Christian C.-W. Pleister
Rechtsanwalt (Lawyer), Partner
Corporate
Restructuring & Insolvency
Mergers & Acquisitions
Private Equity
Prof. Dr. Christian Pleister is a partner in Noerr's Berlin and Frankfurt office and co-head of the Corporate department and the Private Equity practice group. He is an expert for complex transactions, private equity investments and restructuring. He regularly advises on cross-border transactions, especially in the fields of technology, media, telecommunications, financial services and energy.
Projects
- STEAG - advising steering committee of financial creditors on refinancing, reorganization, restructuring and sale of STEAG group
- Advising Gegenbauer shareholders on formation of leading facility service group Apleona/Gegenbauer led by PAI
- Lead Advisor of VTB Bank (Europe) SE under management of BaFin special representative on stabilization and solvent wind down of worldwide banking business
- Worldwide sales process of Wirecard entities, et. al sale of North American Business to Centerbridge backed Syncapay and European core business to Grupo Santander
- Panasonic on the sale of Vossloh-Schwabe group
- Hertha BSC on equity investment of Tennor Holding B.V. of EUR 224 million and follow on investment of EUR 150 million
- Global Fashion Group (GFG) on structuring and formation of the group/financing rounds and preparation for IPO
- KATHREIN on the sale of its mobile networks antenna business (around 4,000 employees worldwide) to Ericsson
- Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. (now Deutsche Oppenheim Family Office)/Deutsche Bank, comprehensive advice on the Oppenheim Esch complex and restructuring
- Sale of Latin America’s leading e-commerce platform Linio to Falabella
- Steinhoff International on the sale of the group's subsidiaries Impuls and Puris
- Rocket Internet on the sale of leading online market platform Daraz to Alibaba
- HelloFresh on IPO, preparation for IPO, financing round
- Rocket Internet on the sale of Delivery Hero share package to Naspers
- Alteri Investors/Apollo Global Management on super senior financing and restructuring Basler Fashion
- Lazada Group on the sale of Southeast Asia’s leading shopping portal to Alibaba
- AURELIUS on the sale of the SECOP Group to the major listed Japanese group Nidec
- Gegenbauer the facility management group on the takeover of RGM Holding
- Zalando on the takeover of the Bread & Butter fashion fair
- OLB (formerly Bremer Kreditbank on the purchase of the Neelmeyer bank
- Apollo/Alteri on the acquisition of mail order delivery group Versandhaus Walz
- Qimonda on the sale of patent portfolio to Infineon, worldwide investor process, restructuring
- ATU Group on refinancing and restructuring
- Hertha BSC on the investment by KKR as the first financial investor in the German Federal Football League
- Advising the Spanish solar project company Arenales and its bank syndicate in the course of the insolvency of shareholder Solar Millennium and the takeover by the STEAG Group
- Advising on the sale of the foundry group Halberg-Guss
- Advising on the sale of Cinterion Wireless Modules
- DyStar on the sale of the global market leader in textile dyes with 36 worldwide subsidiaries
Distinctions
- Leading senior consultant for M&A (JUVE Handbuch)
- ''A strong negotiator who understands well how to realise the interests of his clients'', Chambers Europe (2019)
- One of the "best German corporate lawyers", top list of WirtschaftsWoche
- One of the best lawyers for insolvency law and restructuring, top list of WirtschaftsWoche
- "Thought Leader Germany" M&A and Corporate Governance, Who's Who Legal (2019)
- Acritas Star lawyer
- Leading lawyer for restructuring and insolvency, IFLR1000 (since 2014)
- Leading individual in Restructuring/Insolvency, Chambers Europe (since 2014)
- Recommended expert for M&A, Best Lawyers Handelsblatt (since 2012)
- Recommended media law expert, Best Lawyers Handelsblatt (since 2013)
- Recommended expert in corporate law and industrial property protection, Best Lawyers Handelsblatt (since 2015)
- Recommended expert for restructuring and bankruptcy law, Best Lawyers Handelsblatt (since 2017)
- ''He is masterly in getting the deal done'', Chambers Europe (2018)
- ''Most highly regarded", "specialist in dealing with complex transactions", ''reputation in the industry for providing the highest-quality advice'', Who’s Who Legal (2017)
- ''Comes highly recommended for his top-notch practice advising technology and media companies and financial clients on large-scale transactions.'', Who's Who Legal, Germany (2019)
- ''Highly sought after by clients for his 'fast responses and excellent market knowledge'. Sources highlight his 'strong negotiation skills and vast transactional experience', as well as 'his strong commitment to the lawyer-client relationship'.", Who’s Who Legal - M&A and Governance (2018)
- Recommended expert in banking and finance law, Best Lawyers Handelsblatt (2022)
- Recommended expert in capital markets law, Best Lawyers Handelsblatt (2022)
- "Thought Leader Germany" M&A and Governance, Who's Who Legal (2022)
- "Recognised as a Highly Regarded Lawyer in the latest IFLR1000 rankings", 2022/23 edition of IFLR1000
Career
Graduate of the Axel Springer School of Journalism, Berlin/Hamburg
Legal studies at the University of Munich, including doctorate
Research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Munich
Experience abroad: Los Angeles (Irell & Manella), New York (Random House)
Admitted to the Berlin and Frankfurt Chamber of Lawyers
At Noerr since 1999
Memberships
- International Bar Association: Corporate and M&A Law Committee
- M&A Working Group of the German-American Lawyers’ Association
- Restructuring and Insolvency Law Working Group of the German Lawyers’ Association (DAV)
- Association for Corporate and Business Law (VGR)
Lectures
- Professor Dr. Christian Pleister speaks at numerous events on the subjects of M&A, transactions and restructuring
- Honorary professor at the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf in Potsdam
Publications
- Gesellschafterdarlehen in der Insolvenz - ein europäischer Flickenteppich (with Dr. Kenny Koa), in: ZRI 2020, p. 273 et seq.
- Gläubigerbeteiligung in Zeiten von COVID-19 - Ein Plädoyer und Konzept für die Durchführung virtueller Gläubigerversammlungen nach geltendem Recht (with Dr. Nicholas R. Palenker), in: ZRI 2020, p. 245 et seq.
- Handbuch Restrukturierung in der Insolvenz - Eigenverwaltung und Insolvenzplan, therein: § 39 Planänderungen, § 50 Insolvenzplan im nationalen Konzern and § 51 Insolvenzplan im internationalen Konzern (with Dr. Ingo Theusinger), 3rd edition 2019.
- Konzerninsolvenzrecht, § 5 I, II, III, IV and (with Dr. Ingo Theusinger) § 4 V, VI 4, VIII; 2nd edition 2018.
- Reparaturbedarf am ESUG-Instrumentenkasten (with Fabian Kunkel), in: ZIP 4/2017, p. 153 et seq.
- Kommentierung Insolvenzplan (§§ 235-253, 260-269 InsO), in: Kübler, Prütting, Bork (ed.), InsO, Kommentar zur Insolvenzordnung.
- Behandlung von Drittsicherheiten in der finanziellen Restrukturierung von Konzernen, in: ZIP 23/2015, p. 1097 et seq.
- The New American Way of Bankruptcy oder die Renationalisierung des Internationalen Insolvenzrechts (with Philipp Takjas), in: Commemorative for Bruno M. Kübler on his 70th birthday, 2015, p. 507 et seq.
- Zum Siegeszug des insolvenzrechtlichen Freigabeverfahrens (with Dr. Laurenz Tholen), in: ZIP 9/2015, p. 414 et seq.
- Restrukturierung nach dem ESUG: Die wichtigsten Praxisfälle, in: GWR 11/2013, p. 220 et seq.
- Das besondere Koordinationsverfahren nach dem Diskussionsentwurf für ein Gesetz zur Erleichterung der Bewältigung von Konzerninsolvenzen, in: ZIP 21/2013, p. 1013 et seq.
- Rechtsprechung zum Insolvenz- und Sanierungsrecht (with Laurenz Tholen), in: ZIP 11/2013, p. 525 et seq.
- Lizenzen in der Insolvenz – eine unendliche Geschichte? (with Prof. Dr. Sebastian Wündisch), in: ZIP 37/2012, pp. 1792 et seq.
- Ein Weg zur begrenzten Haftung für Berufsfehler: Die englische LLP, in: AnwBl 10/2012, p. 801 et seq.
- Lizenzen in der Insolvenz – Gesetzentwurf vom Tisch, Probleme bleiben: Newsletter 9th Handelsblatt Annual Meeting Restructuring 2013, p. 12.
- Treueprämien in der Unternehmenskrise sind gefährlich (with Patrick Mückl): www.faz.net/recht.
- Europäischer Wettbewerb um den besten Sanierungsstandort, in: Insight – Perspectives 2012/2013 No. 3/2012, p. 6 et seq.