
Corporate M&A
Securities Law
Real Estate
Rick van Aerssen is the Global Managing Partner at Freshfields, based in the Frankfurt and Düsseldorf offices. With a focus on corporate, takeover, and securities law, Rick advises listed companies and financial institutions. He has been recognized as a leading professional in his field. Rick's extensive experience includes significant M&A transactions and IPOs across various industries, including automotive, real estate, and financial services. He holds an LLM from Northwestern University and studied law and economics at the University of Heidelberg. Rick is fluent in German and English.

- acquired BASF Coatings from BASF Coatings in a m&a on 2025-10-10. - Deal value was 10000000000 (source: Extracted) Ownership: majority stake; Sector: Chemicals; Location: Germany. - On the acquirer side, the advisory team included George Miller, Ash Tehrani, Wilson Neely, Shelly Lin, Izzy Lubarsky.
Oct 10 2025
9B
Private Equity

Global Managing Partner
2025 – Unknown
Partner
2025 – 2025
Global Managing Partner
2024 – 2025
Managing Partner
2023 – 2024
Managing Partner
2021 – 2023
Partner


- global investment firm Carlyle acted as the acquirer in this M&A transaction. - The acquisition was executed in the Chemicals sector, strengthening the buyer’s strategic position. - The transaction was announced on 2025-10-10 00:00:00 with a reported value of 8470000000
Oct 10 2025
8B
Private Equity

1 min
2016 – 2021
Partner, Global Head of Corporate
1999 – 2016