Ruben Foriers’ practice focuses on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, corporate governance and financial matters.

Ruben represents buyers and sellers in domestic and international M&A transactions. He regularly advises companies on corporate and securities law questions, including governance, disclosure, shareholder activism, and market abuse matters. Ruben also has experience in selected regulated sectors.

He is published in the areas of corporate and securities law.

Ruben joined the firm as a stagiaire in 2016 and returned to the firm as an associate in 2018.

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Notable Experience

  • Ackermans & van Haaren in connection with the spin-off and listing of DEME from its listed subsidiary CFE.

  • Allianz Group and its subsidiary Allianz Benelux in the €1.4 billion sale of a closed-book life retail insurance portfolio under Solvency II, together with 4,500 mortgage loans, to Monument Assurance Belgium.

  • Allied Universal, a Warburg Pincus portfolio company, in its acquisition of Attenti Electronic Monitoring Group.

  • Alstom on corporate aspects of its divestitures in relation to the then-proposed combination with Siemens’ mobility business.

  • Atalian Holding Development and Strategy in the sale of La Financière Atalian S.A.S. (Atalian) to private investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.

  • BNP Paribas in its acquisition of a stake of approx. 9% in ageas SA/NV, a listed insurance group, from Fosun Group for approx. €730 million.

  • Collibra in several matters, including its US$250 million Series F financing round at a post-money valuation of US$5.25 billion and its US$112.5 million Series E financing round, where Collibra was valued at US$2.3 billion (pre-money).

  • CVC Capital Partners in the exit sale of Continental Foods, previously the European activities of Campbell Soup.

  • D’Ieteren in several transactions, including the sale by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice of a minority interest in Belron to Hellman & Friedman, GIC and BlackRock.

  • General Motors in the €1.3 billion sale of its Opel/Vauxhall subsidiary and in the €0.9 billion sale of its GM Financial’s European operations to PSA Group.

  • Goldman Sachs International, Deutsche Bank, NatWest Markets, Société Générale, KBC Bank, BMO Capital Markets and Credit Suisse as underwriters in a €400 million Reg S/Rule 144A senior notes offering by Nyrstar.

  • Monument Re and its subsidiary Monument Assurance Belgium in several transactions, including the acquisitions of a €2.6 billion closed-book retail insurance portfolio from AXA Belgium, a retail life insurance portfolio from Federale Verzekering and a group life insurance portfolio from Contassur.

  • Nethys in the review of various strategic options for its majority stake in insurance company Integrale.

  • NN Group and its subsidiary NN Insurance Belgium in various matters, including in the €3.3 billion sale of a closed-book life retail insurance portfolio to Athora Belgium, and in the renegotiation of its long-term distribution agreement with ING Bank in Belgium.

  • Ontex Group in several transactions, including the sale of its Mexican business to Softys.

  • Open Text Corporation in its US$1.62 billion acquisition of Dell EMC’s Enterprise Content Division and in a US$564.5 million SEC-registered shares offering.

  • Ottobock in its acquisition of V!GO International.

  • Solvay in the spin-off of its global Specialty activities and the dual listing of the new Specialty holding company (Syensqo) on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris. 

  • Umicore in its acquisition of Haldor Topsoe’s global heavy-duty diesel and stationary catalyst businesses.

  • A confidential bidder in the auction sale process for Inula Group (natural therapies group, with brands including Pranarôm and HerbalGem).

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Selected Activities

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  • Affiliated Researcher at the Jan Ronse Institute for Company and Financial Law, 2016-2022
  • Exchange program at Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, 2015-2016

Publications

The EU Listing Act: Important Changes to MAR

The Securities Law Framework: A Fly in the Ointment of Activists? 

“Bestuurdersaansprakelijkheid in vennootschappen”, Curatoren en vereffenaars: Actuele ontwikkelingen VI, December 2021, pp. 337-371.

“Bestuurdersaansprakelijkheid in vennootschappen: een veldonderzoek”, Themis 117 – Vennootschapsrecht, April 15, 2021, pp. 1-30.

“Shareholder Rights Directive II: The Belgian Perspective,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo, April 2020.

“Leveraged Corporate Control - Zijn er lessen te trekken uit de Amerikaanse ‘Dual-Class Share’ en ‘Tenure Voting’ structuren voor het Belgisch loyauteitsstemrecht?” Tijdschrift voor Rechtspersoon en Vennootschap, 2019/2, April 1, 2019, pp. 221-238.

“Een juridische zombie: de maatschap als kwalificatie voor een onbenoemde of feitelijke samenwerking,” by Joeri Vananroye and Ruben Foriers, Tijdschrift voor Rechtspersoon en Vennootschap, December 2015, pp. 767-787.