Dr. Michael Pujol

The 2025 edition of the prestigious Germany’s Best Lawyers rankings, issued jointly by the Handelsblatt and US publisher Best Lawyers, features 37 attorneys from Milbank LLP. The lawyers selected from the firm’s Munich and Frankfurt offices are recognized for their strong market presence, professional excellence and outstanding reputation.~~Two Awards as "Lawyers of the Year 2025" Barbara Mayer-Trautmann (Finance) Norbert Rieger (Corporate/M&A)~~21 Attorneys Recognized in Main Category – "Best Lawyers 2025" In the main category, "Best Lawyers" the following 21 Milbank attorneys are listed: Norbert Rieger, Sebastian Heim, Steffen Oppenländer, Christoph Rothenfusser, Leopold J. Riedl, Markus Muhs, Martin Erhardt, Ulrike Friese-Dormann, Michael Bernhardt, Andrea Eggenstein, Michael Pujol (all Corporate /M&A); Barbara Mayer-Trautmann, Thomas Ingenhoven (both Finance); Marlene Ruf, Mathias Eisen (both Financial Restructuring); Rolf Füger, Matthias Schell, Thomas Kleinheisterkamp (all Tax); Alexander Rinne (Antitrust & Competition) und Philipp Klöckner, Nico Feuerstein (both Corporate Finance and Securities).~~16 Attorneys Named in "Ones to Watch" Category In addition, 16 Milbank attorneys are recognized as "Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch". This category highlights emerging legal talents who demonstrate exceptional potential. Notably, seven of the Milbank lawyers are included in the list for the first time this year.~~The following attorneys are named among the "Ones to Watch": Pascal Härdtner, Andreas Rief*, Markus von Lutterotti, Sandra Feil, Sarah-Maria Resch, Sebastian Reiner-Pechtl, Steffen Post*, Steven Buschle*, Svenja Tauchmann* (all Corporate/ M&A); Thomas Möller, Alexander Lang, Gerrit Merkel, Anna Merkl* (all Finance), Moritz Lichtenegger*, Martin Juhasz* (both Antitrust & Competition) and Arne Hammerich (Tax). (*recognized for the first time)~~About the Rankings~~Best Lawyers, one of the most respected international legal directory publishers, compiles the German edition of its rankings exclusively for the Handelsblatt each year. The list is based on an extensive peer-to-peer survey in which business lawyers are invited to recommend colleagues whose work they particularly value. The German edition is published annually in exclusive cooperation with the Handelsblatt.

Jun 12

1 min

Milbank LLP advised NORD Holding Unternehmensbeteiligungsgesellschaft mbH ("NORD Holding") and the company's founder Johannes Hagenmeyer on the joint sale of their shareholdings in HG Medical Holding GmbH ("HG Medical") to Astorg MidCap ("Astorg"). HG Medical is a leading global contract manufacturer of complex orthopedic implants. With a 50-year history and assets under management of €3 billion, NORD Holding Unternehmensbeteiligungsgesellschaft mbH is one of the leading private equity asset management companies in Germany. The business consists of the direct investments and the fund investments divisions. With NORD Holding, HG Medical has become a fast-growing and even more customer-centric and solution-driven organization with outstanding engineering capabilities and manufacturing excellence. The investment from Astorg will enable the company to further expand its capacity and service offering to meet the growing demand for outsourced manufacturing in the orthopedic sector. HG Medical is Astorg's first investment in Germany. The Milbank team that advised NORD Holding was led by partner Martin Erhardt (Corporate/M&A) and included partners Thomas Kleinheisterkamp (Tax), Thomas Ingenhoven (Finance), Alexander Rinne (Antitrust) and special counsel Michael Pujol (Corporate/M&A), as well as associates Svenja Tauchmann, Markus Lutterotti (both Corporate/M&A), Lara Milione (Finance) and transaction lawyer Antonia Fichtner (Corporate/M&A).

May 8

1 min

Milbank LLP advised Verdane, the European specialist growth investor, on the acquisition of a portfolio of five technology companies from HQ Equita GmbH (“HQ Equita”), a leading investment firm in Germany, and the related partnership with HQ Equita. The HQ Equita team will continue to operate independently, supporting the five companies on their individual growth tracks, in partnership with Verdane. The closing of the transaction is subject to obtaining requisite regulatory clearances. The HQ Equita Fund V portfolio in the transaction comprises five holdings: Ebertlang, a leading pan-European, value-added distributor for cybersecurity and infrastructure software; Muegge, an industrial technology provider of plasma and microwave technologies for end markets, including production of sustainable lab-grown diamonds; r2p-Group, a supplier of intelligent technology systems for public transport; indevis, a cybersecurity provider; and The Packaging Group, which develops advanced packaging technology that helps customers switch from plastic to sustainable paper packaging. Verdane is a specialist growth investment firm that partners with tech-enabled and sustainable European businesses. Verdane can invest as a minority or majority investor, either in single companies or through portfolios of companies, and looks to deploy inside two core growth themes: digitalization and decarbonization. Verdane funds hold over €5.7 billion in total commitments and have made over 400 investments in fast-growing businesses since 2003. Verdane’s team of over 130 investment professionals and operating experts, based out of Berlin, Munich, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Oslo and Stockholm, is dedicated to being the preferred growth partner to tech-enabled and sustainable businesses in Europe. The HQ Equita team primarily supports owner-managed medium-sized companies in the strategic orientation and growth of their business. Since 1992, HQ Equita has developed into an established and trustworthy partner for medium-sized businesses. Around 1 billion euros have been invested in 37 small and medium-sized enterprises in German-speaking countries during this time. The Milbank team that advised Verdane was led by partner Martin Erhardt (Corporate/M&A) and included partners Rolf Fueger (Tax), Alexander Rinne (Antitrust) and special counsel Michael Pujol (Corporate/M&A) as well as associates Svenja Tauchmann, Florian Weustenfeld (both Corporate/M&A), Marlies Zeck and Stefanie Gschoßmann (both Antitrust).

Nov 2

2 min

Milbank LLP advised capiton AG (“capiton”) on the sale of its portfolio company GRITEC TopCo GmbH (“GRITEC”) to Viessmann Generations Group (“Viessmann”). GRITEC is Germany’s largest solution provider of turnkey technical buildings and stations for energy-, water- & industrial infrastructure. The company specializes in intelligent infrastructure and key components in the shift towards a decentralized and renewable-based energy grid. The transaction is subject to the approval by the competent merger control authorities. capiton is an independent private equity fund manager that advises funds of EUR 1.6 billion. Founded in 1984 as the investment operation of a large insurance group, capiton became an independent partnership in 2004. capiton currently invests out of the most recent fund capiton VI. Investors of the capiton investment programs are renowned national and international institutional investors. Viessmann, founded in 1917, is today an independent family company and a globally diversified group. All activities are based on the company’s purpose "We co-create living spaces for generations to come”. This is the passion and responsibility that the large worldwide Viessmann family brings to life every day. In line with this goal, Viessmann offers companies and co-creators an ecosystem that is committed to avoiding, reducing and storing CO2 beyond the heating industry. The Milbank team was led by partner Martin Erhardt and special counsel Michael Pujol (both Corporate/M&A) and included partner Thomas Kleinheisterkamp (Tax), special counsel Gerrit Merkel (Finance) as well as associates Svenja Tauchmann, Florian Weustenfeld, Thomas Vogl (all Corporate/M&A), Adrian Müller-Achenbach (Finance) and Jan Maas (Antitrust).

Oct 30

1 min

Milbank LLP advised Advent International (“Advent”) on an agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (“ADIA”) according to which ADIA will invest in, and become a significant shareholder of, the Austrian energy solutions provider INNIO. The consummation of the transaction is, inter alia, subject to customary regulatory approvals. Advent will continue to be the majority owner of the company. Advent is one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors. The firm has invested in over 410 private equity investments across 42 countries, and as of March 31, 2023, had $95 billion in assets under management. Advent focuses on investments in five core sectors, including business and financial services; health care; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and technology. Under Advent’s stewardship, INNIO has transformed from a leading provider of reciprocating engines for the conversion of gaseous input fuels to a green technology pioneer, delivering innovative energy solutions and services for the power generation, heating, cooling and compression segments. With its product brands Jenbacher and Waukesha and its digital platform myPlant, INNIO offers innovative solutions for the power generation and compression segments that help industries and communities generate and manage energy sustainably while navigating the fast-changing landscape of traditional and green energy sources. The Milbank team that advised Advent on corporate/M&A and tax aspects of the transaction was led by partner Norbert Rieger, special counsel Andrea Eggenstein and partner Sebastian Heim (all Corporate/M&A) and included partners Alexander Rinne (Antitrust) and Rolf Füger (Tax), as well as special counsel Michael Pujol (Corporate/M&A) and Moritz Lichtenegger (Antitrust) and associates Julian Jaschinski (Corporate/M&A), Arne Hammerich (Tax), Pascal Härdtner, David Schwenneker (both Corporate/M&A), Elisabeth Wöhrle (Tax) and Nils Bremer (Antitrust), as well as transaction lawyer Antonia Fichtner (Corporate/M&A).

Mar 31

1 min