Press releases


31 March 2023

OQmented has successfully closed a 20 million USD  Series A financing round. In the course of this financing round, Sharp, one of the world’s leading electronic device and display manufacturers (investing through its group company Sharp Devices Europe GmbH), has joined the company as a new strategic investor.

01 March 2023

osapiens, a software company based in Mannheim, Germany, has acquired 80 per cent of the shares of ftrace GmbH.  The purpose of the acquisition is to further increase transparency in global supply chains through osapiens' technological know-how and ftrace's process and industry expertise.

30 January 2023

GvW Graf von Westphalen was instructed by Welthungerhilfe, a German private aid organisation committed to fighting hunger in the world, to examine the implications of the organisation’s Food Security Standard (FSS) in the light of the German Supply Chain Act [Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz – LkSG]. As part of this assignment, our…

19 January 2023

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised the founders of OPTANO GmbH on the sale of their company to the US-American Kearney group.

17 January 2023

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised the French Legrand Group on its acquisition of A. & H. Meyer GmbH.

16 January 2023

Siemens Energy and Dragados Offshore can start planning the converter stations for the LanWin1 and LanWin3 offshore grid connection systems. Both companies have now been awarded the contract for the approximately four billion euro project by Amprion Offshore GmbH after a tendering and awarding phase lasting just three months.

30 December 2022

Munich-based Parkdepot has raised €15 million in a Series A financing round with SURPLUS Equity Partners und Armira Growth as well as existing investor henQ.

14 December 2022

Vsquared Ventures further expands its participation in CUSTOMCELLS: The manufacturer of lithium-ion battery cells has successfully closed a €60 million Series A financing round. Together with the two lead investors, climate-tech venture capital investor World Fund and Hamburg-based family office Abacon Capital, and the existing investors…

02 December 2022

SEMSYSCO GmbH has been acquired by Lam Research Corporation, Fremont, California. One of the selling shareholders, a fund managed by Atlantic Bridge (“Atlantic Bridge”), was advised by GvW on this transaction. GvW had already advised Atlantic Bridge on its investment in SEMSYSCO.

30 November 2022

Fielmann baut Kompetenz im Bereich Smart Glasses aus: Mit rechtlicher Unterstützung von GvW Graf von Westphalen beteiligt sich das Unternehmen als Lead Investor in einer Series C Finanzierungsrunde mit 10% an Deep Optics.

24 November 2022

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised the shareholder of Lyra Pet GmbH on the sale of Lyra Pet GmbH to SwissCommerce Group.

16 November 2022

The French industrial group Elydan, which designs and manufactures a wide range of products for the building industry (pipes, ducts, polyethylene and polypropylene sheaths), has acquired the German company DW Verbundrohr GmbH (“DWVG”) and its French subsidiary Multitubo France which have been part of the Austrian Ke Kelit group so far.…

11 November 2022

GvW Graf von Westphalen continues to grow its partnership from its own ranks: with effect from 1 January 2023, Gudrun Hausner, Dr Maren Mönchmeyer, Wolf Müller, Johannes Schuhmann and Johan van der Veer have been appointed as new equity partners.

08 November 2022

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised the Paulaner Brewery Group on the acquisition of the OeTTINGER brewery facility in Gotha.

01 November 2022

The dynamic trend of GvW Graf von Westphalen was already confirmed by its shortlisting as finalist for JUVE Law Firm of the Year. “The firm has managed to add a 15-strong team just at the right time. GvW has since combined existing and new competences, helping it to reel in new matters in energy transformation and digitalisation”,…

07 October 2022

Nach der Nominierung als Kanzlei des Jahres durch das Branchenmagazin JUVE wurde GvW Graf von Westphalen jetzt erneut als Kanzlei des Jahres bei den „The Lawyer European Awards“ vorgeschlagen

28 September 2022

GvW Graf von Westphalen has comprehensively advised Architrave, a Berlin-based proptech company, on the acquisition of the Canadian company Arex Technologies.

23 September 2022

GvW Graf von Westphalen hat gestern bei den PMN Awards 2022 zwei Auszeichnungen für hervorragende Leistungen ihres Managements erhalten: Christof Kleinmann und Dr. Robert Theissen sind zu den Kanzleimanagern des Jahres gekürt worden.

18 August 2022

GvW Graf von Westphalen has been nominated by Germany’s leading law firm guide JUVE as “Law Firm of the Year”. The title “Law Firm of the Year” is the most coveted honour in the JUVE Awards, which are held annually to celebrate the achievements of law firms in 15 categories.

25 July 2022

The financing for the NeuConnect offshore cable link between Germany and the UK is in place: supported by a consortium of over 20 national and international banks and financial institutions, The € 2.8 billion project can now be realized and will be supported by a consortium of over 20 national and international banks and financial…

11 July 2022

VALUES Real Estate hat mit dem VALUES Health Invest II einen neuen Fonds für Gesundheitsimmobilien aufgelegt. Das erste Investment des Fonds ist der Ankauf eines Psychiatrischen Centrums in Glücksstadt/Schleswig-Holstein. GvW Graf von Westphalen hat den Käufer bei dieser Transaktion rechtlich und steuerlich begleitet.

24 June 2022

With 129 recommendations in the 2022 Best Lawyers survey, GvW Graf von Westphalen achieved its best ranking ever.

14 June 2022

GvW advised local public transport provider Nahverkehrsservice Sachsen-Anhalt GmbH (NASA), the Thuringia State Office of Construction and Transportation (TLBV) and other transport authorities on the insolvency of train operator Abellio Rail Mitteldeutschland GmbH (ABRM).

30 May 2022

Klöpferholz will remain in the hands of the fifth generation of the family: Hermann and Florian Wendelstadt, great-great-grandchildren of company founder Johann Christian Klöpfer, acquired 100 percent of the shares in Klöpfer & Königer Management GmbH as well as the associated logistics real estate.

14 April 2022

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised the shareholders of LucaNet AG, an international financial consolidation and planning software provider, on the PRC-law related aspects of the establishment of a strategic partnership with investor Hg.

08 April 2022

Ronnia Zheng, who works for GvW Graf von Westphalen at its Shanghai office, is among the first “local representatives” of the Chinese European Arbitration Center (CEAC): the arbitration organisation has now appointed her as one of the Local Representatives for China.

08 April 2022

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised FL Technics on the acquisition of Hanover-based wheels and brakes business.

17 March 2022

Granite is expanding its portfolio of logistics properties in Europe: The Canadian-based REIT has acquired the so-called "Lime Portfolio" from the former Malaysian owners, consisting of a total of four logistics centers in Breda (Netherlands) as well as in Wiesbaden (31,877 sqm), Erfurt (20,814 sqm) and Korbach (71,856 sqm). The deal…

04 March 2022

HopOn Mobility Ltd. is the new sole shareholder of TAF mobile GmbH. In this cross-border M&A transaction, the Israeli tech company was advised by a team  from GvW Graf von Westphalen.

03 March 2022

We are all shocked by Vladimir Putin’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine. Our hearts are with the innocent people suffering from this war.

16 February 2022

micropsi industries GmbH has successfully closed a $30 million financing round. GvW Graf von Westphalen advised the investors Metaplanet, VSquared Ventures and Ahren Innovation Capital on this transaction.

31 January 2022

Following the lateral hire of Dr Cornelius Götze last year, GvW Graf von Westphalen is further expanding its notarial practice in Frankfurt with the addition of Rechtsanwalt, [civil law] Notary and Tax Advisor Dr Ulf Gibhardt

25 January 2022

GvW Graf von Westphalen acknowledges the importance of ESG (Environmental Social Governance) for commercial law firms and their clients by appointing Dr Annika Bleier, a lawyer from our Hamburg office, Head of ESG & Sustainability to guide our internal sustainability efforts and advise our firm on ESG matters. In her new role, Dr Bleier…

17 January 2022

GvW has advised the French Legrand Group on its acquisition of Geiger Maximizing Net-Solutions GmbH and Geiger Data Network Design GmbH (Geiger Group)

06 December 2021

GvW Graf von Westphalen hat T.A. Cook und ihre Gesellschafter bei der Veräußerung ihres Unternehmens an Accenture beraten.

16 November 2021

GvW Graf von Westphalen has once again been shortlisted as a finalist for “Law Firm of the Year: Germany” at “The Lawyer European Awards”. The international jury thus continues view GvW as one of Europe’s top law firms.

15 November 2021

The partners of GvW Graf von Westphalen have admitted Ms Melanie Eilers and Dr Dominic Köstner as equity partners. Both were elected at the partners’ meeting in Berlin. Christof Kleinmann and Dr Robert Theissen were confirmed in their roles as managing partners of the firm for a further term of two years, respectively. Duesseldorf partner…

03 November 2021

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised Hybrid Software Group PLC on its acquisition of ColorLogic GmbH.

02 November 2021

Leipzig-based replex GmbH has been acquired by US tech company Cisco Systems Inc. GvW Graf von Westphalen advised the founders of replex on related corporate, tax and employment law matters.

26 October 2021

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised GLG Green Lifestyle GmbH, the previous sole shareholder of Utopia GmbH, on the minority investment of UmweltBank Aktiengesellschaft in the company.

18 October 2021

Vendis Capital III has acquired a majority interest in BlueBrixx and Model Car World. GvW Graf von Westphalen’s Shanghai office advised the private equity fund on the Chinese law aspects of the transaction.

14 October 2021

With seasoned compliance specialist Carsten Beisheim joining GvW tomorrow, the law firm is further expanding its advisory portfolio. The new partner is coming to GvW from the Werhahn conglomerate where he last served as Head of Group Compliance, Legal, and Data Protection including information security. He will be working for GvW out of…

12 October 2021

Silbitz Group has taken over Eisengiesserei Torgelow, a traditional iron foundry in the east German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in a transferring restructuring deal. GvW Graf von Westphalen advised the Group on employment law issues relating to its takeover of the roughly 300 employees.

13 August 2021

CUSTOMCELLS has successfully concluded a multi-million financing round. Investors include venture capital specialists Vsquared Ventures and 468 Capital, which were both advised by GvW Graf von Westphalen, and Porsche Ventures, the venture capital provider of Porsche AG.

10 August 2021

Munich-based start-up Noyes Technologies has secured initial seed funding of EUR 3.2 million. The financing round, in which 468 Capital and Abacon Capital also participated, was led by GvW client Vsquared Ventures.

06 August 2021

GvW has advised all shareholders of CORE SE on the sale of their shares to the German subsidiary of the US-American EPAM Systems, Inc.

30 July 2021

GvW has advised Kern & Stelly Medientechnik GmbH, a German subsidiary of the UK Midwich Group, on the acquisition of the UC business from eLink Distribution AG.

15 July 2021

The shareholders of leading German drone developer and manufacturer AirRobot have sold 100 percent of their shares to Norwegian technology company Nordic Unmanned (Euronext Oslo «NUMND»). The transaction is subject to Investment Control Approval from German authorities and is expected to take place before year end.

25 June 2021

With 104 recommendations in this year’s Best Lawyers survey, GvW scored its best ranking ever.  In all, 80 of the firm’s lawyers are ranked in 30 different areas of law. In addition, Dr Raimond Emde (Insurance Law), Dr Robert Theissen (Private Construction Law) and Dr Sigrid Wienhues (Public Commercial Law) were each personally recognised…

10 June 2021

The law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen has achieved a major success for its client before the European Court of Human Rights: The ECHR not only admitted the complaint filed in early 2013, but has now affirmed a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights as well and adjudicated compensation to the complainant represented by GvW…

18 May 2021

The Goettingen-based MDAX company Sartorius acquired the chromatography process equipment division of Novasep through its subgroup Sartorius Stedim Biotech in a mixed share/asset deal. Novasep’s division expects to generate sales revenue of approximately 37 million euros in 2020 at double-digit profit margins and employs approximately 100…

06 May 2021

GvW Graf von Westphalen advised the shareholders of dna Gesellschaft für IT Services mbH on the sale of the company to DATAGROUP.

21 April 2021

Germany’s search for a repository site for high-level radioactive waste is making progress. The selection procedure to find such a site is carried out by the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal, (Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH – BGE), a 100% federally-owned company under private law responsible for radioactive waste…

16 April 2021

GvW Graf von Westphalen remains in the lead for the ranking in customs and excise tax in the JUVE Manual for Tax Law with a 5-star rating and gains a strong rating in tax law.

09 April 2021

GvW Graf von Westphalen advised Scienta Scientific AB of Uppsala, Sweden, on its acquisition of the German company ENVINET GmbH.

08 April 2021

GvW Graf von Westphalen continues to move forward on its fast-track path of strategic and dynamic growth. The latest additions to the firm are equity partners Dr Maximilian Emanuel Elspas, Dr Sebastian Heim and Dr Axel von Walter, who are joining the firm with their teams from Beiten Burkhardt and will strengthen its Energy and…

01 April 2021

GvW Graf von Westphalen advised Munich-based Parkdepot GmbH on a € 4.2 million seed financing round with Amsterdam-based venture capital investor henQ.

15 March 2021

OQmented GmbH, the technology leader for MEMS-based VR/AR, LiDAR and 3D-camera solutions, has successfully concluded a multi-million-euro seed financing round. The international consortium of investors is led by Vsquared Ventures and includes BioNTech supervisory board chairman Helmut Jeggle and a renowned Chinese tech entrepreneur. GvW…

02 March 2021

Invesco Real Estate (Invesco), the global real estate investment manager, has a new management company for 11 of its hotels in Germany: Westmont Hospitality Group will take the baton from insolvent Tidal Operations Germany (TOG) and manage and operate ten hotels of the Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Crowne Plaza brands in Germany…

01 March 2021

With Dr Thomas Schuster, GvW Graf von Westphalen now has an interface between public law and IT/data protection law. From the middle of March the specialist for public data and information law, who hails from the advisory practice of PwC Legal, will boost the law firm’s new Stuttgart office as partner.

16 February 2021

GvW Graf von Westphalen advised ChyronHego on the acquisition of the weather data and weather services business of US-based business information services provider DTN. ChyronHego acquired the shares in the company through an asset deal. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

11 January 2021

GvW Graf von Westphalen is delighted to announce the addition of corporate law expert Dr Volker Schwarz to the firm’s newly launched Stuttgart office effective 1 January 2021. Dr Schwarz joins us as Partner from Heussen to further strengthen our M&A practice.

17 December 2020

GvW Graf von Westphalen welcomes lawyer and notary Dr Cornelius Götze, who will strengthen the firm’s Frankfurt team as new Equity Partner on 1 January 2021. Born in Heidelberg, Dr Götze joins us from Gleiss Lutz and is the latest addition to our Corporate Practice.

07 December 2020

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised Mirion Technologies on the acquisition of Dosimetrics GmbH.

02 December 2020

GvW’s new focus area, procurement and logistics, comprises transport and logistics law, customs and export control as well as procurement. Our multi-locational procurement and logistics team can also draw on additional support from our IT an Real Estate law experts, who have advised clients for many years on matters relating to their IT…

16 November 2020

The 2020 edition of The Lawyer European Awards is the 5th time that GvW Graf von Westphalen is shortlisted for “Law Firm of the Year: Germany”.

09 November 2020

GvW Graf von Westphalen has just promoted Corinna Lindau and Dr Hartmut Henninger to Equity Partners effective 1 January 2021. Both have grown their entire career within the firm and have now become the latest experts to join the firm’s equity partnership.

29 October 2020

​​​​​​​GvW Graf von Westphalen continues to expand its IP expertise with the recruitment of Nicolas Dumont as Equity Partner, who will join the firm’s Frankfurt office from the US firm Arnold Porter on 1 January 2020.

12 October 2020

On 30 September 2020, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) approved the application of Truking Technology Co., Ltd for what is known as a Material Asset Restructuring (MAR). This is the first major restructuring project under PRC law approved by the SZSE since the introduction of the new registration-based IPO system for ChiNext. ChiNext is…

06 October 2020

From now on, GvW Graf von Westphalen will be present in all major German business cities. With the opening of its sixth German office in Stuttgart, the firm is now able to serve its many small- and medium-sized business clients from the State of Baden-Württemberg directly in their home area.

16 September 2020

A fund managed by capiton AG has acquired 100% of the shares in Cedes AG, a leading manufacturer of sensor technology in the elevator and door industry based in Landquart (Switzerland). The company’s products, which utilize infrared and image processing technology, provide solutions for the automation of elevators, escalators, and…

28 August 2020

On 15 July 2020, TeamViewer signed a definitive agreement to acquire Ubimax. GvW Graf von Westphalen advised the sellers of Ubimax on the sale of the company.

31 July 2020

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised the Dutch A.Hak group on the sale of Reinhard Rohrbau GmbH to Deutsche Infrastruktur- und Netzgesellschaft mbH (DING). Reinhard Rohrbau GmbH, based in Meppen, is a regionally leading pipeline construction specialist with a focus on all services related to the laying of energy and telecommunication…

15 July 2020

GvW Graf von Westphalen has developed a new Tool which can be used to identify reporting obligations for cross-border tax arrangements.

10 July 2020

The fund capiton IV GmbH & Co. Beteiligungs KG, managed by capiton AG, together with the founding shareholders, have sold 100% of the shares in TRIOPTICS GmbH to the TecDAX company Jenoptik. TRIOPTICS, headquartered in Wedel near Hamburg, is a leading provider of measurement technology for optical components and sensors. With more than…

29 June 2020

The lawyers of GvW Graf von Westphalen are highly regarded in the eyes of the competitors: In this year's survey by Best Lawyers the firm received 91 awards, more recommendations than ever before.

26 June 2020

One of the most significant legislative reforms affecting the digital economy is underway: the modernization of the telecommunications law. Implementing the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC), the new law aims, among others, at laying the grounds for investment-friendly regulation to promote in particular full-coverage…

22 June 2020

From anti-dumping to the law on tariffs: The JUVE publishers places GvW Graf von Westphalen among the leading law firms in the market in the JUVE Handbook for Tax Law 2020. The law firm has received exclusively positive assessments for a broad range of matters, such as customs tariffs and value added tax, export controls and sanctions,…

09 June 2020

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised the shareholder of Tivola Games GmbH in the majority investment of Swedish investor Three Gates AB in the Hamburg-based games studio.

03 June 2020

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised Global Graphics PLC on the sale of URW Type Foundry GmbH to the Monotype Group. 

28 May 2020

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised the technology company Ubimax in the successful closing of a Series B financing round. Fielmann Ventures GmbH is joining as a new investor. In addition, one of the existing investors, Westcott LLC (Dallas, Texas), is increasing its stake in Ubimax.

21 April 2020

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised Miron Technologies on the acquisition of  the personal dosimetry service facility (“AWST”) from Helmholtz Zentrum München Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH) („HMGU“) in the context of an auction process.

15 April 2020

The Goettingen-based MDAX company Sartorius has acquired three business units in the field of bioanalytics and bioprocess technology from the U.S. company Danaher by way a mixed share/asset deal following the successful participation in an auction process.

17 February 2020

GvW is highly recommended in several recent national and international handbooks for its excellent customs and international trade practice. The team led by Dr Lothar Harings already was the only law firm to receive a 5-star rating in the JUVE Handbook. Legal 500 Germany with a Tier 1 ranking and Who's Who Legal Germany with four…

12 February 2020

The law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen is continuing its dynamic growth. With total billings of Euro 58.8 million and profit of Euro 27.8 million, the law firm was successful economically as never before. An increase in billings and profit of 26.2% and 32.4% respectively means the best year far in the history of the firm.

10 February 2020

TÜV Saarland has acquired a stake in authorized.by: The company acquired a participation of 25.1 percent in the Munich startup with the support of attorneys from GvW Graf von Westphalen.

07 February 2020

Artisense offers a cutting-edge computer vision product for real-time localization, mapping, and navigation of highly automated or fully autonomous vehicles. It was founded in 2016 as a spin-off of the computer vision research group at the Technical University of Munich, one of the world’s leading centers in its field.

29 January 2020

Former customers of the insolvent company Bayerische Energieversorgungsgesellschaft ("BEV") can participate starting immediately in a model complaint for declaratory relief against the insolvency administrator for BEV. The Federal Justice Office (Bundesamt für Justiz) has now opened the register for the complaint. The Court of Appeals…

07 January 2020

GvW Graf von Westphalen is bundling its expertise in the insurance industry in a new insurance focus area. The law firm can offer customized advice through this team of attorneys who have excellent knowledge about the insurance industry and cover various areas of the law in the firm's different offices.

27 November 2019

The law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen continues to grow from the own ranks. Effective as of 1 January 2020, Karsten Kujath, Felix Wolf and Dr. Andreas Wolowski were named equity partners.

21 November 2019

The customs and foreign trade practice group at GvW Graf von Westphalen remains unchallenged in first place in Germany as the JUVE editorial board clarified in the rankings in the Handbook for Commercial Law Firms 2019/2020. Competitors praise the team of 10 attorneys headed by practice group leader Dr Lothar Harings for the team's…

19 November 2019

GvW Graf von Westphalen has established its new management. At the most recent partner’s meeting in Athens, the partners in the Law Firm reappointed for the fifth time their managing partners Christof Kleinmann (Frankfurt) and Dr. Robert Theissen (Hamburg). Two new members were elected to the GvW Board, Dr. Wolfram Desch (Munich) and…

12 November 2019

Webasto Group, a leading supplier to the automotive industry headquartered in Stockdorf, Germany, has divested its majority shareholding in a sino-foreign joint venture company to its former Chinese joint venture partner.

31 October 2019

ÄHF Immobilienfonds GbR has sold Ärztehaus Friedrichshain to the Canadian NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT. In terms of deal volume, the transaction is one of the largest deals in the asset class of ambulant health centres in Germany. GvW Graf von Westphalen provided legal advice on the sale and liquidation of the fund.

30 October 2019

Which of the employers do you consider to be particularly attractive as potential employers? This is what Trendence asked young lawyers in its graduate barometer. The law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen again received the most votes from medium-sized law firms.

29 October 2019

"Integration is more than just a word, specifically for a law firm such as GvW Graf von Westphalen which places great value on working together and does not like individualists. Integration is the standard for everything." The publisher JUVE writes this in its Handbook for Commercial Law Firms 2019/2020 that has now been released, and…

02 October 2019

Premier Inn hat sich ein weiteres Portfolio in Deutschland gesichert: Die britische Muttergesellschaft des Hotelunternehmens, das an der Londoner Börse notierte Traditionshaus Whitbread, erwarb drei Hotels mit insgesamt 482 Zimmern von einem Privateigentümer.

26 August 2019

Investments in the Chinese healthcare sector continue to increase, as recent press releases indicate: Medical technology manufacturer Eckert & Ziegler recently announced a joint venture for tumor radiation equipment in China. Pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis benefit from easier access to the Chinese market for their preparations.

02 August 2019

The Cologne startup CASE is completing the next step in its development. The entrepreneurs Dr. Thomas Alt (Metaio) and Rolf Schrömgens (Trivago) have acquired stakes in the company with a single-digit-millions amount. GvW-Partner Titus Walek advised Dr. Alt in this financing of growth.

31 July 2019

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised the shareholders of Insitumed GmbH on the sale of the company to Key Surgical LLC. The acquisition is subject to closing.

25 July 2019

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised the UK based Redgate Software Group on its acquisition of Flyway, the biggest cross-platform database migrations tool.

10 July 2019

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised the founders of IVARIO, the leading online platform for drinking water testing for end consumers, on its sale to the GBA Group.

04 July 2019

On July 2, 2019, Ricoh Company, Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) announced a definitive agreement to acquire DocuWare, a leading provider of Content Services software. In this transaction, GvW Graf von Westphalen advises one of the selling shareholders, Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, on the sale of its participation in DocuWare. Closing of the…

16 May 2019

Eight lawsuits are pending before the Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG) against the construction of the planned Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link (FBQ). The highest administrative court in Leipzig has now announced this. In all legal proceedings, the state of Schleswig-Holstein will defend the zoning decision with the support of the lawyers of…

16 May 2019

The shareholders of Simi Reality Motion Systems GmbH ("Simi") headquartered in Unterschleißheim have sold 90% of the shares to ZF Friedrichshafen AG ("ZF"). GvW Graf von Westphalen represented the sellers in this M&A transaction.

09 May 2019

Exactly one year after the declaration of the USA to withdraw from the "nuclear deal" with Iran, the President of the United States has imposed further severe sanctions against Iran with Executive Order of 8 May 2019.

08 May 2019

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH (F.A.Z.) has acquired IQB Career Services GmbH (IQB). GvW Graf von Westphalen provided legal advice in the sale to the sole shareholder of the company Hans Eick.

25 April 2019

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised EXHEAT Group Ltd on the acquisition of the German SEICO Group. The UK based EXHEAT Group Ltd is a world class provider of hazardous area heating and control solutions that has extensive global experience in electrical, mechanical and thermal design.

09 April 2019

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised the Elevion Group on the acquistion of En.plus GmbH. The Elevion Group is together with its 100% subsidiaries – D-I-E Elektro AG, EAB Elektroanlagenbau GmbH Rhein/Main, Rudolf Fritz GmbH, ETS Efficient Technical Solutions GmbH, Elektro Decker GmbH and En.plus GmbH – one of the market leaders for…

05 March 2019

The Turkish aluminum manufacturer Assan Alüminyum Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. ("ASAS") is developing an approximately 80 hectares large area at the former steel plant Rasselstein in Neuwied. GvW Graf von Westphalen advised the metal industry company in the purchase of the property from ThyssenKrupp and supported ASAS in negotiations with the…

20 February 2019

The Bossard Group is strengthening its presence in the German market. The Swiss corporate group has acquired BRUMA Schraub- und Drehtechnik GmbH ("BRUMA"). Both parties have agreed to maintain confidentiality about the amount of the purchase price. GvW Graf von Westphalen advised BRUMA in this transaction.

13 February 2019

Alnatura also won the dispute against dm in the second instance: The organic food company was allowed to extraordinarily terminate the contract with dm-drogerie markt. The OLG Frankfurt decided this today and rejected the appeal of the drugstore chain (file no. 12 U 13/17).

31 January 2019

Funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”) have acquired three “elbgym” branded fitness centers in Hamburg through its German portfolio company Fitness First Germany Holdings GmbH (“Fitness First”).

28 January 2019

46.6 million Euro billings in the financial year 2018 are the highest revenue in the history of the law firm and represent an increase in billings of 10.4 % compared to the previous year. The law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen was able to generate a total of approximately 20 % more billings in the last three years. The profit again…

16 January 2019

Württembergische Lebensversicherung AG ("WLV") has purchased a hotel project still to be constructed in the Mainzer Zollhafen by the seller from Mainz Zollhafen Hotel GmbH & Co. KG, which belongs to the UBM Group, by way of a "forward deal". The purchase price for this hotel project is around EUR 24 million. GvW Graf von Westphalen, with…

16 January 2019

GvW Graf von Westphalen has been nominated as law firm of the year in Germany at "The Lawyer European Awards 2019". The international magazine The Lawyer has now announced this and included the law firm for the fourth time in a row in the list of best German independent law firms.

10 January 2019

The commercial law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen is continuing to expand its competence in the area of digitalization. At the beginning of the year, the well-known telecommunications law (TC-law) expert, Dr. Grace Nacimiento, joined the law firm's Düsseldorf office as a partner. She is accompanied by her associate of many years Dr. Carolin…

10 January 2019

Cycas Hospitality is continuing its European expansion in Germany. The international hotel management company is the new operator of the extended stay Element Frankfurt Hotel at the airport. Element is a brand in the Marriot Group.

09 January 2019

DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH ("DFS") is enhancing its software development competency in the field of drone technology: Through its subsidiary DFS International Business Services GmbH, DFS has acquired 23.6 percent in Unifly NV and is, thus, the largest shareholder of the Belgian software development company which specializes in…

13 December 2018

The Basic Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO) has brought about numerous changes in practice for all companies that process personal data. Whether in marketing, sales, personnel or IT - the new regulations have led almost every department to check the handling of data in the company. Because carelessness in the implementation of the new…

12 December 2018

Das Gericht der Europäischen Union (EuG) hat durch sein heute verkündetes Urteil in den verbundenen Rechtssachen T-722/15, T-723 und T-724/15 einen Beschluss der Europäischen Kommission für nichtig erklärt, der sich gegen das gewachsene System unabhängiger Milchgüteprüfungen in Deutschland richtete.

11 December 2018

The law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen is again among the top law firms for the year. The Legal 500 Germany 2019 announced in its current issue: The firm is "considered by clients to be the ideal law firm for mid-size industry.

07 December 2018

The Joachim Herz Foundation is a new partner in Immo-Service-KVG IntReal (IntReal). The Hamburg Foundation has acquired a 49 percent stake in the company; Warburg-HIH Invest Real Estate remains the majority partner. After the entry of Joachim Herz Foundation, IntReal now has a second investor on board which will be involved in the…

28 November 2018

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised Plant Systems & Services PSS GmbH ("PSS") in the acquisition of the Veltec Group from the Leadec Group. The closing of the transaction is still subject to antitrust clearance.

26 November 2018

GSE Vertrieb Biologische Nahrungsergänzungs- und Heilmittel GmbH ("GSE Vertrieb") is setting itself up for the future. The holding company Finexx GmbH Unternehmensbeteiligungen has acquired the shares from the founder of the company Michael Gracher under a succession concept.

20 November 2018

Competitors praise the Customs and Foreign Trade Law Practice group at GvW Graf von Westphalen as “the go-to-law firm for foreign trade law”, where “clients are well-cared for” in the recently published JUVE Handbook Law 2018/19.

14 November 2018

The German startup company Penseo has successfully completed a seed financing round under the lead of Hanover Beteiligungsfonds, Portuguese Banco de Investimento Global as well as renowned business angels including Oliver Oster and Kilian Thalhammer.

14 November 2018

The law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen again lives up to its policy of growing with partners from the own ranks. The partners elected at the partner meeting Dr. Sven Donner, Lutz-Leonard Lamprecht and Dr. Christian Triebe as new equity partners from the own ranks effective as of 1 January 2019.

05 November 2018

The DIVAG Group has sold a development project on the Rheinpromenade in Monheim to Bauindustrieverband Nordrhein-Westfalen e.V. The development project involves a three star "Comfort" hotel fully in operation, already leased out commercial and office space and a parking structure that is currently under construction.

31 October 2018

"The level of cooperation throughout the firm is no longer just theory at GvW Graf von Westphalen – contrary to many similar firms – and instead is lived every day." This is what the JUVE publishing house writes in its Handbook of Commercial Law Firms 2018/2019 about the development of the law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen, and JUVE…

08 October 2018

A team from GvW Graf von Westphalen at its Shanghai office has advised the Erwin Hymer Group, one of the leading manufacturers of recreational vehicles and caravans in Europe headquartered in Bad Waldsee, on the establishment of an equity joint venture company with the Chinese corporate group Lingyu. The focus of the joint venture is on…

24 September 2018

GvW Graf von Westphalen is listed as a leading IT law firm in a current ranking by WirtschaftsWoche. Practice group leader Stephan Menzemer from GvW's Frankfurt office ranks among the 40 lawyers in Germany most frequently recommended by IT experts.

18 September 2018

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised CCV Group B.V. (“CCV”), one of the largest service providers and suppliers of payment solutions in Europe on its joint venture with PAX Technology Ltd., subsidiary of the listed PAX Global Technology Limited (Stock Code: 00327.HK; “PAX”).

04 September 2018

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised the Midwich Group on the acquisition of Nuremberg based Bauer und Trummer GmbH who trade as “New Media”.

26 July 2018

WirtschaftsWoche has published an exclusive ranking of the most renowned law firms for M&A transactions, being active in the German market. GvW Graf von Westphalen is listed as one of the top 20 law firms for mergers and acquisitions, making it one of the three medium-sized law firms most frequently recommended for M&A transactions.

24 July 2018

The investment company Elvaston has acquired the HR software specialist Infoniqa. The sellers in this transaction are the financial investor Cornerstone Capital, Infoniqa Holding GmbH and the management. GvW Graf von Westphalen represented the sellers in this transaction.

20 July 2018

The international Max Bögl Group exports its magnet levitation train technology - Transport System Bögl ("TSB") to China. The corporate group (Anm: das kennt kein Mensch somit lassen wir das besser weg) has agreed on a corresponding long-term distribution partnership with the Chinese company Chengdu Xinzhu Road & Bridge Machinery Co.…

16 July 2018

Investment funds advised by PREMIUM Equity Partners, Frankfurt am Main, have acquired a majority participation in the CLARUS Film Group located in Dietzenbach near Frankfurt. GvW Graf von Westphalen advised the two managing directors of CLARUS Films who will continue to hold shares in the business.

04 July 2018

The Frankfurt office of GvW Graf von Westphalen continues to grow. On 1 July, the employment law attorney Dr. Philipp Wiesenecker joined the law firm as an equity partner. The 42 year old attorney comes from the labor law firm of KLIEMT in which he worked in the last three years as a partner in the Frankfurt office. Wiesenecker was…

14 June 2018

Innoactive GmbH is receiving financing to expand its virtual and augmented reality technologies. Unternehmertum Venture Capital Partners (UVC Partners) and Capnamic Ventures are participating with a total of € 4.4 million in the Munich startup. GvW Graf von Westphalen advised Innoactive in this series A financing round.

13 June 2018

Halder Beteiligungsberatung GmbH has sold the KLINGEL Group to IK Investment Partners. The parties agreed to keep the financial details confidential. Clearance of the transaction by the Federal Cartel Office is still outstanding.

22 May 2018

Wyndham Worldwide Corporation has sold its European vactation home business to Platinum Equity, LLC. The transaction with a sales volume of 1.3 billion US dollars has now been successfully closed. GvW Graf von Westphalen advised the American hotel group with regard to German law.

15 May 2018

GvW Graf von Westphalen advised the French Legrand Group in the acquisition of a majority participation in modulan GmbH. The Legrand Group has expanded its product portfolio in the specialized field of IT systems installation by acquiring this participation. The parties have agreed to maintain confidentiality about the further economic…

02 May 2018

Thai Acrylic Fibre Co. Ltd. (TAF), a subsidiary of the Indian Aditya Birla Group, has acquired PyroTex Industries GmbH. The M&A advisors of Proventis Partners and the law firm of GvW Graf von Westphalen have advised the founder of the textile company in this sale.

25 April 2018

The Berlin based startup company Locafox has completed a new financing round in a medium one-digit EUR million amount. The investors are 2 Welten Investment (a subsidiary of Deutsche Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft, ddvg) as well as Bremer Tageszeitungen AG.

25 April 2018

The listed GN Store Nord A/S (CPH: GN), headquartered in Ballerup near Copenhagen, Denmark (“GN“) has acquired a shareholding in audEERING GmbH with registered seat in Gilching, county of Starnberg, Germany („audEERING“). The transaction value was not disclosed.

24 April 2018

PreussenElektra can now also start dismantling the nuclear power plant Grafenrheinfeld. After the nuclear power plants in Isar 1, Unterweser, the atomic regulatory permit for the nuclear power plant Grafenrheinfeld (KKG) has now been granted for shutting down and dismantling the power plant pursuant to § 7 para. 3 German Nuclear Power Act…

19 April 2018

GvW Graf von Westphalen reinforces its M&A practice with Titus Walek Titus Walek has joined the M&A practice of the law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen as an equity partner. The new partner comes from the corporate and technology boutique Heymann & Partner and reinforces the Frankfurt office of GvW.

04 April 2018

Hitachi Europe has developed a software tool (HETO – Hitachi Energy Trading Optimizer) operating on the basis of self-learning algorithms, with which public utilities and energy companies can commercially optimize their trading and operation of production plants. The application, realized as a cloud solution, evaluates market and other…

14 March 2018

GvW Graf von Westphalen generated revenue in the financial year 2017 of 42.2 million Euro and, thus, an increase in billings of 5.1 percent compared to the previous year. The profit had an even greater increase. The profit of 18.4 million Euro was 12.2 percent higher than in the previous year.

13 March 2018

The law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen has bundled its expertise in the field of aviation in a new focus area. With our integrated team of lawyers with different specializations and fielded from different offices we aim to offer our clients customized advice and a resourceful network in the aviation field.

08 March 2018

The Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Healthcare (Institute für Qualität und Wirtschaftlichkeit im Gesundheitswesen, "IQWiG") has published the concept for a national healthcare portal. As a central internet offering for the topic of health and prevention, the new portal is supposed to contribute as a reliable medium to the…

16 January 2018

GvW Graf von Westphalen was again convincing for the general counsels of major companies in the jury at The Lawyer. The law firm was one of seven German firms nominated at "The Lawyer European Awards 2018".

16 January 2018

"Hardly any law firm succeeds in such an impressive way in covering the entire range of foreign trade law in all its aspects and in dealing with new issues, such as e.g. digitalization in cross-border trade," writes the JUVE Handbook for Commercial Law Firms 2017/2018 about the customs and foreign trade practice with its nine members in…

15 January 2018

GvW Graf von Westphalen has promoted Benjamin Schwarzfischer from the own ranks to the partnership as a new Associate Partner.

15 January 2018

A GvW team led by the Frankfurt M&A partner Eric Messenzehl has advised the traditional German company H. Stoll AG & Co. KG in establishing an international business cooperation with the Canadian technology company Myant Inc. involving the field of functional, computer supported textiles.

14 December 2017

GvW Graf von Westphalen and Mills & Reeve (UK) have decided to expand their co-operation. The managing partners of the two leading business law firms have recently signed an affiliation agreement strengthening their existing collaboration.

08 December 2017

The Legal 500 has published its reference work on the leading German law firms "The Legal 500 Germany 2018“:22 GvW attorneys in 8 different practice groups are recommended.

06 December 2017

The partners of the law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen have reelected their management at the partners' meeting in Lisbon: Christof Kleinmann (Frankfurt) and Dr. Robert Theissen (Hamburg) are now entering their fifth term of office as the managing partners of the law firm.

03 November 2017

"GvW has succeeded, with its clear strategy and the lean cost structures, in being considered sometimes by very well-known clients as an interesting alternative to the large law firms." The independent editorial board of the°JUVE°Handbook 2017/2018 has written this about the development of the law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen.

06 October 2017

REFD Investment GmbH, the German subsidiary of a Chinese investor, has acquired 100% of the shares in EKOF Mining & Water Solution GmbH. The acquisition of this chemical company constitutes the market entry into Germany for the Chinese investor.

26 September 2017

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised Prince Minerals GmbH, a subsidiary of PMHC II, Inc. ("Prince Minerals") in the acquisition of Josef Opavsky & Sohn GmbH, Vallendar. The transaction has closed in the meantime.

17 August 2017

Graf von Westphalen has been nominated “Law Firm of the Year” by German legal journal JUVE and has also received a nomination in the category “Regulated Industries”.

26 July 2017

Tacton Systems, a leading global supplier of Configure Price Quote (CPQ) and Design Automation solutions, announced the acquisition of Ventacor GmbH legally advised by GvW Graf von Westphalen.

09 June 2017

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised long-established German company PFAFF Industriesysteme und Maschinen GmbH on a complex cross-border transaction. Under a recently closed share purchase agreement, PFAFF Industriesysteme und Maschinen GmbH sold its shares in Pineo Industrial S.A.

03 May 2017

The Chinese investor Changsha Truking Investment Ltd (TRUKING) has acquired a majority shareholding in the Romaco Group (Romaco) from Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG).

24 April 2017

In the summer semester 2017, Professor Christian Kersting, LL.M. (Yale) , professor for civil law as well as German and international corporate, commercial and antitrust law, will offer a seminar on the topic “Issues of Mergers & Acquisitions” at Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf (HHU).

28 February 2017

TH Real Estate and Palmira Capital Partners have acquired the logistics park Unterschleißheim near Munich for the portfolio of the investors club fund German Logistics (ICF GLog).

15 February 2017

Clariant Produkte (Deutschland) GmbH has sold the real property of the former headquarters of Süd-Chemie AG in Munich to Rock Capital. The Parties agreed on confidentiality with regard to the transaction volume.

01 February 2017

Alnatura was able to give immediate notice of termination of the cooperation agreement and Alnatura not only does not have to make any payments that were demanded by dm, Alnatura can for its part demand from dm payment of illegally withheld amounts. Dm has now filed an appeal against this judgement.

01 February 2017

The German air navigation service provider DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH (DFS) continues to expand its sales and consulting business for air navigation services. In January 2016, DFS opened a new office in Singapore, followed by a regional office in Beijing in late December.

31 January 2017

Jiangsu Olive Sensors High-Tech Co.,Ltd. (“Olive”) through its wholly owned subsidiary in Luxembourg, acquired 32% of the shares in the Plettenberg subsidiary and in the Polish subsidiary of Schürholz, which specialize in stamping, stamping-bending, welding and assembling. The share purchase contracts were notarized January 13, 2017.

19 January 2017

GvW Graf von Westphalen, just as in the previous year, and now for the third time in total, is among the commercial law firms in Germany which have been nominated for "The Lawyer European Award 2017". The corresponding shortlist in the category "Law firm of the year: Germany" was announced today by the leading British industry…

16 January 2017

Private equity investors Advent International and Bain Capital have acquired all shares in the leading German payment solutions provider Concardis GmbH headquartered in Eschborn/Frankfurt. Sellers are numerous representatives of the German banking sector, amongst others Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, DZ Bank and the German Savings Bank…

11 January 2017

Joachim Herz Stiftung makes a strategic investment into Competo Capital Partners GmbH: The Hamburg based foundation acquires 25% of the Munich based investment and asset management company from Körber Stiftung. Competo founders Ralf Simon and Thomas Pscherer will be equal shareholders with Joachim Herz Stiftung and Körber Stiftung. After…

10 January 2017

The worldwide market research company GfK in Nuremberg has concluded a lease agreement for its new headquarters in Nuremberg. The company is now able to combine its locations distributed throughout the city at one location in a new building complex build for the company at the location "Am Kohlenhof".

09 January 2017

GvW is among the law firms which are most frequently recommended by in-house lawyers. According to the current ranking kanzleimonitor.de 2016/2017, "the law firm again improved and reached place 21 this year" (total ranking Top 100: number of recommending companies). The law firm is now recommended in 16 areas of the law, including…

09 January 2017

To what must attention be paid when transferring data to the USA and other foreign countries? Data transfers to the USA can no longer be based on the so-called Safe Harbor Framework. The ECJ decided this in the fall of 2015. It is necessary to rely on alternatives since then: standard contract clauses or the privacy shield which took…

03 January 2017

Gateway Real Estate AG has acquired a shopping center in Bavaria near Regensburg, and the transfer of the benefits and burdens is planned to take place soon.

22 December 2016

The KARL Group has sold the Mainpark Flörsheim to an international, institutional investor. The property in the so-called Mainpark has an area of approximately 135,000 m² and lettable space of around 75,000 m². A large section is developed with warehouse space that is under long-term leases.

21 December 2016

Wilma Wohnen Süd has sold to MEAG a residential project prepared by Wilma Wohnen Süd with 55 rental apartments and total residential space of approximately 4,900 square meters and the corresponding underground garage in the district Stuttgart-Sommerrain.

21 December 2016

Dr Gökçe Uzar Schüller is a new member of the board of directors of the Turkish German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (TD-IHK).

24 November 2016

The 2.5 million users of Homepage-Baukasten.de and bedava-sitem.com in Turkey now again have full access to the content of the Turkish language sites of bedava-sitem.com. Turkish public authorities (ICTA - Information and Communication Technologies Authority) had blocked all images on bedava-sitem.com. After negotiations by GvW Graf von…

21 November 2016

The new KSC Stadium is on the way: The city of Karlsruhe and the Karlsruhe Sport Club e.V. (KSC) as well as the operating company signed for corresponding contracts last Friday. GvW Graf von Westphalen advised the football club on issues involving the law of governing construction, leases, real estate, public contracting, licensing,…

15 November 2016

The worldwide leading provider of highly developed product configurations, Tacton Systems in Sweden, is making purchases in Germany. Upon acquiring Lumo Graphics, the company can completely offer visual 3D solutions for Configure Price Quote (CPQ) from a single source. The parties agreed to maintain confidentiality about the transaction…

15 November 2016

GvW Graf von Westphalen welcomes four Hamburg attorneys, Dr. Hartmut Henninger, Corinna Lindau, LL.M., Johan van der Veer, LL.M., as well as Dr. Andreas Wolowski, LL.M., as new associate partners.

14 November 2016

The customs and foreign trade practice of GvW Graf von Westphalen has further strengthen its national top position.

11 November 2016

The Federal Supreme Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof “BGH”) dismissed on 10 November 2016 the further appeal of the competition central of agency (Wettbewerbszentrale) against the judgment of the Court of Appeals (Oberlandesgericht “OLG”) Düsseldorf of 29 January 2015 (I ZR 29/15). It is now clear in the final instance that displaying…

08 November 2016

The participant in the UEFA Champions League, Borussia Mönchengladbach, and H-Hotels AG are starting a joint hotel project. Punctually at the start of the 2018/2019 season of the German Football League, a H+ Hotel is supposed to be opened in the Borussia Park

07 November 2016

GvW Graf von Westphalen is continuing its dynamic development and climbed one step in the ranking of the top 50 law firms for the second year in a row. This is the result of the research of the publisher JUVE which has now been published in the Handbook for Commercial Law Firms 2016/2017.

28 October 2016

Dr. Werner Schnappauf is a new member in the Council for Sustained Development (Rat für Nachhaltige Entwicklung, "RNE"). The partner of the law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen received the corresponding letter of appointment from Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday.

20 October 2016

The four operators of nuclear power plants Eon, RWE, EnBW and Vattenfall are paying around 23.6 billion Euro into a fund. In exchange, the Federal Government assumes the responsibility for the intermediate and final storage of all radioactive waste. The Draft Act on the Reorganization of the Disposal of Nuclear Technology was introduced…

18 October 2016

Art-Invest Real Estate has acquired an office building in Frankfurt am Main from Contraco GmbH. GvW Graf von Westphalen advised Contraco GmbH, which has its registered office in Oberursel/Taunus and is involved in residential and commercial construction as a project developer and general contractor.

22 September 2016

Dr. Maximilian R. Jahn, equity partner at the construction law firm of Kapellmann is moving to the construction and real estate practice of GvW Graf von Westphalen as of 1 October. The 40 year old partner in construction law will be the interface with the strong Frankfurt real estate team.

19 September 2016

Deutsche Telekom AG (Telekom) is expanding its data center in Biere/Saxony-Anhalt. The Telecom group headquartered in Bonn began by laying the cornerstone for this large project this week. GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised Telekom in the contract negotiations and structuring of the real estate leasing contract with an obligation to…

16 September 2016

The business delegation from Hessen is visiting the Islamic Republic of Iran in Teheran starting tomorrow. GvW Managing Partner Christof Kleinmann from the Frankfurt is also in the delegation.

01 September 2016

beegy GmbH has developed a further innovation in the digital electric power market. The Mannheimer energy service provider and utility company now offers its customers a new complete solution with the new, modular product "beegyLIVE" which contains the photovoltaic system, battery storage, digital energy management and all corresponding…

24 August 2016

beegy GmbH has developed a further digital innovation in the electricity market. The Mannheim - based energy service and electricity provider now offers its customers a new holistic solution with the new, modular product "beegyLIVE" which comprises a photovoltaic system, battery storage, digital energy management and all corresponding…

11 August 2016

The lawyers division of the Federal Supreme Civil Court (Bundesgerichtshof, "BGH") first addressed the requirements for specialist attorney continuing education events for the first time in a judgment published today (AnwZ (Brfg) 46/13).

08 August 2016

Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. ("TAI") with headquarters in Ankara has taken over the Airbus supplier Grunewald Stade GmbH & Co. KG ("Grunewald Stade").

26 July 2016

Upon acquiring Adval Tech's Mold Business ("FOBOHA"), the US American Barnes Group is expanding its offering of complex tooling technologies. GvW Graf von Westphalen provided advice with regard to the shares in Germany in the transaction, which was concluded under Swiss law and is still subject to approval by the antitrust…

22 July 2016

The constitutional dispute initiated by the AfD faction against the rejection of the members for Hardship Commission proposed by the AfD was not admissible. The Hamburg Constitutional Court decided this in a judgment dated 19 July 2016 (HVerfG 9/15). GvW Graf von Westphalen represented the respondent, the citizens of the Free and…

06 July 2016

GvW Graf von Westphalen remains the most popular mid-size law firm in Germany. According to the LTO Young Professionals Survey 2016published today, most young lawyers who decide to join a mid-size law firm would most like to work for GvW.

22 June 2016

The professional magazine WorldECR – The Journal of Export Controls & Sanctions („WorldECR“) has awarded and recognized the international elite in the field of providing advice on export controls and sanctions in this year for the second time. The law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen is the only German law firm recommended in the category…

21 June 2016

“Innovative Projects which set a benchmark for the industry and contribute to the business success of the law firm.” Those are the determinative criteria for the jury in awarding the PMN Management Awards 2016

20 June 2016

Industry 4.0 confronts businesses with many new challenges. A central issue is data protection which is becoming increasingly more important as a result of spreading digitalization and automation.

15 June 2016

The real estate network IMMOEBS celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. On the occasion of the anniversary, for which we would like to congratulate IMMOEBS, there will be several anniversary events in Berlin starting tomorrow. GvW Graf von Westphalen is a partner in the real estate forum “networking” on Friday.

14 June 2016

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised Red Gate Software Ltd. on its acquisition of Berlin based 3T Software Labs GmbH.

13 June 2016

The first Kaiser crash course for law clerks took place on Friday in the Hamburg office of GvW. The law firm invited all law clerks in the law firm to Hamburg for a one-day work shop focused on preparation for the second state bar exam.

02 June 2016

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised the project developer Kapitalpartner Konzept GmbH in the project planning related to the acquisition of real property.

02 June 2016

The “2nd German-Chinese Conference of Mid-size Businesses” will take place in Jieyang from 6 to 8 June 2016. GvW Graf von Westphalen will participate in the event and is helping to structure the program.

31 May 2016

The German Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) announced its judgment in the case between the music producer Moses Pelham and the music group Kraftwerk. GvW partner Prof. Dr. Christian Winterhoff represented Kraftwerk at the announcement of the judgment before the German Constitutional Court.

20 May 2016

The head of the Rhein-Main D-I-W G office and partner of the law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen, Christian Kusulis, welcomed the guests and gave an overview of the economic relationships between the two countries. The general consul of the State of Israel, Dr. Dan Shaham, then introduced Helge Eikelmann as the new representative of the…

13 May 2016

A company in the Canadian Granite Group has sold the commercial park Markgröningen to Sirius Real Estate Ltd. GvW Graf von Westphalen provided legal advice to the Canadian real estate investor in this transaction through Dr. Bettina Schmitt-Rady (Lead Real Estate Department, Frankfurt a.M.).

10 May 2016

Companies need reliability and foreseeability when applying embargos with regard to countries and persons. The participants in the 5th Berlin discussions conducted by GvW Graf von Westphalen drew this conclusion yesterday.

10 May 2016

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised technology distributor Midwich Group plc on its £165 million initial public offering (IPO) on London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and the related £75 million fundraising.

04 May 2016

GvW will also use the medium of video in the future: the GvW Video Blog went online today.

02 May 2016

In response to the proposal of the bar association in Munich, the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice appointed today the Munich GvW partner Christian Fuhst as an honorary judge at the Bavarian Disciplinary Court in Munich (Bayerischer Anwaltsgerichtshof “BayAGH”).

29 April 2016

GvW has provided advice to the medical technology provider TRACOE medical GmbH for the financing and implementation of the expansion into Great Britain.

28 April 2016

The construction of the A 20 Elbe Tunnel near Glückstadt can be continued by Schleswig-Holstein. The German Supreme Administrative Court [Bundesverwaltungsgericht, "BVerwG"] mostly dismissed corresponding complaints against the tunnel project.

20 April 2016

Digitalization and law: What are the city utilities (Stadtwerke) facing? The GvW partners Arnd Böken, Stephan Menzemer (both IT) and Helmut Kempf (Energy) will address these issues at the 20th Euroforum convention "Stadtwerke 2016" which begins today in Berlin.

13 April 2016

The OLG Hamm announced it the oral hearing that it will continue to conduct the proceedings about the appeal by Rustenburg Co. Ltd., represented by the law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen. The court intends to obtain an expert report on English and Russian law to clarify the issues in dispute about the scope of the arbitral award by the…

12 April 2016

Upon instruction by an SPE of a leading European real estate investment manager, GvW Graf von Westphalen advised on the sale of a portfolio consisting of three German wholesale properties to the institutional investor MAS Real Estate.

31 March 2016

The first interdisciplinary BIM cluster has been established in the metropolitan region of Hamburg in the form of BIM HUB Hamburg. Representatives from the architect profession, building technology, engineering, project management, law, associations and software companies have come together to provide knowledge about Building…

24 March 2016

The Joachim Herz Stiftung will hold in the future ten percent of the share capital in VTG AG. A corresponding sales agreement has now been concluded by the Hamburg foundation with the fund managed by Wilbur Ross.

18 March 2016

Commerzbank is moving its headquarters in Hamburg: The second largest bank in Germany has sold its headquarters in the Rathausstraße to Procom Invest and OFB Projektentwicklung and is leasing the "Hamburg Two Towers" at the Lübeckertordamm ("Hamburg Two Towers").

16 March 2016

The 1st Future Congress on the Future of Migration & Integration is taking place today at the national press office. More than 500 participants will discuss in Berlin practical issues for local communities, states and the nation resulting from the refugee situation.

10 March 2016

The private investment firm Genui Partners acquires shares in mymuesli: The food processing company ceded 30% of its shares to the Hamburg-based private equity company. GvW Graf von Westphalen advised mymuesli on the transaction.

10 March 2016

The DIVAG Group is constructing in the Rheinpromenade in Monheim a three star comfort hotel with 178 rooms and 3,000 m² office space. The Düsseldorf company has now announced this. The project developer is a joint venture consisting of Divag Konzept + Planung and LO-projects.

03 March 2016

ACP Holding Deutschland GmbH is continuing to expand its regional presence in northern and eastern Germany. The systems company has now announced the acquisition of the Janz IT Group. GvW Graf von Westphalen advised ACP Holding in this transaction.

26 February 2016

A classic event among the events on arbitration is the Petersberg Arbitration Seminar. The experts in arbitration are addressing now for the 14th time disputes in the law governing distribution and antitrust law. GvW partner Dr. Raimond Emde will discuss in his presentation his many years of practice in international arbitration…

23 February 2016

The national initial round of the 57th Philip C. Jessup Moot Court begins tomorrow in Munich. The organizer of the oldest moot court in the world in this year are the Ludwig-Maximilian University and the German Military Academy in Munich. The law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen, represented by Dr Hartmut Henninger acting as a judge, is…

15 February 2016

GvW Graf von Westphalen has again advised the French Legrand group on a complex cross-border transaction. With the recently completed share purchase agreement, the Legrand group in parallel acquired Fluxpower GmbH with its business seat in Germany and Primetech Srl with its business seat in Italy.

10 February 2016

GvW Graf von Westphalen has again advised the French Legrand Group in a complex, cross-border transaction. The Legrand Group acquired Fluxpower GmbH with its headquarters in Germany and Primetech Srl with its headquarters in Italy in parallel with a recently closed share purchase agreement.

25 January 2016

"Indigenous Nation Laws in an International Comparison" (Indigene Landrechte im internationalen Vergleich) is the title of the dissertation by Dr. Katja Göcke of the law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen which has now been published in the Springer Verlag. The Ruprecht-Karls University in Heidelberg awarded the Fritz-Grunebaum Prize for the…

19 January 2016

The series of presentation " T Projects negotiated properly under the law and taxes – managing disputes" begins today with the event in Frankfurt am Main. Our attorneys will hold presentations at a total of eleven locations in which they will report about their many years of experience in litigation involving IT contracts.

18 January 2016

The international industry magazine The Lawyer has nominated GvW Graf von Westphalen in the context of the “The Lawyer European Awards 2016“ as Law Firm of the Year/Germany.

18 January 2016

The internationally active commercial law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen again reports an excellent development for the business year 2015. In the past year, the turnover could be increased by EUR 1 million (2.6%) to now EUR 38.48 million, with a team of the same size as in the previous year.

15 January 2016

The first oral hearing in the litigation involving the construction of the clinic "Center for Operative Medicine II" (ZOM II) took place before the District Court Düsseldorf. The university clinic of Düsseldorf (UKD) is demanding here, among other items, damages from the, in the meantime, insolvent building furnisher Imtech resulting from…

07 December 2015

Nicolas Wolski, LL.M., has joined the law firm Graf von Westphalen. The 33-year old lawyer and tax advisor previously worked at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer for approx. four and a half years and will strengthen the firm’s tax law practice in the Frankfurt office.

03 December 2015

A Shanghai-based team of GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised Zschimmer & Schwarz Chemie GmbH, a global supplier of high performance chemical specialties and auxiliaries headquartered in Lahnstein, Germany (“Zschimmer & Schwarz”), on the Chinese law aspects of its acquisition of Interpolymer Corporation, U.S.A., a worldwide specialist and…

01 December 2015

The German law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen has expanded its Shanghai office with two further associates: Lilü Zhou and De Bi will in future support the team around partners Patrick Heid and Dr. Oliver Maaz in advising German and international companies in China.

26 November 2015

With Beijing Zhonghuan Investment Management Co., Ltd., another investor from China is investing in a German company. In the context of the acquisition of shares in EFA-S GmbH, the Chinese company has acquired a 75% majority stake from the previous shareholders. The SPA was notarized on 16 November 2015.

23 November 2015

The law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen continues its growth strategy in the China business: The German lawyer Ming Yi has recently joined the firm’s Frankfurt office and will coordinate the activities of Chinese companies and investors in Germany together with Frankfurt-based M&A partner Dr. Marco Zessel.

17 November 2015

The effective enforcement of EU state aid law cannot be circumvented by a binding national court judgment. This was decided by the European Court of Justice (CJEU) in its ground-breaking ruling of 11 November 2015 (C-505/14), thereby endorsing the point of view of the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).

17 November 2015

The partners’ meeting of GvW Graf von Westphalen re-elected Christof Kleinmann and Dr Robert Theissen as managing partners of the firm with more than 90% of the votes. Therefore, the two managing directors will continue to promote the firm’s successful development in the coming years

03 November 2015

Two weeks ago, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) declared the “Safe Harbor“ decision of the EU Commission invalid (judgment of 6 October 2015, C-362/14- “Schrems”). Now, the Higher Regional Court Düsseldorf - in the first high court decision regarding the “No Spy” issue - it its decision of 21 October 2015 (VII-Verg 28/14) prohibited…

02 November 2015

“The culture change is done, the locations and practice groups have moved closer together.” JUVE-Verlag attests this success to the law firm Graf von Westphalen and its management Christof Kleinmann and Dr. Robert Theissen in the JUVE Handbuch 2015/2016. The independent editors reward the firm’s successful cooperation across locations…

26 October 2015

The Frankfurt office of GvW Graf von Westphalen will be further strengthened by a well-established team of three lawyers. Employment lawyer Anja Dombrowsky and the two M&A specialists, Till Liebau and Dr. Markus Rasner join GvW as partners.

17 September 2015

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised Global Graphics SE on the acquisition of Hamburg based (URW)++ Design & Development GmbH (“URW”).

05 August 2015

Dr Wolfram Desch will join GvW Graf von Westphalen as a new equity partner and strengthen the firm’s Munich office.

27 July 2015

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised 2 Welten Investment, an investment company of Deutsche Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft (ddvg), on its investment in the Berlin-based startup company Locafox.

30 June 2015

The expansion of the M&A practice group as well as the aspiring GvW focus area energy continues: Following the entry of Helmut Kempf as equity partner in Düsseldorf, two additional new equity partners, Jens Suhrbier and Dr Ulf Liebelt-Westphal, have joined the firm. Both lawyers came from Norton Rose Fulbright and will support the growth…

16 June 2015

The Brandenburg-based enterprise McPhy Energy Deutschland is building a wind-hydrogen hybrid power station in the Chinese province Hebei.

11 June 2015

The experienced China expert Dr Oliver Maaz (44), who specializes in the structuring of foreign companies’ China investments and provides comprehensive legal advice to foreign investors in the country, will join the law firm Graf von Westphalen as a designated equity partner in Shanghai.

10 June 2015

Oxford Instruments plc has sold its shares in the German company Omicron Nano Technology GmbH (Omicron) to the Swedish company Scientific AB (Scienta).

08 June 2015

Ashland Inc. has agreed to sell its industrial biocides assets to Troy Corporation. With this transaction, Troy will acquire industrial property, factory, intellectual property (IP) rights and other assets.

26 May 2015

The GvW network SCG Legal is the top network of attorneys in the USA US according to Chambers, the leading international handbook for commercial law firms in its current edition 2015.

19 May 2015

Helmut Kempf (49) will join GvW Graf von Westphalen as a new equity partner and will strengthen the firm's Düsseldorf office starting on 1 June. The main focus of his work will be providing advice in M&A projects. He will also provide support to the growing GvW focus on energy with his many years of expertise in the industry.

23 March 2015

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised Evonik Industries AG on the acquisition of Indian Monarch Catalyst Pvt. Ltd. together with the Indian law firm of Veritas Legal.

03 March 2015

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised listed AAR CORP. on the sale of the Telair Group to TransDigm Group (also listed in the US) for a purchase price of USD 725 million subject to adjustment.

02 March 2015

The internationally active law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen is looking back at an excellent business year: In 2014, the firm’s lawyers and tax advisors generated a total turnover of almost EUR 37.5 million. This means an increase in turnover of one million Euros in comparison to the previous year. With an almost identical number of fee…

12 February 2015

In addition to several leading Turkish foreign banks, the law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen now also advises one of the leading Chinese banks in Germany. With that, the firm counts 15 foreign banks among its clients.

27 January 2015

The international placement of caretakers into private households is again at the center of public attention after the introduction of the statutory minimum wage. How can this business model, which is very common in Germany, be made compatible with the new regulations of the Minimum Wage Law?

27 January 2015

Today, the GREEN VENTURES 2015 are opened on the occasion of the TerraTec and enertec fairs in Leipzig. Entrepreneurs from 37 countries will meet at the new exhibition grounds in order to discuss the latest trends in energy and environmental technology.

13 January 2015

South-African Santova Group has acquired MASTERFREIGHT Internationale Spedition GmbH (MASTERFREIGHT) by way of a share deal.

08 January 2015

Dr Gökçe Uzar Schüller, a Turkish lawyer at GvW’s Munich and Istanbul offices, was appointed local partner with effect from 1 January 2015.

21 November 2014

Yesterday, the “German-Israeli StartHub - Connecting Innovation” event took place in Berlin. Organized and in part hosted by law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen, more than 100 investors and participants of the German and Israeli start-up scene met in Berlin.

19 November 2014

In this year’s general meeting, GvW Graf von Westphalen’s partners have elected three new equity partners and five new associated partners.

27 October 2014

In its Handbuch 2014/2015, the publishing house JUVE again acknowledges law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen’s successful policy. “Managing partners Christof Kleinmann and Dr Robert Theissen have kept their promise to sharpen the firm’s focus with a more tightly organized management, and to strive for more integration internally”, state the…

31 July 2014

Hamburg-based Constitutional Law Expert and GvW-Partner Prof Dr Christian Winterhoff represents CDU Parliamentary Group Members of the Hanover region

08 July 2014

ILLIES Group has taken over EKC Machinery & Plants GmbH’s business divisions concerning the markets Indonesia and Vietnam. GvW Graf von Westphalen advised ILLIES Group on this acquisition in the course of insolvency proceedings.

25 June 2014

GvW Graf von Westphalen advised Australian Orica group on the restructuring of its F&E units in Europe with Christof Kleinmann in the lead and coordinated the consulting services of the other European partner firms.

06 June 2014

GvW Graf von Westphalen now also advises university hospital Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) on public procurement law. In addition to a hospital in Bavaria and the clinics Cologne, Dusseldorf and Bonn, UKE is already the fifth university hospital to get the GvW lawyer’s advice on procurement projects.

21 May 2014

US-American Techniplas Group, which mainly supplies North American automotive producers with plastic components, has acquired the automotive and industry technology division of Swiss Weidmann International Corporation (WICOR Holding AG).

13 May 2014

Axel Krause, lawyer and financial economist (customs), has today become the new head of the practitioner focus group customs and foreign trade law at the Dusseldorf Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK).

13 May 2014

TVSmiles GmbH has received EUR 5 million from the first round of financing for its mobile TV bonus program TVSmiles. In Germany, SevenOne Media, a branch of ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, is acting as exclusive marketing partner of TVSmiles.

28 March 2014

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised Tivola Ventures GmbH on the acquisition of a majority stake in Utopia AG.

28 March 2014

GvW Graf von Westphalen’s positive trend continues: In 2013, the firm’s lawyers and tax advisors generated an overall turnover of EUR 34.7 million. This is an increase in turnover of 8.46% compared to the previous year.

21 March 2014

Which legal hurdles and characteristics have to be considered for foreign investments in Germany? Marian Niestedt and Dr Dominik Ziegenhahn address this issue in their article on foreign investments in Germany

13 March 2014

Christian Kusulis is is the new Rhine-Main region branch manager of the German-Israeli Economic Association (Deutsch-Israelische Wirtschaftsvereinigung e.V., DIW). On 12 March 2014, the Frankfurt-based GvW partner received the letter of appointment from DIW president and former minister of state Hildegard Müller and DIW’s federal manager…

30 January 2014

With effect from 1st January 2014, GvW Graf von Westphalen welcomes two new partners from its own ranks, in addition to IT partner Stephan Menzemer.

28 January 2014

The Cyprus-based Central European Aluminum Company (CEAC) has initiated ad hoc arbitral proceedings against the State of Montenegro and other Montenegrin entities over Montenegro’s biggest industrial enterprise Kombinat Aluminijuma Podgorica (KAP).

22 January 2014

With GvW Graf von Westphalen’s support, Venn Life Sciences Holdings plc has acquired pharmaceutical research company CRM clinical trials GmbH by way of an asset deal.

21 January 2014

GvW Graf von Westphalen has introduced a new career level at its Shanghai office: With effect from 1 January 2014, Li Li was appointed local partner.

15 January 2014

Chinese company BetterLife in December 2013 acquired SGL Rotec GmbH & Co. KG (SGL Rotec), a company which produces rotor blades for wind power plants. GvW Graf von Westphalen advised the Chinese investor on the acquisition.

10 January 2014

Blackhawk Network Holding, Inc., is expanding its international sales network in the prepaid segment by acquiring RETAILO AG headquartered in Cologne. GvW Graf von Westphalen advised the US Corporation on the transaction.

13 December 2013

GvW Graf von Westphalen’s reception in the market is positive in every respect: After numerous recommendations in JUVE, the firm is now listed in the publication The Legal 500 for construction law, real estate law, environmental and planning law, procurement law, PPP as well as M&A (national medium-sized deals), information technology and…

25 November 2013

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised Midwich Ltd. on the acquisition of a majority stake in Kern & Stelly Medientechnik GmbH.

25 November 2013

GvW Graf von Westphalen is again up for election as law firm of the year. After last year’s nomination by JUVE, the law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen is now nominated for “The Lawyer European Awards 2014” as law firm of the year/Germany.

31 October 2013

Verdion, a British company specialized in logistics properties, is currently developing a production and logistics property in Chemnitz for SIEMENS AG with a project volume of approximately EUR 30 million in the context of a long-term lease agreement. GvW Graf von Westphalen has accompanied Verdion in this project development.

24 October 2013

GvW Graf von Westphalen has strengthened its IT law practice with a prominent figure: By 1 January 2014, Buse Heberer Fromm founding partner Stephan Menzemer will join GvW’s Frankfurt office as equity partner.

08 October 2013

In order to focus on the asset class “ship”, HCI Capital AG transferred to Bilfinger Real Estate by 1 October 2013 the fund and real estate management of 23 closed-end real estate funds with 43 office and logistic objects in the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland.

01 October 2013

Dr Christoph Schneider has joined GvW Graf von Westphalen’s Frankfurt office. The 38-year old tax law specialist has 7 years of practical experience and supports the tax law team of Frankfurt-based partner Dr Frank Tschesche.

25 September 2013

GvW Graf von Westphalen advised KRESTA Industries, St. Andrä, Austria, on the purchase of 50.01 % of the shares in TRIPLAN AG, Bad Solden, which is listed in the Entry Standard of the German Stock Exchange, Frankfurt.

24 September 2013

SevenVentures GmbH has acquired a share in PORTALIS Group’s online portal moebel.de. The subsidiary of ProSiebenSat.1 is therefore expanding its participation portfolio in online and e-commerce businesses.

11 September 2013

“Investing in Germany – Hamburg your Gateway for your business success in Europe“. This is the motto of a roadshow organized by the City of Hamburg which takes place from 7 to 16 September in Central and South China and sets out to promote Chinese company formations in Hamburg. GvW lawyers from Hamburg and Shanghai will escort the…

11 September 2013

International trade journal World ECR (World Export Control Review) has listed GvW Graf von Westphalen as the only German law firm in Brussels for the areas export control and sanctions.

05 September 2013

On the occasion of the 70-year company anniversary of Finnish energy group Pohjolan Voima, Dr Werner Schnappauf, partner at GvW, gave the keynote speech yesterday. In his presentation in Helsinki, he focused on the German Energiewende and the future of the energy sector. A top-class group of participants subsequently discussed the future…

03 July 2013

NASDAQ OMX-listed Concentric AB has just acquired all shares in LICOS Trucktec GmbH.

02 July 2013

GvW Graf von Westphalen is continuing to expand in China: on 1 July 2013, the Shanghai office moved into new premises.

25 June 2013

GvW Graf von Westphalen's secondment programme has developed very positively over the last couple of months. In the summer of 2013, four GvW lawyers have been, are currently being or will be seconded to a partner law firm or to a company in Germany or abroad.

09 May 2013

The company Klausner Trading International GmbH has filed a EUR 56 million damages claim against the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), requesting the delivery of overdue supplies of wood. GvW Graf von Westphalen represents the state both in the preliminary injunction proceedings as well as in the main trial.

03 May 2013

Yi-Ko Holding GmbH has acquired wholly-owned subsidiary Burger King GmbH with corporate seat in Munich as well as 91 company-owned BURGER KING® restaurants from the BURGER KING® group. The joint shareholders of Yi-Ko Holding GmbH are the inves-tors Ergün Yildiz and Alexander Kolobov, who was advised on this transaction by GvW Graf von…

02 May 2013

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised the New Zealand based Les Mills Group on the acquisition of LES MILLS Germany GmbH.

29 April 2013

Rechtsanwalt Dr Hans Felix Schäfer joins GvW Graf von Westphalen's Düsseldorf office from 01.05.2013 as associate partner.

10 April 2013

Henderson Global Investors and Palmira Capital Partners have purchased a logistics park in Herrenberg for the real estate special fund "Henderson German Logistics Fund". The logistics park consists of a 135,000 m2 piece of real property located to the south-west of Stuttgart with a total of 50,000 m2 of storage and office area. The…

02 April 2013

On 1 April 2013, lawyer and notary Dr Daniel Komo LL.M. joined GvW Graf von Westphalen as new of counsel. Dr Komo is to establish a notary's office at GvW’s Frankfurt office.

26 March 2013

Law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen is happy to announce the launch of its Israel Desk.

22 March 2013

Hamburg-based technology group Körber AG has acquired a major share in LTi Group from the Lust family. LTi, the automation and sensor technology specialist from Lahnau near Wetzlar, Germany, has approximately 1,000 employees based in 30 locations, including Shanghai. The transaction is still subject to approval by the German cartel…

19 March 2013

Rechtsanwalt Dr Kurt Luka, LL.M. joined GvW Graf von Westphalen. The 38 year old has moved from Bird & Bird and will strengthen the Hamburg office's real estate and construction law practice as associate partner.

07 March 2013

GvW is expanding its expertise in customs and foreign trade law: From 1 April the customs specialist Axel Krause will join the eight-strong Hamburg and Brussels team of customs experts under Dr Lothar Harings and Marian Niestedt. The 46 year old will primarily deal with the cross-border movement of goods from and to Asia at the new…

04 March 2013

GvW is again increasing its team of lawyers in Shanghai. With Dr Alexandra Hansmeyer the firm has gained a specialist for international transactions.

22 February 2013

Smiling Green Energy GmbH & Co. KG (SGE) has purchased a planned open space photovoltaic park in Hessen. GvW's real property and energy law team exclusively advised SGE for the first time.

08 February 2013

GvW has advised the Bürger Group on its sale of the Lauscha Fiber International Group to the Unifrax Group which belongs to the portfolio of the private equity investor American Securities.

17 January 2013

In November/December Henderson Global Investors acquired the first two logistic properties in Bad Dürkheim and in Elmenhorst-Lanken for the property special investment fund "Henderson German Logistics Fund". GvW Graf von Westphalen's Frankfurt real property team exclusively advised the fund.

20 December 2012

In a sale-and-lease-back-transaction Union Investment has acquired the Barceló Hotel Hamburg for the open-ended real estate fund “UniImmo: Deutschland“ and hereby initiated its cooperation with the third largest Spanish hotel operator. Barceló Hamburg is a new 4-star-superior hotel with 193 rooms, which opened in March 2012.…

18 December 2012

GvW Graf von Westphalen's customs and foreign trade practice continues to enjoy an excellent reputation in the market. The JUVE Handbook German Commercial Law Firms 2012/2013 once again named GvW as one of the top three firms in customs and foreign trade law. In Who's Who Legal Germany 2013 the firm was, as last year, the only firm with…

06 December 2012

Shanghai Municipal Electric Power Company (SMEPC) successfully participated in the privatisation process of the electrical generation sector in Nigeria as part of a consortium. The consortium was selected as preferred bidder for the Nigerian power plant Geregu.

27 November 2012

The JUVE Handbook German Commercial Law Firms 2012/2013 confirms that GvW Graf von Westphalen has made good headway. After being nominated for law firm of the year 2012, JUVE's independent editorial team states in its Handbook 2012/2013 that the firm is "on the right track".

21 November 2012

GvW Graf von Westphalen is promoting Dr Sven Donner, Dr Magnus Dorweiler, Dr Gerd Schwendinger, LL.M. and Dr Patrick Wolff to the status of associate partners with effect from 1 January 2013. Their promotion shows the firm continuing to grow within its own ranks.

06 November 2012

In Saxony-Anhalt, Deutsche Telekom subsidiary T-Systems International has commissioned the construction of Germany’s largest “TwinCore” data centre and one of the most modern data processing centres worldwide. Together with an in-house team of Deutsche Telekom AG, GvW Graf von Westphalen advised T-Systems International over the past two…

30 October 2012

Teleflex Incorporated has completed the acquisition announced August 13, 2012 of substantially all of the business of LMA International N.V. with, on October 23, 2012 by way of an asset deal. The transaction value amounted to approximately SGD 343.5 million.

23 October 2012

GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised the Survitec Group in its acquisition of the marine lifesaving services divi-sion of Gummi Hasenkrug GmbH by way of an asset deal.

01 October 2012

Dr. Thomas Senff, an expert in real-estate and construction law, has joined the ranks of lawyers being hired by Graf von Westphalen’s new office in Düsseldorf. The 43-year-old Senff came to the firm in March after giving up his position as partner at Mütze Korsch in Düsseldorf.

18 September 2012

Sebastian Wiendieck, a further German lawyer, joined the firm's Shanghai office on 1st September. Wiendieck has over ten years of professional experience at various large international commercial law firms in Germany and China.

11 September 2012

From 01.10.2012 GvW's team will be strengthened by Dr Joachim Mulch. Mulch is moving from Noerr and will be a partner at the new Düsseldorf office. His appointment means that the IP/IT practice will be represented at all German offices.

24 August 2012

Graf von Westphalen has been nominated as “Law Firm of the Year” by JUVE, an information service provider for the German legal community. “Law Firm of the Year” is the top award among the 14 categories of the annual JUVE Awards.

25 June 2012

Graf von Westphalen acted as legal counsel to the majority shareholder of Interturbine Projekt Management GmbH in the sale of the entire Interturbine Group to the NASDAQ-listed company B/E Aerospace (GS: BEAV).

19 June 2012

Dr. Bettina Meyer-Hofmann, a lawyer recommended by the JUVE Handbook of commercial law firms as a Germany-wide adviser in public procurement law, will oversee the growth of the healthcare practice at Graf von Westphalen.

31 May 2012

On 1 June 2012, Dr. Ritesh Rajani, LL.M. joined the Hamburg office of Graf von Westphalen as a new partner. He is part of the firm’s corporate department and shall enhance in particular the M&A practice of corporate partner Dr. Dominik Ziegenhahn. Prior to joining GvW, Dr. Rajani worked at Latham & Watkins (Hamburg) for six years.

29 March 2012

In a ruling issued on March 28, 2012, the Hamburg Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the Parliament of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and threw out an expedited motion filed against the legislative body.

29 March 2012

In a ruling handed down on March 22, 2012, the European Court of Justice overturned Council Regulation No. 1355/2008 in which the Council of the European Union imposed anti-dumping duties on canned citrus fruit imported from the People’s Republic of China.

12 March 2012

The owners of Chronoswiss Uhren GmbH have sold the family-owned watchmaker business, based in Karlsfeld near Munich, to Swiss-based investors Eva and Oliver Ebstein.

12 March 2012

The Bavarian State Ministry of Finance and the operator of the salt mine in Berchtesgaden and the saline in Bad Reichenhall, Baden-Württemberg-based Südsalz GmbH, have agreed on a deal to safeguard the continued operation of these two facilities beyond 2050.

09 February 2012

Harvard Bioscience, Inc., a global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of a broad range of tools to advance life science research and regenerative medicine, has acquired the business of AHN Biotechnologie GmbH through a subsidiary of its wholly owned Biochrom Ltd. subsidiary.

07 February 2012

Starting in March 2012, the internationally renowned customs law expert Michael Lux will strengthen Graf von Westphalen's foreign trade law team led by Lothar Harings and Marian Niestedt. He will be based in the law firm's Brussels office.

25 January 2012

Graf von Westphalen (GvW) will open a new office in Düsseldorf in April 2012, making it one of only a few major independent law firms in Germany to have a presence in all key economic regions of the country.

19 January 2012

On December 29, 2011 Jeco Pte Ltd. with registered offices in Singapore, has completed the acquisition of a 49%-interest in Braun GmbH & Co.KG.

13 January 2012

Graf von Westphalen is proud to welcome yet another high-caliber member to our team: As of 01 January 2012, Dr. Werner Schnappauf will be working for our partnership of lawyers. Between 1998 and 2007, the CSU politician was the Bavarian Minister of State, initially in charge of urban and regional development and environmental issues and…

13 January 2012

Dominik Ziegenhahn, partner in the Hamburg office of Graf von Westphalen and specializing in corporate law, has been appointed Vice President of the Board of the Chinese European Legal Association e. V. ("CELA"). He was elected to this position by the members of CELA in December 2011.

12 January 2012

AAR CORP. (NYSE: AIR) with registered offices in Wood Dale, Illinois has completed the acquisition of Telair International GmbH and Nordisk Aviation Products, AS from Teleflex International (NYSE: TFX) on December 2, 2011. The transaction value amounted to about USD 280 million.

07 December 2011

Graf von Westphalen has once again received strong endorsements in the JUVE Handbook. In the latest edition 2011/2012, the leading guide to commercial law firms in Germany recommends Graf von Westphalen as one of the top law firms in the areas of trade, commercial/M&A, real-estate law, environmental and planning law as well as state-aid…

21 November 2011

The Graf von Westphalen law firm held its partners' meeting on November 11 and 12, 2011. In addition to many issues, the meeting's agenda included a number of elections.

08 November 2011

Graf von Westphalen together with HHP Attorneys-At-Law has advised Lonza Group Ltd. ("Lonza"), one of the world's leading suppliers to the pharmaceutical, healthcare and life science industries based in Basel, Switzerland and listed on the Six Swiss Exchange, on the PRC legal aspects of its successful secondary listing on the Singapore…

27 July 2011

Graf von Westphalen is one of Germany’s most popular legal employers: Two highly respected rankings list the firm among the 100 most attractive employers for law graduates and young legal professionals.

23 June 2011

Together with the UK law firm Mills & Reeve, Graf von Westphalen has advised Ubisense Group plc., a leading global provider of real-time location systems, in its public listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

18 May 2011

The recently published 12th edition of “Kanzleien in Deutschland – eine Auswahl deutscher Wirtschaftsanwälte” (“Law Firms in Germany – a Selection of German Commercial Attorneys”) underscores the comprehensive advising expertise of Graf von Westphalen as one of the few commercial law firms “that could hold its own at the top among service…

05 May 2011

Since 2 May 2011 Graf von Westphalen's China team has been further enlarged with yet another lawyer with a Chinese background joining the firm's Hamburg office.

14 April 2011

Graf von Westphalen has again received high ratings in the international directory “The Legal 500 Europe, Middle East & Africa.” In the 2011 edition, the law firm is recommended, in particular, in the practice areas of “Banking and finance: Bank lending”, “Corporate and M&A: Mid-sized deals”, “Employment”, “Public sector”, “Real estate…

05 April 2011

Graf von Westphalen partner Marian Niestedt is one of four Germany-based lawyers and 250 other experts worldwide to be named as a leading figure in the Who’s Who of Trade and Customs Lawyers 2010.

29 March 2011

Graf von Westphalen has strengthened its China team by hiring Helena Wan-Rong Chang-Schöne. Ms. Chang-Schöne will join the firm’s office in Frankfurt on April 1, 2011.

15 March 2011

InterContinental Finance Magazine has named Graf von Westphalen Germany’s “Law Firm of the Year Trade & Customs.” The award is part of the annual Legal Excellence Awards based on a survey of approximately 15,500 readers of the trade magazine conducted this year.

06 January 2011

Graf von Westphalen has appointed another equity partner from its own ranks, with Christian Esch having made the transition on 1 January 2011. The firm now has 46 partners in total.

05 January 2011

After several months of negotiations with various bidders, Carlsberg Deutschland GmbH has sold the Dresden-based Feldschlösschen brewery to Frankfurter Brauhaus GmbH. The sale took effect on 1 January 2011.