"He's extremely flexible, pragmatic and quickly provides excellent advice." (clients)
Chambers Global 2016

Overview

Klaus Riehmer is a senior counsel in the Frankfurt office of Mayer Brown's Corporate practice and a member of Mayer Brown’s global M&A leadership group. He advises on national and cross-border M&A transactions, including public takeovers, as well as private M&A and corporate projects. He also advises on corporate law and corporate restructurings. During his practice of so far more than 20 years, Klaus has been involved in numerous significant M&A projects in a variety of industries and sectors, especially in the areas of financial services, automotive, chemical, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications and IT.

Klaus has been recognized as a leading German corporate and M&A lawyer by various independent directories, including JUVE, Chambers Global, Chambers Europe, IFLR 1000 and Best Lawyers.

Klaus is a member of the faculty and speaker at the postgraduate program Executive Master of European and International Business Law (E.M.B.L.-HSG) of the University of St. Gallen. He is widely published especially on German takeover law and corporate law. Klaus is co-editor and co-author of Being a Board Member in Germany, an English-language guide for board members of German companies.

Before joining Mayer Brown in 2015, Klaus was a partner at another premier international law firm in Frankfurt.

Areas of Focus

Practices
Industries

Spoken Languages

  • German
  • English
  • Spanish

Experience

  • Advised Beijing Enterprises Holdings Limited on the acquisition of EEW Energy from Waste GmbH from Swedish investor EQT for a purchase price of approximately EUR 1.4 billion. This acquisition was until then the largest M&A transaction of a Chinese company in Germany. 
  • Advised Publicis Groupe on the squeeze-out of minority shareholders of Pixelpark AG.
  • Advised on privatization of Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG.
  • Advised on merger of one of the largest European companies in the construction material sector and on the sale of business units.
  • Advised a global US company in connection with various transactions in Germany and Central Europe.
  • Advised a German chemical company on the acquisition of a major business unit.
  • Advised investors regarding the controversial reorganization of the boards of a listed German company in the plastics industry.
  • Advised a German state bank on the acquisition of a significant business unit of former WestLB.
  • Advised a large French company on the acquisition of a German group for communications and e-business solutions.
  • Advised a large German transport company on the acquisition of the largest private railway company in Poland.
  • Advised on the merger between HypoVerereinsbank and Unicredit, one of the largest cross-border bank mergers in Europe.
  • Advised on the takeover of Mannesmann by Vodafone, to date the worldwide largest M&A transaction.

Perspectives

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News

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Education

LLM, University of Texas

Second State Law Examination (bar exam), Hamburg

Research fellow and assistant, Max-Planck-Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Hamburg

Doctor’s degree (PhD in law, corporate law), University of Kiel

Legal Clerkship (Referendariat), Hamburg

First State Law Examination, Munich

Law studies at the universities of Freiburg and Munich

Admissions

  • Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Activities

  • International Bar Association
  • German-Spanish Lawyers Association
  • "Senior Statesperson" for Corporate/M&A in Germany – Chambers Europe 2022
  • "Ranked Lawyer" for Corporate/M&A: Mid-Market in Germany – Chambers Global and Chambers Europe 2021
  • "Notable practitioner" for Corporate/M&A – Chambers Global and Chambers Europe 2021
  • "Highly regarded" for M&A and for Restructuring and insolvency - IFLR 1000 2022
  • "Highly regarded" for M&A and for Restructuring and insolvency - IFLR 1000 2021
  • Recognized by The Best LawyersTM in Germany  2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 for Corporate and Mergers and Acquisitions Law
  • "Notable practitioner" for Corporate/M&A – Chambers Global and Chambers Europe 2020
  • Ranked in Band 1 for Corporate/M&A: Mid-Market in Germany – Chambers Global and Chambers Europe 2020
  • "Klaus Riehmer benefits from impressive experience in international M&A deals, including joint ventures. He handles both public and private M&A." – Chambers Global and Chambers Europe 2020
  • "Highly regarded" in the area of M&A as well as Restructuring – IFLR 1000 2020
  • "Frequently recommended lawyer" in the areas of Corporate Law and M&A – JUVE Handbook 2019/2020
  • Recommended for Corporate Law and M&A - medium-sized deal – Legal 500 Germany 2019
  • Named as one of the "leading names" in Corporate Law and M&A – medium-sized deals – Legal 500 Germany 2019
  • Clients enthuse that department head Klaus Riehmer is "tough, knowledgeable and commands a strong amount of authority in negotiations based on his large scope of experience." – Chambers Europe 2019
  • Highly regarded for M&A and Restructuring & insolvency – IFLR 1000 2019
  • "often recommended lawyer" in the area of corporate and M&A – JUVE Handbook 2018/2019
  • Klaus Riehmer is acclaimed as a leading mid-market M&A lawyer who is also known for his strength in corporate restructuring and corporate advisory work. – Chambers Global 2018 and Chambers Europe 2018
  • "Recommended lawyer" in the areas of Corporate and M&A – Legal 500 Germany 2018
  • "Frequently recommended lawyer" in the areas of Corporate and M&A – JUVE Handbook 2017/2018
  • "extremely fast response times" (client) – JUVE Handbook 2017/2018
  •  Klaus Riehmer stands out as one of the most active lawyers in mid-market M&A. – Chambers Global 2017 and Chambers Europe 2017
  • "He is very knowledgeable, user-friendly and experienced. He is good at advising clients on cross-border situations." (client) – Chambers Global 2017 and Chambers Europe 2017
  • "one of the best Public M&A lawyers in the market" (competitor) – JUVE Handbook 2016/2017
  • "He's extremely flexible, pragmatic and quickly provides excellent advice." (clients) – Chambers Global 2016 and Chambers Europe 2016
  • "tremendous expertise on public takeovers" – JUVE Handbook 2015/2016
  • "extremely renowned M&A lawyer" – JUVE Handbook 2015/2016
  • "Exceptional transaction lawyer, also knows the specifics of the finance industry." (client) – JUVE Handbook 2014/2015
  • "He is very familiar with M&A transactional work and manages projects well." – Chambers Global 2015 and Chambers Europe 2015
  • "He has a strong understanding of complex structures." – Chambers Global 2014 and Chambers Europe 2014
  • "First choice for large deals." (client) – JUVE Handbook 2012/2013
  • "Constant, reliable best quality." (client) – JUVE Handbook 2012/2013
  • "He knows the banks very well and provides more than just legal advice – he gives full market intelligence." (client) – Chambers Global 2013 and Chambers Europe 2013
  • "He´s excellent at negotiating with the sellers, and knows these transactions and how they work inside out." (client) – Chambers Global 2013 and Chambers Europe 2013
  • "He is not only one of the best lawyers in Germany, he´s one of the best lawyers in Europe!" (client) – Chambers Global 2012 und Chambers Europe 2012
  • "He is valued in all our departments." (client) – JUVE Handbook 2010/2011
  • "Sources characterize Klaus Riehmer as a pragmatic and well-mannered lawyer." – Chambers Global 2011 and Chambers Europe 2011
  • "Energetic, forceful, and endlessly experienced, Klaus Riehmer focuses his practice on private and public M&A transactions." – Chambers Global 2009 and Chambers Europe 2009