Willkie Farr lures Linklaters PE pro

Linklaters Oppenhoff & Rädler, the German arm of international law firm Linklaters, has lost German private equity partner Jochen Winter to US-based firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
 
Linklaters’ Frankfurt office confirmed that Winter has resigned with effect from 31st January 2006 and will join the Frankfurt office of Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
 

Winter: making move to Willkie Farr & Gallagher

Winter has spent the last 20 years at Linklaters Oppenhoff & Rädler, having joined the firm as an associate in 1986 before being promoted to partner in 1991. Prior to Linklaters, Winter was an associate at German law firm Cornelius, Bartenbach.
 
Winter advised US investment group Fortress on its €3.5 billion ($4.3 billion) acquisition of German federal housing business Gagfah in August 2004. Outside Germany, Linklaters also advised on Dubai International Capital’s £800 million (€1.16 billion; $1.43 billion) acquisition of the UK’s Tussauds Group from Charterhouse in April 2005.
 
Willkie Farr & Gallagher’s most recent European private equity deals included advising Goldman Sachs Capital Partners on the $729 million (€593 million) sale of French auto parts distributor and repair workshop chain Autodistribution to Investcorp earlier this month. The Paris office also advised on the merger of Texas Pacific Group-backed smartcard manufacturer Gemplus with Axalto in December.
 
The latest hire is not the first time private equity lawyers have moved between the two firms. In May 2004, Linklaters hired former Willkie Farr partner Michael Frieh in its Paris office.