Competence

Dipl-Kfm Dr iur Maximilian Koch

… is the managing director and founder of KOCH Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH in Düsseldorf.
He studied economics at the University of Hagen (Diplom-Kaufmann) and law at the University of Osnabrück (1st legal state exam (honored exam, among the top 5% of graduates), Dr iur "summa cum laude"). After his legal clerkship in Lower Saxony, he also passed the 2nd state law examination with a high distinction (among the top 10% of graduates).

Dr Koch comes from an entrepreneurial family. Before starting his legal career, he worked as a manager of a plastic injection molding company.

Dr Koch has more than 20 years of professional experience as a business lawyer. He was a partner in both medium-sized German and large international law firms. Before founding KOCH, he was a Partner / Principal at Ernst & Young for more than nine years.

His domains are legal advice on corporate strategy issues, legal corporate & finance advice and innovative legal structuring.
Added to this are his arbitration activities and legal representation before German courts, particularly in commercial and corporate law disputes.

The Handelsblatt and the US publication Best Lawyers have been counting Dr Koch among Germany's best lawyers in corporate law, capital markets law, corporate governance & compliance, private equity, M&A and Real Estate Law for many years now.

In 2012, Handelsblatt and Best Lawyers awarded Dr Koch in the field of private equity as "Lawyer of the Year - Düsseldorf" and 2016 as "Lawyer of the Year - Nordrhein-Westfalen". In 2019, WirtschaftsWoche counted Dr Koch among the most renowned M&A lawyers in Germany. In 2023, Handelsblatt and Best Lawyers named Dr Koch "Lawyer of the Year - Nordrhein-Westfalen" in Capital Markets Law, and in 2024 "Lawyer of the Year - Nordrhein-Westfalen" in Private Equity again. 

Dr Koch's completed projects in corporate law as well as finance and capital markets law in recent years include inter alia:

  • Advising on numerous major mandates relating to capital market and corporate law, e.g. in questions of management board remuneration (Mannesmann case, advice on stock option plans, etc.), in corporate governance issues, the preparation of supervisory board meetings and supervisory board resolutions;
  • The support of many large mandates in connection with capital measures, company agreements, measures according to the transformation law as well as structural measures according to "Holzmüller"/"Gelatine" principles
  • Advising and supporting general meetings of MDAX companies
    Advising numerous corporate reorganizations in medium-sized companies and the public sector
  • Advising listed companies on public offers under the German Securities Acquisition and Takeover Act (WpÜG) and on questions of securities trading law (WpHG)
  • Advising a Swiss stock corporation listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on the preparation of a securities prospectus in accordance with the German Securities Prospectus Act (WpPG) after a capital increase, the subsequent approval process by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and the subsequent listing process for the new shares on which the prospectus is based;
  • Advising a large British mezzanine investor on the recapitalization of a German group in crisis;
  • Advice on the structuring and establishment of factoring companies;
  • Advising international corporations on the introduction of European cash pool systems;
  • Adaptation of the stock option plan of a listed US group to the requirements of German capital market law;
  • Advising a listed company on the structuring of an innovative manager participation program (performance shares) for the management of an acquired group of companies;
  • Advising a German bank on the structuring of collateral for the financing of a PPP project;
  • Advice on stock corporation, capital market and financial law to a listed commodity group in crisis;
  • Advising a listed real estate group on the search for and implementation of larger mezzanine financing;
  • Advising a German investor on the acquisition of a larger life insurance portfolio in the USA;
  • Advising a medium-sized international chemical company on the reorganization of the liabilities side;
  • Advising a major German city on the negotiation and successful conclusion of a settlement, which was very advantageous for the city, regarding a claim for damages under corporate law in the hundreds of millions of euros

Dr Koch's M&A experience includes, but is not limited to, the following completed headline deals:

  • Sale of the lighting technology division by Vossloh AG to Matsushita Electric Works. ltd (2002);
  • Advising the Saban Capital Group, Inc. on the KirchMedia transaction (2002/2003);
  • Acquisition of a minority stake in CompuGROUP Holding AG by General Atlantic Partners (2003);
  • Acquisition of the major stake in Beiersdorf AG by Tchibo Holding AG, HGV and Troma as buyers and, in this context, planning and implementation of Beiersdorf AG’s public share buyback program (2003/2004) (www.juve.de);
  • Sale of the significant shareholding in TUI AG by WestLB AG (2004) (www.juve.de);
  • First management buyout of the Maredo Group (2005) (www.juve.de);
  • Acquisition of the Homann Group by IFR (2007) (www.juve.de);
  • Second management buyout of the Maredo Group (2008);
  • Advising the supervisory board of a listed German stock corporation as a target company in a public takeover (2013 / 2014);
  • Advice to Principia S.A. on the sale of a real estate portfolio of around 1,300 residential units to TAG Immobilien AG (2015 / 2016);
  • Advising the French private equity investor Ardian on the public takeover of the listed SQS Software Quality Systems AG (2017 / 2018) (www.juve.de);
  • Advising the listed Funkwerk AG as a strategic investor on the acquisition of a shareholding in the listed euromicron AG (2019) (www.lto.de)
  • Schmalenbach Gesellschaft für Betriebswirtschaft e.V.
  • Bundesverband deutscher Volks- und Betriebswirte e.V.
  • Gesellschaftsrechtliche Vereinigung - wissenschaftliche Vereinigung für Unternehmens- und Gesellschaftsrecht (VGR) e.V.
  • DIS Deutsche Institution für Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit e. V. (www.disarb.org)
1989-1992 Business and technical employee in medium-sized industry, finally manager of a company in the design, manufacture and sale of precision injection molded parts made of thermoplastics
1995-1997 Research Associate at the international law firm Shearman & Sterling
1997-1999 Assistant to Prof Dr Dr hc mult Theodor Baums at the Institute for Commercial and Business Law at the University of Osnabrück
2000 Promotion with "summa cum laude" to Dr our with the doctoral thesis "Diversification and Management Board Competences" (published in Frankfurt Business Law Studies, Volume 40)
2002-2005 Lawyer at the international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Düsseldorf, in the area of corporate law, public M & A
March 2005 - June 2013 Partner and managing director of the law firm MKRG (juve.de)
July 2013 – September 2022 Partner / Principal at EY / EY Law, Sector Focus Government & Public Services, Head of Capital Markets Germany (juve.de)
since October 2022 Managing director and founder of KOCH Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH
1993 Karmann Award for outstanding academic achievements of particular importance for medium-sized companies
since 2010 Dr Koch is counted by the US publication Best Lawyers and the Handelsblatt among "Germany's best lawyers" in "Private Equity Law", "Corporate Law", "Capital Markets Law", "Corporate Governance & Compliance", "Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)" and "Real Estate Law"
2012 Dr Koch was awarded “Lawyer of the Year – Düsseldorf” by Best Lawyers and the Handelsblatt in private equity law
2016 Best Lawyers and the Handelsblatt also awarded him "Lawyer of the Year - Nordrhein-Westfalen" in private equity law
2019 WirtschaftsWoche counted Dr Koch among the most renowned M&A lawyers in Germany
2023 Dr Koch was awarded "Lawyer of the Year  - Nordrhein-Westfalen" by Best Lawyers and the Handelsblatt in capital markets law
2024 Best Lawyers and the Handelsblatt awarded Dr Koch "Lawyer of the Year - Nordrhein-Westfalen" in private equity law again
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