Allen & Overy, Linklaters lead on €12bn Schaeffler debt restructuring

Allen & Overy and Linklaters have taken key roles on the €12bn debt restructuring of German ball-bearing manufacturer Schaeffler, clearing the way for the company to merge with car-component maker Continental AG. Allen & Overy has a long-standing relationship with Schaeffler. Allen & Overy's Düsseldorf partner Rolf Koerfer, one of Germany’s leading M&A lawyers, has been installed as the chairman of Continental AG, after it was partly taken over by Schaeffler last year. Koerfer was not part of the Allen & Overy team that included partners Neil Weiand, Alexander Veith, Walter Uebelhoer and Thomas Neubaum. Linklaters advised a consortium of five lending banks with a team led by Stephen Lucas in London and Marc Trinkaus, Stephan Oppenhoff and Jochen Laufersweiler in Frankfurt. Willkie Farr's Frankfurt partners Michael Schlitt and Patrick Meiisel and Latham Watkin's Munich partners Andreas Diem and Thomas Fox gave additional advice to members of the bank consortium.

Allen & Overy, Linklaters lead on €12bn Schaeffler debt restructuring thelawyer.com Fri, Aug 21, 2009