Mergers & Acquisitions and corporate law are at the heart of Gide’s activities throughout the world, and we are proud to assist international clients in their establishment, acquisition, sale and joint venture projects.

Gide has become a major actor recognised as one of the best firms in M&A/Corporate in each country in which it is present, and regularly acts on operations in countries where it has no office thanks to its established network of local correspondents. Over 150 of our practitioners (of which 30 partners) work in this field of law, which, at Gide, means managing cases, training junior lawyers, and sharing knowledge and know-how. The firm’s practice covers all sectors (finance, services, industries, energy etc.) and all types of operations, more particularly the following specialties:

• Mergers & Acquisitions of non-listed companies, joint ventures  
• LBO
• Mergers & Acquisitions of listed companies   
• Venture Capital
• Corporate law
• Restructuring
• Listed company law
• Privatisations

Experience includes:

• Leroy Somer (motors, drives and electric power generation businesses): advising Japanese motor manufacturer Nidec Corporation on the acquisition of Leroy Somer, the motors, drives and electric power generation businesses owned by Emerson Electric Co., a diversified global manufacturing company.
   
• Privatisation of the Nice and Lyon airports: advising the French State Investments Agency (APE) on the privatisation of the Nice and Lyon airports.
   
• PFR / Bank Pekao / Unicredit: advising on the acquisition of 32.8% of shares in Bank Pekao from UniCredit S.p.A.
   
• Société Générale / Central Europe: advising Société Générale on the acquisition of Banque PSA Finance assets in central Europe.
   
• ABC / China / Africa: advising Agricultural Bank of China, one of China’s Big Four banks, on the establishment of a bank in the Republic of Congo, the Sino-Congolese Bank for Africa (BSCA).
   
• HNA Tourism Group / Pierre et Vacances: advising the tourism division of the Chinese conglomerate HNA Group on its 10% equity investment in Euronext Paris-listed Pierre et Vacances SA.
   
• Totalgaz: advising Total on the sale of Totalgaz, its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distributor in France, to UGI Corporation the parent company of Antargaz.
   
• Monoprix: advising Casino on the corporate, anti-trust and financing aspects of the acquisition by Casino of the 50% shareholding held by Galeries Lafayette in Monoprix, a joint venture in which Casino and Galeries Lafayette were each 50% shareholder since 2000.
   
• CA-CIB / CLSA / Cheuvreux: advising Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank (CA-CIB) on the sale of CLSA, its Asia brokerage activity, to CITICS Securities International Limited Company (CITICS) and on the sale of Cheuvreux, its French brokerage activity, to Kepler Capital Market.
   
• REAL Eastern Europe: advising the Auchan Group on the acquisition of Real Eastern Europe, i.e. 91 supermarkets in Eastern Europe, formerly held by Metro AG.
   
• Eurostar International Limited: advising SNCF on the creation of Eurostar International Limited, a company operating the Eurostar international traveller transport service.
   
• Areva T&D: advising Areva on the sale of its Transmission and Distribution (T&D) activity to the Alstom and Schneider consortium.
   
• Polkomtel: advising KGHM Polska Miedź S.A., Polish leader in the extraction of copper and silver, on the sale of its 25% stake in the capital of Polkomtel S.A. to Zygmunt Solorz-Zak.

Combines strong French expertise with the ability to advise international companies on cross-border matters. Regularly handles sophisticated joint venture and M&A transactions, as well as corporate structure issues. Enjoys a significant depth of experience in many different industries including banking, real estate, energy and insurance. Also acts for shareholders on the sale of companies.
Chambers Europe 2021

Combines strong French expertise with the ability to advise international companies on cross-border matters. Regularly handles sophisticated joint venture and M&A transactions, as well as corporate structure issues. Enjoys a significant depth of experience in many different industries including healthcare, retail and insurance. Also advises a number of domestic and international financial institutions and energy groups. Interviewees praise the lawyers' reliability in advising their clients, saying: 'They are always available, always flexible and able to find solutions in complex situations.' Additional sources highlight the quality of the team's work, as well as its 'good matter handling, responsiveness and ability to allocate people on short notice.'
Chambers Europe 2019