Freshfields has added four new partners to its private equity and M&A partnership in Germany and Austria as the firm looks to rebuild after the departure of four prominent partners in December, including the firm’s global co-head of M&A.
The additions come in the form of one lateral hire and three partner promotions. Freshfields has also announced that a further two partners already resident in the firm’s other German offices will now split their time to bolster the Munich office.
Private equity partner Florian Sippel (pictured) joins Freshfields’ Munich office from Kirkland & Ellis where he spent a year after completing two years as an associated partner at Germany-headquartered firm Noerr.
Sippel advises PE funds and investors with a specific focus on tech, e-commerce and software and has previously acted for clients such as Blackstone and Permira. Sippel is rejoining Freshfields after seven years there as an associate from 2014 to 2021.
Also in Munich, David Schwintowski has been promoted to the partnership and brings an exclusive focus on transactions in the insurance sector, acting on deals such as Vienna Insurance’s €1.4bn merger with Nürnberger .
Lukas Triechl has also been promoted to partner and will work out of both the Vienna and Munich offices where he will advise on data-driven projects and digital matters, with a focus on the automotive industry. He also advises PE and telecommunication companies on digital infrastructure transactions.
Finally, in Frankfurt, Carsten Bork, who advises PE houses on cross-border transactions in the infrastructure and energy sector, makes partner. Clients of Bork’s include CPP Investments, Brookfield and AXA IM.
‘We are strengthening our overall position in M&A and Private Equity and we increase our deep industry expertise in technology, insurance, and infrastructure,’ said Patrick Cichy, head of Freshfields corporate and M&A practice in Germany and Austria.
The hires come after the shock departures of private equity specialist Markus Paul, Freshfields’ global co-head of M&A Wessel Heukamp, Carten Haak and Verena Nosch, who all joined Latham & Watkins in December.
Paul and Heukamp had spent their entire legal careers at Freshfields and are highly regarded in the German private equity market.
In addition to the hire and promotions, Frankfurt partner Heiner Braun and Stephan Waldhausen, global co-head of the industrials sector located in Düsseldorf, will both spend half their time in Munich to further strengthen the office.
The hires and relocations mean that Freshfields’ Munich office now has over 90 lawyers, including 19 partners.
Braun advises PE clients like KKR, specialises in complex regulatory matters and, in 2024, led on DSV’s €14.3bn acquisition of Schenker.
Waldhausen brings similar credentials; his clients include Porsche SE, Siemens Energy and Deutsche Telekom and he has particular experience in takeovers as well as strong relationships with listed industrial and technology companies.
Global private capital practice group co-head Arend von Riegen said: ‘We are excellently positioned for the future to advise our private capital clients on all topics that are highly relevant to them. We rely on a cross-generational approach, trusting in both established names and emerging talents, all of whom we have trained ourselves – a proven hallmark of quality in the market.’
