Jan is an experienced Corporate/M&A partner in our Düsseldorf office with a particular focus on the insurance sector.
He advises on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions as well as joint ventures. He is also experienced in corporate law advice, including corporate restructurings, board of directors and supervisory board advice, corporate governance, shareholder disputes and compliance.
Jan's clients include, among others, insurance and distribution companies as well as strategic and financial investors. He assists them in complex national and cross-border projects, including acquisitions, portfolio transfers, the establishment of group structures (including in relation to corporate, distribution, service and outsourcing aspects), as well as joint ventures and cooperation agreements.
Jan is recommended by legal directories for corporate advice to insurers (JUVE Handbook 2020/2021, Legal 500 Germany 2021).
Background
Jan graduated from the University of Cologne and holds a Mâitrise en Droit from the Université de Paris I (Panthéon/Sorbonne). Prior to joining Herbert Smith Freehills in 2021, Jan was a partner in an international law firm in Germany. A German native speaker, he is fluent in English and French.
Experience & expertise
Selected matters
- Steadfast group on acquiring a majority stake in the global unisonSteadfast network.*
- Baloise Group on the sale of its participation in Deutscher Ring Bausparkasse AG, a German savings and loan bank, to BAWAG.*
- Baloise Group on the sale of the run-off portfolio and business operations of the German branch of Basler Leben AG to the Frankfurt Leben Group (sum insured of CHF 1.9 billion). *
- Gothaer Group, inter alia, on various equity and mezzanine investments in renewable energy companies (onshore/offshore).*
- a German insurance group on a litigious minority stake and participation rights in a renewable energy company, incl. a highly complex separation from the majority shareholders.*
- a German insurance group on a joint venture structure and cooperation with other German Insurance Groups regarding new products (cyber).*
- Athora Group on various matters in connection with the structure and the investments of its German operations.*
- German insurance group regarding a minority investment in a mobility services company, including shareholder disputes and unbundling of complex joint venture structure.*
- a German maritime/shipping group re joint venture/investment structure with financial investor (insurance) as to future shipping portfolios/investments.*
- Verivox, one of the two leading webbased broker platforms in Germany, on the acquisition of GetSafe’s entire broker business, including a webbased brokerage and client service platform.*
- a German insurance group regarding the cooperation with another German insurance group in CEE countries.*
- European insurance group on the divestment of life insurance branches in Germany and various CEE countries.*
- British insurance holding company on the acquisition of a German non-life insurance company.*
- a German international insurance group on the cross-border merger of group entities.*
- Baloise Group on the highly complex separation of its German Deutscher Ring entities from the mutuality Deutscher Ring Krankenversicherungsverein a.G. (now part of the German Signal Iduna Group).*
*Prior to joining Herbert Smith Freehills.
