Dr. Sebastian Häfele

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

Willkie recently advised Goldman Sachs Alternatives on its €120 million Series B investment in osapiens, a leading ESG platform and provider of compliance and sustainability reporting solutions. On July 29, osapiens announced on the completion of a $120 million Series B financing round led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives. Based in Germany, osapiens is a leading provider of ESG software solutions and works with an international team of more than 300 employees for more than 1,300 customers worldwide. Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is one of the leading investors in alternatives globally, with over $450 billion in assets and more than 30 years of experience. The business invests in the full spectrum of alternatives including private equity, growth equity, private credit, real estate, infrastructure, hedge funds and sustainability. The Willkie team was led by partner Miriam Steets and included partner Jared Fertman and associates Joe Laurel and Denise Kammerer.

Jul 30

1 min

New York, NY, December 16, 2025 -- Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP announced today that M&A and private equity attorney Dr. Sebastian Häfele has joined the Firm as a partner in Germany. He is based in the Firm’s Munich office. Sebastian is a corporate attorney who focuses on all aspects of mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, public takeovers and corporate reorganizations. He has significant experience with German and cross-border M&A projects and has been recognized by leading German legal research guides for his M&A, private equity and corporate practice. Sebastian’s addition continues Willkie’s steady growth strategy in Germany in recent years. This year, the Firm has welcomed lateral partners in Germany in the areas of private equity, antitrust and litigation, and opened a new office in Hamburg, the Firm’s third office in Germany. Kamyar Abrar, Co-Managing Partner of Germany, commented: “Sebastian is a skilled lawyer with a diverse corporate practice spanning numerous industries. His experience and market recognition in M&A and private equity will strengthen our dynamic team in Germany, and we look forward to working with him to further extend our transactional capabilities to clients worldwide.” Sebastian commented: “Willkie has a top-ranked global private equity and transactional platform that is known for its collaborative, client-focused approach and well-established reputation in the German market. I am delighted to join this growing team of exceptional lawyers in Germany.” Sebastian joins Willkie from Kirkland & Ellis. Willkie Germany focuses on a wide range of practices including private equity, mergers and acquisitions, insurance transactions, labor and employment, restructuring, litigation and arbitration, investigations and 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 offices in Germany are located in Munich, Frankfurt and Hamburg. ***************************************************** Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP provides leading-edge legal solutions on complex, business critical issues spanning markets and industries. Our approximately 1,300 attorneys across 16 offices worldwide deliver innovative, pragmatic and sophisticated legal services across approximately 45 practice areas. Learn more at www.willkie.com.

Dec 16

2 min

Willkie advised DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate AG, an investor in commercial real estate, on a comprehensive restructuring of its listed 2019/2024 German law bond of originally EUR 600m. The restructuring was implemented on the basis of a consent solicitation process in accordance with the German Bond Act (Schuldverschreibungsgesetz). As part of the restructuring, the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the bond was reduced from approx. EUR 500m to approx. EUR 253m, resulting in a significant deleveraging of DEMIRE. The restructuring solution negotiated with an ad-hoc group of bondholders and DEMIRE's major shareholder included: A buyback of bonds from DEMIRE by way of a so-called unmodified reverse Dutch auction backstopped by the ad-hoc group and other significant bondholders. A partial redemption of the bond in the amount of approx. EUR 50m at nominal value. A shareholder contribution in the amount of close to EUR 100m. Collateralization of the bond, in particular by implementation of a so-called double LuxCo structure. A comprehensive amendment of the terms and conditions of the bond, including a prolongation of its term until the end of 2027. The Willkie team was led by partner Dr. Jörn Kowalewski and counsel Dr. Jan-Philipp Praß, and included partners Joseph Marx, Cornelia Thaler and Jan Wilms as well as counsel Maximilian Mayer, Dr. Harry Nettlau and Wolfgang Münchow, and associates Dr. Axel Krohn, Christoph Schoppe, Martin Reichert, Dr. Philipp Steinhausen, Jan Reiter and Dr. Marc Dietrich. Following the move of the restructuring team around Dr. Jörn Kowalewski from Latham & Watkins, Willkie continued to advise DEMIRE. Latham & Watkins is counsel to DEMIRE on capital market law issues. A separate Willkie team led by Georg Linde and Dr. Wolfram Prusko has been advising DEMIRE's supervisory board since mid-2023 also in connection with the restructuring of the bond.

Nov 11

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advises Verdane on the partnership with Eversports. Eversports is a software as a service (SaaS)-enabled sports booking platform founded in Vienna in 2013 that brings together sports providers and sports enthusiasts. The Eversports marketplace has 500,000 active users and 1.5 million bookings per month, offering studios and sports venues a platform for more visibility and less admin work. Read Verdane’s press release The Kirkland team advising Verdane was led by transactional partner Greta-Josefin Harnisch and included transactional associate Dr. Florian Kalbfleisch.

Oct 2

1 min