Overview
Catherine is a Partner in our Luxembourg Mainstream Corporate practice.
She has in-depth knowledge of corporate and commercial law and advises well-established and renowned international clients, including corporates, global private equity houses and other leading financial sponsors. Her work spans a wide range of transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, co-investments, joint ventures, corporate restructurings along with management incentive schemes, shareholders’ agreements and governance matters.
After joining Linklaters in July 2012, Catherine spent several months in our capital markets and banking department as well as in the investment funds group, where she enriched the team with her experience in the areas of infrastructure and private equity funds. In 2023 she was seconded for 6 months to our London private equity and financial sponsors group.
Catherine has built her career at Linklaters and alongside her many professional achievements she was a participant in the firm’s woman's leadership programme. She is committed to helping support and promote women throughout the firm. Catherine also drives innovation and the integration of AI tools through leading the practice’s Innovation working group and having served as Innovation Partner for the Luxembourg office.
Experience
- ARDIAN: acting as their main Luxembourg counsel and advisor on a range of complex cross-border transactions across multiple sectors, including:
- ARDIAN Semiconductor S.L.P on the structuring and financing aspects of the acquisition by ARDIAN Semiconductor S.L.P. of a 90% stake in centrotherm international AG from reinvesting seller Solarpark Blautal GmbH.
- Ardian and Rockfield Real Estate on the structuring and financing from a Luxembourg and Dutch law perspective of the acquisition of purpose-built student accommodation assets across the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and France as part of a pan-European investment platform targeting more than €1 billion of assets and backed by CBRE Investment Management.
- Setting up an investment structure for the acquisition of a majority stake in Horizon Home Care Group AG.
- Syndication of minority and majority stakes in leading companies such as GreenYellow (energy transition, France), ASTM (motorway concessions, Italy), LBC Tank Terminals (logistics solutions, Belgium), Ascendi Group (motorway network, Portugal).
- Creation and follow-on expansion of Ardian’s investment in the Clermont platform, a Canadian joint venture formed with Indigo Group to invest in parking assets.
- Structuring, internal financing and subsequent syndications in connection with the 100% acquisition of CampusParc Management Inc., the concessionaire of Ohio State University's parking system.
- Advising on the acquisition and financing structure for an ownership position in Aviation Facilities Company Management, LLC (AFCO), a leading independent operator of on-airport cargo facilities and airport infrastructure in the United States.
- Triton: advising on advising on (i) the sale of a co-controlling stake in IFCO Group to Stonepeak, in a transaction valued at €3.46 billion, including the establishment of a new co-investment structure, the exit of ADIA as co-investor, the reinvestment structure for IFCO and the implementation of a revised management incentive plan, (ii) the sale of the portfolio companies Assemblin, EQOS Energie, Flokk and Unica by Triton Fund IV to Triton IV Continuation Fund (ii) the acquisition of RENK GmbH and its subsidiaries, as well as the partial divestment from the RENK group by Triton and management through a private placement
- Lecta Group: advising on a complex, €800 million multi-phase balance sheet restructuring and corporate reorganisation involving urgent liquidity funding, carve-out financings, and an enforcement-led holistic recapitalisation into three independently financed and managed business units.
- Full syndicate of lenders and hedge counterparties: advising on the financial restructuring of Deutsche Glasfaser Group GmbH, including Luxembourg law aspects of a sponsor-led recapitalisation and fallback restructuring, a debt hive-up into newly established Luxembourg holding companies, and financing arrangements relating to a €7 billion debt package.
- Carlyle Group: advising on its €250m preferred equity investment in Sanoptis, a European ophthalmology services leader, to support strategic growth and technological innovation across more than 450 locations.
- Waystone: advising on the acquisition of BIL Manage Invest from Banque Internationale à Luxembourg, a strategic move to expand Waystone’s Luxembourg footprint and reinforce its position as Europe’s fastest-growing third-party ManCo.
- CACEIS: advising on the corporate, regulatory and employment aspects of the acquisition of activities of RBC Investor Services in Europe, including (formerly) RBC investor Services Luxembourg.
- The world's largest food and beverage company: advising on a multi-jurisdictional group restructuring to establish a new Luxembourg holding platform for non-controlling participations in several operating companies, including the transfer of shareholdings, issuance and contribution of instruments, and the implementation of a bespoke Luxembourg law-governed shareholders’ agreement.
- Centerbridge Partners, L.P.: advising (i) on a partial exit from Phoenix Holdings, completed through a series of block trade sales to various leading international institutional investors, and (ii) on the sale of its majority interests in APCOA Parking Holdings.
- A joint venture of Advent International Corporation, Centerbridge Partners, L.P. and other financial investors: advising on the setting up of the joint venture carrying out a successful voluntary public takeover offer to acquire approx. 90% of the share capital and voting rights of Aareal Bank AG and subsequent delisting, including the squeeze-out of minority shareholders, co-investment arrangements, and major post-closing dividend distributions.
Beyond the office
Catherine is actively involved in the Luxembourg Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (LPEA), where she serves as Associate Member Representative and is a member of the M&A Club. She is also committed to supporting and promoting women across the firm, building on her participation in Linklaters' women's leadership programme.
Education, Qualifications and Languages
Catherine graduated from the University of Luxembourg with an LL.M. in European Banking and Finance Law. She holds a Master's degree in Private Law from the University of Brussels, part of which she completed at the University of Oslo, and a Bachelor's degree in Law from the University of Brussels.
Catherine speaks English, French, German and Luxembourgish fluently.
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