Nico Abel’s practice focuses on international mergers and acquisitions.

Nico has extensive experience advising corporates, private equity funds and financial institutions on private and public mergers and acquisitions, disposals, leverage buy-outs, growth investments, joint ventures, and restructurings.

He has particular experience in the financial services, technology, and energy sectors.

Nico joined the firm as a partner in 2023.

Notable Experience

  • Synopsys in its acquisition of PikeTec from ECM Equity Capital Management.

  • NeXtWind’s founders in the sale of NeXtWind Capital to a consortium of Sandbrook Capital, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) and the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO), including commitments of such consortium to invest up to $750m million of equity capital to acquire NeXtWind’s existing portfolio of operating wind assets and to fund future growth.

  • Klarna, the leading European payment provider based in Sweden, in several transactions, including the acquisition of BillPay, one of the leading German online payment providers, from Wonga and the acquisition of SOFORT, a payment services provider based in Germany, from its majority shareholder, Reimann Investors.

  • Altra Industrial Motion Corp., a global manufacturer and marketer of electromechanical power transmission and motion control products listed on NASDAQ, in a range of transactions, including in connection with its combination with four operating companies from Fortive’s Automation and Specialty platform (Fortive A&S), the acquisition of the Stromag business from GKN plc., and the acquisition of the gear motor business of Danfoss Bauer from Danfoss.

  • Unzer Group (formerly heidelpay Group), a leading payment services provider majority owned by KKR, on various acquisitions, including the acquisition of the payment service provider and acquiror Clearhaus, the acquisition of the payment service provider QuickPay, and the acquisition of Paysafe Pay Later, a specialist for pay-later payment methods, from the Paysafe Group.

  • Event Hospitality & Entertainment Limited in the sale of its German cinema exhibition division, CineStar, to UK-based Vue International Bidco Plc.

  • AnaCap Financial Partners and the founders of heidelpay in the sale of a controlling stake in heidelpay group to KKR.

  • The founders of heidelpay in the sale of a controlling stake to AnaCap Financial Partners.

  • ANEX Group in its acquisition of Bucher Reisen and ÖGER Tours from the insolvent Thomas Cook Group.

  • Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in a strategic joint venture with Unibail-Rodamco, regarding the indirect acquisition of a 46.1% interest in mfi AG, the second-largest German shopping center operator.

  • Johnson Matthey in the acquisition of the energy storage business of Clariant AG.

  • Shunfeng International Clean Energy Limited, one of the largest Chinese solar providers and owner of module maker Suntech, in the acquisition of the business of S.A.G. Solarstrom AG from its insolvency administrator.

  • CA Immo in the partial sale of Tower 185, Germany’s fourth-largest high-rise building, to two pension funds, including all relevant joint venture aspects.

See More

Publications

Interventions of Third Parties in M&A Transactions on the Increase (“Eingriffe Dritter in M&A-Transaktionen nehmen zu: Käufer und Verkäufer sind gefordert”), M&A Review, April 2019, (together with Markus Lauer and Marcel Nuys)

Restrictions on M&A Transactions Under German Foreign Investment Law - A Brief Guide, October 2011

Acquisitions Out of Insolvency – Opportunities and Challenges (“Der Unternehmenskauf aus der Insolvenz – Chancen und Besonderheiten der Vertragsgestaltung”), M&A Review, July 2009, (together with Karsten Kuehnle)