Chambers publiceert jaarlijks een gids en online directory waarin voor elk land toonaangevende advocatenkantoren en juristen worden geclassificeerd. Ons kantoor behaalde dit jaar classificaties voor de volgende rechtsgebieden en personen:

Corporate/M&A (band 4)
This firm has multiple offices in the Netherlands and focuses on mid-market transactions. Clients appreciate the reasonable fees and the lawyers' down-to-earth approach. The team recently advised the receivers of DSB Bank on the EUR28 million sale of football club AZ Alkmaar. It also assisted Fleet Investment with the EUR1.3 billion acquisition of a stake in LeasePlan. Sources say: "They work in a cost-efficient manner and are very practical." Roman Tarlavski (band 4) heads the team. He acted for German publishing groups Georg von Holtzbrinck and Weltbild on the sale of their shares in Bol.com to Cyrte Investments.

Competition/European Law (band 4)
This team is part of the firm's EU law practice in Brussels, which also includes the CMS Hasche Sigle and CMS DeBacker groups. Brussels-based Robert Bosman (band 1) heads up the Dutch part of the practice. The group handles competition, cartel and state aid cases at both Dutch and European levels, acting for clients from a range of sectors, including pharmaceuticals, energy, media, food, automotive and transport. The team represented Ballast Nedam in an appeal against a decision of the EC, and CRV Holding in an appeal against a decision by the Rotterdam competition court about the abuse of a dominant position. Clients recommend Bosman in particular for competition work related to energy and waste issues, and state that “for EU law issues, he's top of the bill.”

Intellectual property: Patent
The "responsive and plain-speaking" Willem Hoorneman (band 4) heads the IP and TMT practice at CMS Derks Star Busmann. He focuses on patent and trade mark law.

Real estate (band 4)
This well-staffed real estate team is led from Utrecht and houses a good mix of lawyers, civil notaries and tax specialists. It advises on a host of acquisition, property development, real estate finance and construction deals. International clients benefit from the team’s regular collaboration with offices throughout the CMS family. Frank Leyendeckers (band 2) is recognised for his zoning work. Among his latest headline deals was advising the Dutch property developer OVG Projectontwikkeling on negotiating construction contracts for EUR500 million of property ventures in Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Clients note Arno Moret’s (band 4) “informed, experienced, accurate” nature and his “ability to connect on a personal level.” His recent successes include advising RWE in developing a EUR300 million offshore wind farm project in the North Sea.

Restructuring & Insolvency (band 3)
This newly established corporate recovery practice is focused on turnaround scenarios, and the insolvency and restructuring experts here enjoy a good reputation for their advisory and bankruptcy trustee work. The group recently represented a bank syndicate in relation to its claims in the insolvency of the Dutch car importer Kroymans. The much-praised Marcel Groenewegen (band 2) is the driving force of the team. He acted as joint trustee in the bankruptcy of DSB Beheer, the parent company of the bankrupt DSB Bank. He also advised UK and Swiss bondholders and a Swiss bank on Dutch insolvency law aspects of the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Treasury.

TMT: IT & IT Outsourcing
Hendrik Struik (Band 3) of CMS Derks Star Busmann is described as "an authority in IT."

Legal 500 2011

In de Legal 500, editie 2011, wordt CMS Derks Star Busmann genoemd als legal service provider op de volgende rechtsgebieden:

Arbitration (tier 4)
CMS Derks Star Busmann’s Mark Ziekman handles arbitration regarding commercial and corporate disputes, and is noted for his work in the energy sector. The team represented a number of construction companies in arbitration arising out of fraud allegations brought by government agencies.Asset finance and structured finance

Banking and finance

Capital markets (tier 3)
CMS Derks Star Busmann advised Germany1 Acquisition Limited on the €532m acquisition of AEG Power Solutions. Reinout Slot heads the team.

Commercial litigation (tier 3)
CMS Derks Star Busmann’s 14-partner dispute resolution group has a wide range of expertise and includes agricultural specialists such as Dominique van Dijk, and company and commercial law expert Christiaan Scholten van Aschat. Peter Soede heads the group, while Leonard Böhmer is the US government’s litigator in the Netherlands.

Construction (tier 3)
CMS Derks Star Busmann’s clients include construction firms, developers and investors, including BAM, OVG and Delta Lloyd. It is acting for OVG Projectonwikkeling on €500m worth of construction contracts for projects in Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Hein van der Meer and Marjolein Pesch provide ‘advice that is to the point; and have pleasant attitudes’.

Corporate and M&A (tier 4)
CMS Derks Star Busmann’s team shows ‘exceptional responsiveness, expertise and creativity’. It advised Fleet Investment on buying from Mubadala and Olayan on a €1.3bn equity interest in Leaseplan Corporation. It also acted for Suncor Energy on the €445m sale of Petro-Canada Netherlands. Roman Tarlavski is praised for ‘seeing solutions instead of problems’.

EU and competition (tier 4)
CMS Derks Star Busmann’s clients include Suzuki International Europe, Veolia Water, and Rabobank Nederland. The team is advising Alpuro on multijurisdictional merger notifications, and CRV in an appeal against a judgement involving the alleged abuse of a dominant position through the use of a loyalty-enhancing rebate system.

Employment (tier 3)
Michiel van Dijk heads the team at CMS Derks Star Busmann, which advises high-profile clients from the insurance, financial and energy sectors.

Energy

Environment and planning

Fraud and white-collar crime (tier 2)
Clients ‘respect the knowledge’ of CMS Derks Star Busmann, which recently represented a former CEO in the Netherlands’ largest healthcare industry fraud case ever tried. Dian Brouwer is recommended for his ‘skills in analysing problems and debating’.

Information technology

Insurance

Intellectual property (tier 3)
CMS Derks Star Busmann’s Willem Hoorneman and Hendrik Struik are ‘particularly good’; they ‘combine excellent academic knowledge with the ability to give practical advice’. Marcoline van der Dussen is recommended for her trade mark, design and copyright work.

Media and entertainment

Mediation (tier 1)
Peter Soede at CMS Derks Star Busmann handles mediation work for foundations, government bodies and corporate clients.

Private equity

Project finance and PFI (tier 4)
CMS Derks Star Busmann’s Hein van der Meer has been acting on the redevelopment of town districts, while Petra Heemskerk handles transport infrastructure projects, and Arno Moret acted on a number of wind farm developments. Eduard Scheenstra leads the practice.

Real estate (tier 2)
CMS Derks Star Busmann acted in the EU Court of Justice case that led to a change of Dutch laws on the definition of building land. It also advised MVAP CV on De Verbinding, a mixed-use development comprising 3,300 sq m of commercial and office space, plus parking space and 155 residential properties. Frank Leyendeckers leads the team, which also represents OVG Projectontwikkeling, the Netherlands’ largest commercial real estate developer, and RWE.

Restructuring and insolvency (tier 2)
CMS Derks Star Busmann’s Marcel Groenewegen is serving as joint trustee in the bankruptcy of DSB Beheer, the parent company of DSB Bank. Other recent instructions include advising a banking syndicate on the insolvency of Kroymans. The corporate recovery team focuses on restructuring companies with anything up to 1,000 employees.

Tax

Telecoms

M&A League Tables 2010

In de Mergers & Acquisitions League Tables van zowel nationale als internationale intelligence service providers, behaalt CMS steeds topposities. Gebaseerd op het aantal deals waarbij CMS-kantoren betrokken zijn geweest gedurende 2010, ontvingen wij de volgende rankings:

Bloomberg: nr. 1 in Europa, nr. 2 in de Benelux
Corpfin: nr. 1 in Europa, nr. 4 in de Benelux
Thomson Reuters Mid-market: nr. 2 in Europa
Mergermarket M&A: nr. 5 in Europa

IFLR1000 2012

International Financial Law Review (IFLR) geeft elk jaar de IFLR1000 - ‘The Guide to the World’s Leading Financial Law Firms’ - uit. Ons kantoor wordt in de editie voor 2012 als volgt geclassificeerd:

Capital Markets – tier 4

CMS Derks Star Busmann has a slightly lower capital markets presence in the market according to peers but last year it showed good presence in the mid-market. One of the reasons for this stake in mi-markets deals is the firm's strong German clientele, as demonstrated by its deal list.

Reinout Slot and Mark Ziekman lead on the firm's markets deals.

In on-going matters the team were advising Batenburg Beheer as it researched the possibility of a public share offer. The firm also closed a number of deals, including Sino International Logistic Company's shares listing on the open market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and a German bank on matters relating to the custody of shares in a Dutch listed company.

The firm also has a healthy practice acting as local counsel predominantly on equity transactions

Banking – tier 4

According to peers CMS Derks Star Busmann has a low profile in mainstream big ticket banking. Nevertheless, a few developments last year were in its favour. It has been selected to the panel for ABN AMRO and RBS.

With its network, the firm is also able to handle cross-border deals.

On one of its biggest deals, in December 2010 Eduard Scheenstra and associate Duco Postma acted a lead counsels to Olympia Nederland Holding on a €25 million refinancing transaction by NIBC Bank, marking the final stage in Olympia's restructuring opposite Clifford chance.

The firm also handled a confidential but large financing for a Dutch property developer and acted alongside a US firm in a high value refinancing. The firm has a good relationship with the German market.

Mergers and Acquisitions – tier 4

Leading lawyers: Roman Tarlavski

CMS Derks Star Busmann has developed a very strong reputation in the mid-market, garnering a lot of recognition by local and international publications and in local league tables. The firm handles a good volume of M&A deals, many of them upper mid-level cross-border.

Roman Tarlavski leads on most of the firm's big deals, although other partners also take the lead among them Bart Bendel, Martika Jonk and Reinout Slot. In one ongoing transaction in mid-2011, Tarlavski was leading a large team to advise Advent International on its €188 million acquisition across seven countries of Provimi Pet Food from the Provimi Group.

Tarlavski also advised Douglas Holding on the disposal of its 32 Russian Douglas perfumeries with an annual turnover of €55 million to Rustiset Holdings while Bendel acted for Digidentity on Solera's acquisition of a minority shareholding in Digidentity. Another international deal saw Tarlavski lead for Colliers International its acquisition of a 51% equity stake in Amsterdam's leading commercial real estate services firm, Boer Hartog Hooft.

A deal of considerable local interest saw the firm advise the bankruptcy receivers of the bankrupt DSB Beheer on the sale of the shares in A.Z. ('AZ Alkamaar'), the Dutch premier league football team and winner of the 2009 championships, by DS Sport to Stichting AZ Alkmaar. The deal involved a large restructuring component

Restructuring & Insolvency – tier 3

Leading lawyers: Jan Willem Bouman, Marcel Groenewegen

CMS Derks Star Busmann straddles both the insolvency and bankruptcy practice. It has a strong reputation acting as receiver in bankruptcy cases and advising on pre-insolvency restructuring. Its global network also makes it one of the few firms able to handle cross-border restructurings.

Marcel Groenewegen is one of the market's best known liquidators and in 2010 he was appointed as trustee in the bankruptcy of DSB Beheer, the parent company of DSB Bank which was represented by Houthoff Buruma. The bankruptcy proceedings include the liquidation of about 40 affiliate companies across a broad spectrum of sectors, from art and real estate to football.

In early 2011 Jan Willem Bouman closed three restructurings for some of the largest Dutch real estate, building and infrastructure developers. The matters involved corporate and financial restructuring. Bouman also completed a resutructuring and refinancing of a financial institution under supervision of the Dutch Central Bank.

PropertyNL top vastgoedjuristen 2011

CMS Derks Star Busmann staat al jaren in de top 10 van vastgoedjuristen in de jaarlijkse ranking door PropertyNL. Naar rato van het aantal vastgoedjuristen behaalde wij in 2011 een 7^e plaats. Daarnaast bekleden wij top 10 posities in de vastgoedadviesrankings op het gebied van zowel vastgoedontwikkelingen en vastgoedtransacties als vastgoedfinancieringen.