Private Equity/Venture Capital

Structuring investments,
promoting growth.

In recent years venture capital and private equity have become increasingly important sources of funding, not only for young and fast growing companies, but also for more established businesses. We know and understand both sides of the market – financial investors as well as capital-hungry companies and their shareholders.

When it comes to venture capital, we advise investors (VC funds, corporate VCs and business angels) as well as young companies and their founders. As a start-up, you will benefit from our legal expertise and our wide-ranging experience in assisting clients in financing transactions. If you are planning to sell investments or raise venture capital, we can also explain the various options open to you and put you in touch with reputable market players best suited to you and your company’s situation. This also increases the chances for a successful transaction – a transaction that is legally secure, strategically sound and reliable.

Our private equity team assists German, Luxembourg-based and international affiliated companies with every aspect and through every phase of their transactions – structuring, term sheet negotiations, letters of intent, sales agreements, shareholders’ agreements, management participation programmes, recapitalisation, exit strategies and dispute resolution. GSK Stockmann is a member of the Luxembourg Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (LPEA) and of Invest Europe, a European private equity and venture capital association. This means that we are able to voice our professional opinions and lend our expertise to current pieces of proposed legislation which are of importance to investors. It also ensures that we are always up to date with the legal and tax frameworks applicable to venture capital and private equity investments.

Venture Capital

The success of a young company depends in large part on speed and making use of limited resources as efficiently and effectively as possible. We are well aware of this.

This is why we support you and your company with established teams, which have many years of experience in transactions and, where necessary, are complemented by colleagues with special expertise and sector knowledge. We have particular expertise in the following areas:

Particularly for innovative industries such as FinTech, healthcare and automotive & mobility, we examine the legal viability of business models and implement them for you in close collaboration with our sector experts.

Incentives for managers and senior employees play an important role in venture capital. We begin by helping you define the legal and tax framework for such participation programmes and support you in their implementation.

Before you commit to an investment, we check the legal and tax status of the target and translate the results of our due diligence into clear agreements between investors, shareholders and the target.

We draft and negotiate participation and shareholders’ agreements and ensure by taking a solution-oriented approach that the entire investment process runs smoothly.

An investment is only as good as the exit where the investor ends up making a return. Drawing on our legal and tax expertise, we help you find the right time and the type of exit strategy that is right for your business – whether it be a trade sale or an IPO.

Private Equity

We advise German, Luxembourg-based and foreign financial investors and family offices on the design and implementation of their funds. We also provide advice on investments undertaken by funds and assist with ongoing asset management.

In addition to professional investors, our clients include companies seeking capital and their shareholders. We specifically rely on our strong sector expertise in sectors including the automotive & mobility, energy/smart grid, FinTech/blockchain, healthcare and real estate/PropTech sectors. Key practices are:

We design and implement structures for funds in Germany and Luxembourg, with special consideration for the regulatory and tax environment in different European countries. Working out of our international network, our German and Luxembourg advisers are able to deliver clients seamless cross-border advice.

Based on focussed and effective due diligence, we quickly provide you with an overview of the legal risks of any transaction you may be planning. When drafting and negotiating investment agreements, we then ensure potential risks are distributed fairly between seller and buyer.

The financing of a private equity transaction is an essential prerequisite for its success. In developing both established and innovative financing concepts, we work hand in hand with colleagues from our finance teams in Germany and in Luxembourg.

Regardless of whether you plan to exit via a trade sale, an IPO or through a secondary offering, we can help you sell your shares.

We also advise our private equity clients on ongoing asset management, in particular on tax and corporate law issues relating to portfolio companies and on add-on acquisitions of portfolio companies.