Dr. David Huthmacher

Kirkland & Ellis is advising Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPP Investments”) on its investment in Universal Investment. Universal Investment, a portfolio company of Montagu, is the leading independent provider of third-party management company and fund administration services in Germany and Luxembourg, servicing institutional investors and fund initiators. Read CPP Investments’ press release The Kirkland team was led by corporate partners Annette Baillie, David Higgins, Sebastian Haefele and David Huthmacher and associates Claire Rushton, Andrew Mon, Yoana Georgieva and Tamara Zehentbauer; financial services regulatory partner Reva Raghavan; tax partners Peter Abbott and Mavnick Nerwal; and antitrust partner Thomas Wilson.

Sep 9

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised growth equity specialist Verdane on a €95 million investment in Urban Sports Club, Europe’s leading platform for sports and wellness. In addition to Verdane, several existing investors such as HV Capital and ProSiebenSat.1 participated. Verdane is a specialist growth investment firm that invests in companies and company portfolios with a focus on digitalization and decarbonization. In total, Verdane's funds hold capital commitments of more than €5.7 billion. Urban Sports Club is a leading platform for sports and wellness in Europe. The Berlin-based company's corporate customer base has already grown 2.5-fold since 2022 to over 7,000 active companies of all sizes. The partner network currently comprises more than 11,000 locations in six countries. The Kirkland team was led by transactional partners Greta-Josefin Harnisch and David Huthmacher and included transactional associates Tamara Zehentbauer and Florian Kalbfleisch as well as debt finance associates Barbara Dunkel and Kirstin Kemper.

Dec 20

1 min

New York, NY, February 3, 2025 -- Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP announced today that private equity attorney Dr. David Huthmacher has joined the Firm as a partner in Germany. He is based in the Firm’s Munich office. David focuses on advising private equity funds, corporations and investors on German and cross-border mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions. He is also experienced in advising on public takeovers and corporate reorganizations. David has been recognized by leading German directories for his private equity and M&A practice. He teaches capital markets law and corporate law at the University of Passau. David’s addition continues Willkie’s steady growth strategy in Germany in recent years, as the Firm has nearly tripled its size in the market since 2020 to approximately 90 lawyers based there today. Willkie opened its Munich office in February 2024, and has welcomed lateral partners in Munich in the areas of private equity and restructuring this year. “David is a talented and well-respected private equity practitioner whose breadth of experience makes him a valuable addition to our growing Munich-based team,” commented Georg Linde, Managing Partner of Germany. Dr. Kamyar Abrar, Co-Managing Partner of Germany, added: “Our clients will benefit from his deep market knowledge and experience, and he will be instrumental to our continued growth in the region. We are pleased to welcome him to Willkie.” David Huthmacher commented: “I am excited to join Willkie’s growing team in Munich, and I look forward to collaborating with my new colleagues in Germany and across the firm’s extensive, market-leading private equity and transactional platform.” Willkie Germany focuses on a wide range of practices including Private Equity, M&A, Insurance Transactions, Labor & Employment, Business Reorganization & Restructuring, Investigations & Enforcement, and more. Our lawyers are recognized as leaders in their field, handling complex corporate and commercial transactions and other matters that demand multifaceted legal experience. Willkie’s Munich office opened in 2024 and our Frankfurt office was established in 2000. ***************************************************** Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP provides leading-edge legal solutions on complex, business critical issues spanning markets and industries. Our more than 1,200 attorneys across 15 offices worldwide deliver innovative, pragmatic and sophisticated legal services across approximately 45 practice areas. Learn more at www.willkie.com.

Feb 3

2 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised XXXLutz Group on the successful delisting offer for all outstanding shares of home24 SE. The Frankfurt Stock Exchange had already granted home24’s application to revoke the admission to trading of its shares. XXXLutz operates more than 370 furniture stores in 13 European countries and employs more than 26,300 people. With an annual turnover of €5.75 billion, XXXLutz Group is one of the three largest furniture retail groups in the world. home24, headquartered in Berlin, is a leading home & living e-commerce platform in Continental Europe and Brazil with approx. 3,000 employees worldwide. Kirkland had already advised XXXLutz Group in 2022 on a voluntary public takeover offer for all outstanding shares of home24 SE. The Kirkland team advising XXXLutz Group was led by transactional partner David Huthmacher and included transactional partner Ben Leyendecker and capital markets partner Anna Schwander, as well as transactional associates Philipp Keinath and Friedrich Focke.

Sep 22

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis has advised Oakley Capital Fund IV and other principal sellers on the sale of Contabo to KKR. Contabo is a fast-growing cloud infrastructure and hosting provider based in Munich, Germany, offering small-sized enterprises, developers, prosumers, and gamers simple, easy-to-use cloud services. With a global network of 24 data centers across four continents, Contabo is serving a diversified mix of more than 250,000 customers in different industries. Oakley Capital Fund V will acquire a minority stake in Contabo alongside future majority investor KKR. Read the press release The Kirkland team advising Oakley Capital Fund IV and other principal sellers on the sale of Contabo was led by private equity partners Benjamin Leyendecker, David Huthmacher and Christoph Jerger and included corporate partner Anna Schwander and antitrust & competition partner Thomas Wilson as well as corporate associates Thomas Diekmann, Marcus Commandeur, Lukas Fellhölter, Juliane Hubert and Tamara Zehentbauer. The Kirkland team advising Oakley Capital Fund V on its acquisition of a minority stake in Contabo was led by corporate partners Jacob Traff and David Higgins and included corporate associate Karsten Silbernagel.

Jun 8

1 min