An-Sofie Van Hootegem

Partner, Brussels

“I assist national and international clients across a wide range of sectors with all aspects of their M&A transactions, both in Belgium and abroad. I am the trusted advisor of several private equity houses assisting them throughout the various phases of the buy-out value chain.” 

Overview

Professional experience

Education and qualifications

Overview

An-Sofie is a partner in our Brussels Corporate and Finance group. She advises national and international clients on their M&A transactions, with particular expertise in private equity. She represented many private equity houses throughout the various aspects of the investment lifecycle (from acquisition, to add-ons and exit). She also specialises in management equity packages in the context of buy-outs, where she advised both sponsors and management. 

She has extensive experience advising corporate and institutional clients on their M&A, carve-outs, joint ventures and corporate restructurings.

She is highly regarded by clients for her solution-oriented and hands-on approach, project management and technical knowledge.

Work highlights

An-Sofie’s recent experience includes advising:

  • Verlinvest on the acquisition of a majority stake in Tom&Co, a leading Belgian pet food retailer.
  • Gimv on the sale of Incendin NV, a company active in the fire safety solutions, to Straco.
  • Robur Capital on the sale of Step-Up to Kantar and on the subsequent reinvestment by the selling managers.
  • Sofina on several transactions including (i) its US$250m investment in Collibra's Series G funding round, (ii) its investment in the French based manufacturer and distributor of cosmetic products Nuxe, (iii) its investment in Drylock Technologies, (iv) its investment in Biobest Group NV and (v) the acquisition of a minority stake in Salto Systems, a leading manufacturer of specialist electronic access control solutions.
  • SiegCo (Verlinvest): advising on the sale of Valtech to BC Partners.
  • Proximus on the acquisition of 100% of the share capital in BICS following the buy-out of its joint venture partners MTN and Swisscom.
  • Gimv and Cube Infrastructure Fund on the sale of Hansea, leading independent private bus operator in Belgium, to DWS.
  • Hg on its investment in Silverfin, a cloud accounting software developer.
  • Cobepa and Verlinvest on the sale of Carrières du Hainaut to Sigmaroc plc.
  • Mediahuis on the acquisition of Saint-Paul Luxembourg S.A., a leading media group in Luxembourg.
  • Gen II (Cobepa) on its acquisition of the Luxembourg-based provider of private equity and real estate administration services, Quilvest Services Luxembourg.

Professional experience

2021 –  to date: Partner, Linklaters LLP, Brussels
2019 – 2021: Counsel, Linklaters LLP, Brussels
2015 – 2018: Senior Associate, Allen & Overy LLP, Brussels
2008 – 2015: Associate, Allen & Overy LLP, Brussels 

Education and qualifications

An-Sofie holds a master’s degree in Law from the University of Ghent, an LL.M in Corporate and Financial Law from the London School of Economics and a master’s degree in Notary Studies from the University of Brussels.

She speaks Dutch, English and French.