Start-up, venture capital, and technology transactions
The innovative power of start-ups, especially in the field of future-oriented technologies, is indispensable in today's economy. Are you a founder or investor active both nationally and internationally? We provide advice throughout a start-up’s entire lifecycle, especially during financing rounds and exits. Our strength lies in our combination of legal, tax, and business expertise; in-depth knowledge of the industry; and an understanding of new technologies.
Our approach
Our expertise includes the provision of legal advice, from the formation through financing rounds up to the exit. We are familiar with the venture capital ecosystem and know the expectations of both investors and start-ups because our domestic and foreign clients include institutional and strategic venture capital investors, business angels, as well as start-ups and their founding teams. All of this makes it easier for us to offer you expert advice and help ensure that your transactions are a success. We feel at home in all industries but focus especially on health, MedTech, energy, food, and impact investing.
Our strengths lie in the legal realm as well as in our technical understanding of new technologies.
Our consulting is customised, efficient, and international. As your personal contact, we offer you practical, tailor-made solutions. Thanks to our multidisciplinary approach and correspondingly close cooperation between lawyers and tax advisers, we possess specialised expertise in tax and corporate law consulting and structuring for all forms of VC investments and financing. We provide you with comprehensive transnational support through our international partner offices of the Forvis Mazars Group and the Marcalliance law alliance.
Our services
In the area of start-ups, venture capital, and technology transactions, we offer the following services:
Start-up phase
- Advice on all aspects of founding and structuring a start-up
- Advice on holding structures
- Advice on all types of spin-offs (e.g., from universities, institutes, or corporate departments)
- Advice on obtaining grants and subsidies (e.g., INVEST)
- Advice on safeguarding your IP (trademark law, domain law, etc.)
Corporate venture capital
- Advice on the establishment and further development of corporate venture capital structures
- Advice for corporate venture capital departments on all investment-related issues
- Advice on all forms of strategic partnerships
Restructuring
- Advice on corporate restructuring (e.g., changes in the legal form)
- Advice on the transnational restructuring of German companies into foreign companies to facilitate investments (e.g., a US flip from Germany to the US or a reverse flip, e.g., from the UK or the Netherlands to Germany)
Financing
- Advice on the conclusion of convertible loan agreements
- Advice on the involvement of incubator and accelerator programmes
- Advice on all types of financing rounds, in particular on (i) preliminary agreements such as confidentiality agreements and term sheets/letters of intent, (ii) performance of due diligence, and (iii) drafting and negotiation of the investment and shareholder agreements, as well as all supporting documents
- Advice on the legal assessment of IP and technology
- Advice on the implementation of all types of employee participation programmes (VSOP, ESOP) taking into account the tax implications
- Advice on foreign trade and antitrust issues
- Advice on pooling of shareholders
- Advice on all ways of cleaning up the cap table
- Advice on ICOs
Ongoing advice to start-ups
- Advice in all matters of structure and governance (supervisory board, advisory board, etc.)
- Advice on all forms of decision-making (management, shareholder meetings, etc.)
- Advice on managing director and executive board member contracts
- Advice on foreign expansion
- Advice on shareholder disputes
- Advice on the preparation and amendment of general terms and conditions
- Advice on all legal matters relating to sales
- Advice on the creation of employment and freelancer contracts (especially with regard to IP issues)
- Advice on IT questions
- Advice on all labour law issues
- Compliance consulting
Exit transactions
- Advice on national and transnational exits
- Advice on all preliminary agreements such as confidentiality agreements, term sheets/letters of intent, etc.
- Performance of the (vendor) due diligence
- Advice on transaction documents (share purchase agreement and company acquisition contract)
- Advice on multi-seller transactions (e.g., with a combination of national and international investors)
- Consulting for scenarios involving secondaries
- Advice on IPOs
Funds
- Advice on the establishment of a fund
- Advice on all corporate law, regulatory, and other organisational issues
