Private Equity
Europe Guide 2024 : France
Band 2
About
Provided by Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland’s Paris office advises leading private equity and financial sponsor clients on the largest and most complex transactions in the French market. The team consistently acts on landmark transactions in France and across the European private equity sector.
Chambers Review
Kirkland & Ellis acts on both the buy and sell sides in transactions often of a multi-jurisdictional scope. The practice enjoys a broad client base encompassing private equity funds and institutional investors. The team collaborates with the firm's UK and US offices to provide clients coverage of the key markets of the sector.
Work Highlights
- Kirkland & Ellis advised AXA IM on the EUR3.5 billion sale of Data4 to Brookfield.
Strengths
Provided by Chambers
"It is a hard-working team with commercial acumen which is very enjoyable to work with."
"Particularly given the depth of their knowledge base in the French market, their local market legal perspective was terrific. I would say they are extremely responsive, they leverage the knowledge of the Paris scene and helped us reach into other branches of K&E to support our transaction. They did a good job in tapping into the broader K&E perspective."
"We were very satisfied with the work done, their ability and willingness to stand up for our interests, and their advice which always incorporated an element of commerciality to get to a satisfactory landing."
"They are excellent, real experts, hard workers and deal makers."
"Multinational K&E teams help to address the complexity and benefit from the highest expertise in each jurisdiction."
"It is a hard-working team with commercial acumen which is very enjoyable to work with."
"Particularly given the depth of their knowledge base in the French market, their local market legal perspective was terrific. I would say they are extremely responsive, they leverage the knowledge of the Paris scene and helped us reach into other branches of K&E to support our transaction. They did a good job in tapping into the broader K&E perspective."
"We were very satisfied with the work done, their ability and willingness to stand up for our interests, and their advice which always incorporated an element of commerciality to get to a satisfactory landing."
"They are excellent, real experts, hard workers and deal makers."
"Multinational K&E teams help to address the complexity and benefit from the highest expertise in each jurisdiction."
Notable Practitioners
Vincent Ponsonnaille acts on large-scale investments and disposals, and can claim a client base of major investment and private equity funds. He is particularly adept at advising on cross-border transactions.
"Vincent Ponsonnaille is very dependable, likeable, efficient and commercial."
"He is very reliable, accurate and commercial in his approach."
"Vincent is a deal maker, he goes beyond his field; he is really able to make a negotiation move forward."
"He has very good legal expertise, strong experience and knowledge of market practices."
Laurent Victor-Michel advises domestic and international private equity firms on acquisitions and sales. He is active across the technology, healthcare and infrastructure sectors.
"He is commercially minded and understands the ins and outs of the market and our business. He was always level-headed and managed interactions with other stakeholders the right way to get it to a successful conclusion."
"He was tireless, attentive, pragmatic and thoughtful."
"He was an excellent deal partner for the French aspects of the transaction. He has a strong combination of technical and commercial views on documents, is able to deal with complexity and was a good liaison with the UK partner to balance corporate considerations versus transaction-specific considerations."
Ranked Lawyers at
Kirkland & Ellis
France