Global 100 player Covington & Burling is taking a shot at the German private equity market, launching an office in Frankfurt after taking a six-partner team from Heymann & Partner, which has shut down after 12 years.
Focusing on private equity, tech and healthcare, the firm’s third European base opened on 3 April and counts eight partners and ten other lawyers, led by former Heymann corporate partner Henning Bloss, among its ranks.
The German private equity boutique has worked for major corporates including Investcorp, Strategic Value Partners, E.ON, AWE and Deutsche Bahn. It was under increasing pressure from clients to join a larger international network in order to get on their panels.
Founder of the German boutique and former Clifford Chance local managing partner, private equity specialist Thomas Heymann, also moved to Covington’s new office. He told Legal Business: ‘We have worked with Covington for many years through referrals and joint clients, particularly in the tech sector, so we know the firm really well – it is a gentlemen’s firm. It has a very strong West Coast practice, which is important for our tech focus, and an Asia practice, which is also important.’
All of the German firm’s lawyers have moved to Covington, apart from M&A partner Titus Walek, who chose local independent Graf von Westphalen.
Partners Adem Koyuncu and Philipp Tamussino will also move to Frankfurt from Covington’s Brussels and New York offices respectively. The firm plans now to grow its German headcount, but Heymann said no exact figure has been set, nor does the firm plan to open in any other German cities.
The German launch follows news in September last year that Covington was entering Dublin to focus on its core practice areas of regulation and life sciences after hiring counsel Maree Gallagher from Irish firm Beauchamps. Gallagher splits her time between London and Dublin, but the firm does not have a team based in the Irish capital full time and currently has no plans to do so.
Covington’s European expansion comes after a fruitful 2017 in which the US firm boosted its revenue by 13% to $945.5m after also opening new offices in Johannesburg and Dubai. The London branch grew its top line 16% to $80.5m.