Founded in Paris in 1920, Gide is a leading international law firm with 12 offices spread throughout the world.
Gide is physically present in six regions of the world, with 11 offices, enabling it to act on cases globally.
Gide’s International Capital Markets team (ICM) has extensive experience in market financing, in all its forms, in Europe, the United States and in emerging countries. In a rapidly changing regulatory environment, the team is known for its innovation, technical knowledge and responsiveness.
We offer our clients comprehensive services thanks to our integrated and specialised team of French, American and English lawyers operating in the world's major financial centres. Their knowledge is complemented by the local expertise of our various offices, especially in emerging economies, meaning our teams are able to offer and implement global and cross-border financing solutions.
Our ICM team is involved in all types of operations on capital markets, and in particular:
We have acquired considerable experience in advising arrangers, issuers and investors, particularly European and American, concerning transactions at an international or domestic level, in countries in which the firm operates and elsewhere. We have proven expertise in listing and trading on the major markets of Europe, North America and emerging countries, as well as in pan-European or multi-jurisdictional offers, and we maintain close relationships with the authorities of the countries concerned. Our ability to call upon the expertise of other teams in the firm, not only on financial matters, but in all areas of law, including Mergers & Acquisitions, Tax, Public and Administrative Law, and Restructuring, allows us to offer comprehensive solutions to complex financing issues for our clients.
With innovation and creativity at the heart of its development, the team has been involved in most of the major transactions on the market, such as establishing the first covered bond programmes and the first mortgage-bond financing programmes in France, as well as repackaging and structured finance transactions in emerging countries, and developing hybrid capital structures. The team has also developed real expertise in carrying out IPOs in emerging countries.
The team is consistently ranked among the best for Capital Markets by Chambers, Legal 500 and IFLR1000, and regularly receives various awards in this area.
Banking matters are the focus of Özdirekcan Dündar Şenocak Ak‘s department, drawing on the international network of its affiliate firm Gide to forge relationships with local and foreign banks, and international financial institutions. Regulatory advice, cross-border financing and aircraft financing were all features of the practice group’s work in 2022. The main contacts are Arpat Senocak and Bülent Özdirekcan, who co-lead the team, and client-recommended associate Mehmet Kösoğlu.
Legal 500 EMEA 2023 - Turkey - Banking / Finance & Capital Markets
Gide Loyrette Nouel‘s Warsaw-based team operates as part of the firm’s international capital markets practice, collaborating most closely with offices in Paris, London and New York. Under the leadership of Paweł Grześkowiak, the practice expertly handles the gamut of ECM, DCM and compliance work. The group’s client roster spans issuers, investors, and leading financial institutions.
Legal 500 EMEA 2023 - Poland - Capital Markets
The expertise of GIDE LOYRETTE NOUEL‘s banking and finance team encompasses all aspects of banking and finance transactions, including securitisation, bond issuance and hedging arrangements. A wide range of banks, financial institutions and borrowers instruct the firm on all types of structured financings, particularly project finance, assets and acquisition finance. In addition, the team advises a number of foreign banks on regulatory issues within Morocco. Wacef Bentaibi manages the Casablanca office, advising clients on complex financing transactions.
Legal 500 EMEA 2023 - Morocco - Banking / Finance & Capital Markets
The equity capital markets practice at Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. remains a force in the market. It handles high-value, multi-jurisdictional equity transactions for major domestic and multinational issuers, shareholders and financial institutions and corporates. The team is headed by ECM expert Arnaud Duhamel, who assists with complex IPOs, private placements and public equity offerings, Melinda Stege-Arsouze, an expert in IPOs and share capital increases in the tech and biotech space, and Guilhem Richard, who was promoted to partner in July 2022 and manages cross-overs, PIPE deals and block trades. Supported by senior associate and specialist in US securities law Scott Logan, the group’s client base also spans the aviation, automotive, infrastructure, utilities, healthcare and sports sectors. Sami Toutounji, who headed the team’s employee and management equity plan practice at Shearman & Sterling LLP, joined the firm with Françoise Even in October 2022.
Legal 500 EMEA 2023 - Capital Markets : Equity Capital Markets
The experienced debt capital markets team at Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. remains a force in the market, providing comprehensive support on complex, high-value debt transactions, and advising a portfolio of clients ranging from major financial institutions and insurers to corporates across such sectors as telecoms, construction, environmental services, aviation, retail and infrastructure. Headed by market-leading DCM authority Hubert Merveilleux du Vignaux, major issuance specialist Laurent Vincent, and US securities practice leader Melinda Stege-Arsouze, the group's services extend to MTN programmes, sustainable finance, hybrid transactions, mortgage and covered bonds, liability management and consent solicitation transactions. The team is supported by respected structured finance expert Arnaud Duhamel.
Legal 500 EMEA 2023 - Capital Markets : Debt Capital Markets
Gide Loyrette Nouel houses a recognised team of DCM experts who provide both transactional and regulatory support. The team is particularly proficient in bond issuance programmes, including hybrid bond issuances, acting for a range of issuers, arrangers and subscribers. The department advises a roster of prominent clients from the natural resources and real estate sectors, as well as a host of domestic and international banks.
Chambers Europe & Global 2023 - Poland - Capital Markets : Debt
Gide Loyrette Nouel boasts a strong DCM team with further skills across the wider capital markets field, with a move up in the ECM rankings this year. The law firm is well reputed for its presence on complex deals, offering particular knowledge and experience of European private placements and high-yield bond issuances. The team also has notable expertise advising on IPOs, capital increases and securitisation transactions, as well as derivatives matters. The practice maintains a varied client roster of leading banks and French corporates.
Chambers Europe & Global 2023
Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. est l’un des cabinets d’avocats les plus actifs sur les marchés obligataires. Son large éventail d'expertises lui permet de traiter des opérations les plus simples aux plus complexes ; placements privés aux États-Unis et en Europe, Rule 144A / Reg S, émissions high yield. L’équipe s’illustre aussi par sa capacité à intervenir dans des émissions obligataires Panda, vertes, sociales et ESG. L’équipe est constituée de professionnels particulièrement réputés, parmi eux: Hubert Merveilleux du Vignaux, Melinda Stege-Arsouze (qui est spécialiste en droit américain), Arnaud Duhamel et Laurent Vincent. Ensemble, ils codirigent la pratique et assistent de grandes entreprises, des gouvernements, des investisseurs et de grandes institutions financières.
Legal 500 Paris 2022
Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. stands out for its combination of a strong practice in France and its track record of acting in capital market transactions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa - a clear stand-out feature among the major French firms. The team's ability to assist with Rule 144A/Reg S. placements (thanks to Melinda Stege-Arsouze's US-qualification) is a key contributor to the group's highly international caseload. Under the joint leadership of Arnaud Duhamel and Stege-Arsouze, the group acts for financial institutions, issuers and alternative capital providers on a wide range of equity capital market transactions, including IPOs, share capital increases and convertible bond issuances. The life sciences and technology sectors make up a significant portion of the caseload. Guilhem Richard is also noted.
Legal 500 Paris 2022 - Marché des capitaux : Actions
In mid-2021, Gide Loyrette Nouel's former debt capital markets head Robert Dulewicz left private practice, with counsel Michał Śmiechowski taking over as head of the department. The group is most noted for its work across the spectrum of debt securities, working closely with the firm’s teams in Paris, London and New York. Senior associate Agnieszka Kozikowska has experience of handling Euro medium-term note programmes.
Legal 500 EMEA 2022 - Poland
Gide Cuatrecasas Casablanca has a team of local and international lawyers who frequently act for local and foreign banks, institutional finance institutions such as IFC and EBRD, as well as borrowers on bank financing, project financing and structured finance. Wacef Bentaibi leads a practice that is well versed in securitisation, bond issuance, loans and hedging arrangements, and which is called up by foreign banks to assist with local banking, finance and debt capital market regulatory issues.
Legal 500 EMEA 2022 - Morocco
Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. remains one of France’s finest addresses for structured finance transactions and securitisations, both core lines of work of the renowned Xavier Chassin de Kergommeaux. Counsel Clément Vandevooghel provides key support in structured finance, including in asset-backed lending, loan portfolio sales, and securitisation. The practice’s expertise in covered bonds, whose regulatory framework the firm helped shape, is another stand-out feature. The derivatives practice rests on the shoulders of Arnaud Duhamel and Laurent Vincent and focuses largely on equity derivatives and financings. With a strong platform in Paris and London, the firm is a very good choice for multijurisdictional matters, with pan-European transactions accounting for the majority of cross-border cases. Gide 255, the firm’s especially created innovation team, assisted the practice with the use of collateral tokens in derivatives structures. Furthermore, the firm has been involved in the creation of a new French law governed ISDA Master Agreement.
Legal 500 EMEA 2022 - Deritatives & Structured Finance
Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. combines sector expertise in the life sciences and technology sectors with longstanding experience in high-profile domestic and cross-border equity capital market matters. The team assists with initial public offerings, capital increases, public M&A matters and private placements, including Rule 144A and Reg S placements in the US thanks to the expertise of the dual-qualified Melinda Stege-Arsouze who co-heads the practice with Arnaud Duhamel. The Paris team frequently joins forces with its counterparts in the London and New York offices. Counsel Guilhem Richard brings his knowledge of the energy, real estate and e-commerce sectors to the table.
Legal 500 EMEA 2022 - Equity
Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. continues to shoulder a very busy caseload across a wide range of matters, with a growing practice in security token issuances, Panda bonds and bonds involving ESG standards in addition to the firm's traditionally strong work in private placements in the US and Europe, Rule 144A bond offerings, high-yield transactions and liability management matters. Led by quartet Hubert Merveilleux du Vignaux, the US-qualified Melinda Stege-Arsouze; Arnaud Duhamel and Laurent Vincent, the team is adept at advising on vanilla and structured matters.
Legal 500 EMEA 2022 - Debt
Gide Loyrette Nouel houses a recognised team of DCM experts who provide both transactional and regulatory support. The team is particularly proficient in bond issuance programmes, including hybrid bond issuances, acting for a range of issuers, arrangers and subscribers. The department advises a roster of prominent clients from the natural resources, real estate and manufacturing sectors, as well as a host of domestic and international banks.
Chambers Europe & Global 2022 - Poland
Gide Loyrette Nouel boasts a strong DCM team with further skills across the wider capital markets field. The law firm is well reputed for its presence on complex deals, offering particular knowledge and experience of European private placements and high-yield bond issuances. The team also acts on IPOs, capital increases and securitisation transactions, as well as derivatives matters. The practice maintains a varied client roster of leading banks and French corporates.
Chambers Europe & Global 2022
Strong DCM team with further skills across the wider capital markets field. Well reputed for its presence on complex deals, offering particular knowledge and experience of European private placements and high-yield bond issuances. Also acts on IPOs, capital increases and securitisation transactions, as well as derivatives matters. Maintains a varied client roster of leading banks and French corporates.
Chambers Global 2021
Joins the DCM rankings as a result of increasing visibility and positive market feedback. Handles a series of bond issuance programmes including hybrid bond issuances. Assists with regulatory compliance. Advises a roster of prominent clients from the natural resources, real estate and manufacturing sectors. Also advises financial services clients on their own EMTN programmes.
Chambers Europe & Global 2021
Strong DCM team with further skills across the wider capital markets field. Well reputed for its presence on complex deals, offering particular knowledge and experience of European private placements and high-yield bond issuances. Also acts on IPOs, capital increases and securitisation transactions, as well as derivatives matters. Maintains a varied client roster of leading banks and French corporates.
Chambers Europe 2021
Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. remains among the most active debt capital market practices in Paris thanks to a broad range of expertise which includes the most complex deals, such as those involving private placements in the US and in Europe, Rule 144A/Reg S. matters, high-yield offerings and hybrid financings, in addition to more vanilla deals. The group's experience assisting with the issuance of 'Panda', green, social and ESG bonds is a key contributing factor to its continuous success. The French giant houses a strong raft of renowned practitioners, first-and-foremost practice heads: Hubert Merveilleux du Vignaux, Melinda Stege-Arsouze (a specialist in US securities law), Arnaud Duhamel and Laurent Vincent - all of whom have earned the trust of major corporations, governments, alternative capital providers and leading financial institutions alike.
Legal 500 EMEA 2021
Strong DCM team with further skills across the wider capital markets field. Well reputed for its presence on complex deals, offering particular knowledge and experience of European private placements and high-yield bond issuances. Also acts on IPOs, capital increases and securitisation transactions, as well as derivatives matters. Maintains a varied client roster of leading banks and French corporates.
Chambers Europe 2021
