projects.

Our areas of specialization:

Acquisition finance

Refinance and rescheduling of real estate portfolios

Financial restructuring

Structuring of mezzanine finance for real estate acquisitions

Acquisition of credit receivables

Advice on non-performing real estate finance

We support our clients in all aspects of debt financing for their business activities.
We advise German and international companies in relation to traditional bank loans, mezzanine finance instruments (e.g., profit participation rights or silent partnerships), financing through shareholder loans or cash pooling and cash management systems in corporate groups. Alternative types of finance that are increasingly gaining importance include asset-based finance such as factoring, reverse factoring or other forms of procurement finance. We have gained special expertise in all these areas because of our intensive work for small and mid-sized companies.
Our corporate finance experts will illustrate to you the possibilities, benefits and disadvantages as well as the risks involved in the various forms of finance and will work to develop a finance package that is tailored to your company. We will also be happy to assist you in selecting a suitable finance partner for your company.

Our areas of specialization:

Structuring and design of corporate finance, in particular selection of finance instruments in consideration of corporate, tax and sales law requirements

Coordination of drafting and negotiating contracts with finance partners

Advice on the avoidance of liability risks for shareholders, managing directors, management and supervisory board members that can result from the various forms of finance