CMS has over 600 lawyers specialising in Corporate law and Mergers&Acquisitions (M&A) transactions across Europe and beyond with extensive experience advising on large cross-border and domestic transactions, demonstrating that we have the resources and the expertise to manage deals of any size.

Full service advice across all areas of corporate law

The CMS Corporate Practice Area Group advises on all aspects of corporate law and transactions, including:

• Buy-Outs: acting for management and venture capitalists on MBO/MBIs, institutional purchasers and senior and mezzanine debt financing
• Corporate Finance: initial and secondary public offerings, placings and other issues of equity and debt securities
• Joint Ventures and Strategic Alliances: domestic and multi-jurisdictional
• Listed Company Takeovers
• Mergers, Acquisitions and Disposals: cross-border and domestic
• Private Equity and Management
• Privatisations: advising governments, state bodies, bidders and privatised entities
• Restructurings: restructuring and reorganisations of domestic and international groups, including demergers and spin-offs

Lawyers in the group work together transnationally on a regular basis. Many members of the group have worked abroad, often on secondment to one of the other member firms. Cross-border teams can be assembled at very short notice, with team members working together to provide a seamless transnational service. The group knows and understands the importance for clients in having a principal contact partner for transactions. Our aim is to agree in advance with clients the identity of that partner, and to establish from the outset clear channels of communication.

Advising a wide range of clients and sectors

One of the group's strength lies in the diversity of its client base and, consequently, the range of deals on which it has advised.

Type of clients include:

• International and national companies
• Banks and financial institutions
• Private equity/venture capital investors
• Investment banks, brokers, underwriters and financial advisers
• Government and state bodies (particularly in relation to privatisation programmes)
• Bidders for privatisations, outsourcing and similar transactions
• Not-for-profit organisations 

The group has specialist expertise in a number of key industries, among them:

• Advertising and marketing
• Automotive aviation
• Banking
• Biotechnology
• Chemicals
• Computer and Information Technology
• Defence
• Electricity
• Engineering
• Financial services
• Food
• Healthcare
• Infrastructure
• Insurance
• Machine tools
• Manufacturing
• Media and entertainment
• Oil and gas
• Pharmaceuticals
• Property and construction
• Public sector
• Publishing
• Retailing
• Sports
• Telecoms
• Transport
• Utilities
• Waste management