In May, we were the first law firm from the CEE region to establish direct representation of HAVEL & PARTNERS in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, which is a gateway for international business. Through this step, we continue to deepen our exceptional international reach and cooperation with clients and business partners abroad.
Strong team for German-speaking clients
The Frankfurt team is led by Philip Smitka, a partner, who has 24 years of experience in the German and Czech legal market and 18 years at Noerr, one of the largest German law firms, including 7 years as the firm’s partner in Prague. Prior to joining our law firm, he worked for more than 5 years as a partner at the international law firm Squire Patton Boggs in Stuttgart.
HAVEL & PARTNERS has another senior lawyer with extensive experience in the Frankfurt office: Josef Bouchal, who specialises in M&A, private equity, venture capital, financing and alternative funds.
In addition to Jaroslav Havel, the managing partner, and Philip Smitka, other partners such as Robert Nešpůrek, Jan Koval, Martin Peckl, and Marek Lošan will be responsible for cooperation with clients in the Czech Republic, while partner Štěpán Štarha will be responsible for cooperation with clients in Slovakia.
At HAVEL & PARTNERS, we have a team of 25 people – including 7 partners – focusing on German-speaking clientele, which makes it one of the largest teams in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. We work for about 500 clients from German-speaking countries from all business sectors.
On the road to international success
Legal advice without borders
We provide our clients with the most comprehensive international support available to Czech and Slovak law firms. With our unique knowledge of the legal and business environment, comprehensive services and unique international reach, we are able to execute and manage cross-border transactions and projects anywhere in the world. With ONE FAMILY OFFICE, a new multi-family office created in cooperation with HAVEL & PARTNERS, we are giving our international support a new and more global dimension.
Around the world
Our M&A practice extends far beyond Central and Eastern Europe. Thanks to our large team of 80 transaction specialists, including 17 partners, their superior language skills, exceptional know-how and the wide network of international contacts that we have been building for two decades at HAVEL & PARTNERS, we offer comprehensive support to companies and entrepreneurs heading abroad. At the same time, we are a long-term strategic partner for international clients expanding their businesses to the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
In Austria, we recently advised a leading Czech manufacturer of protective clothing and footwear for rescue workers on the acquisition of a company with the same focus. In Norway, we handled the acquisition of a hydrogen propulsion manufacturer in maritime transport for an investment fund. In Sweden, we assisted the world’s leading arms manufacturer during the acquisition of a manufacturer of optics for handguns. We helped a European steel pipe manufacturer from Slovakia to acquire competitors in Hungary and Spain. In Italy, we assisted a Czech manufacturer of railroad switch structures during the sale of part of an establishment as part of its Italian subsidiary reorganisation.
Moreover, we also help clients outside of Europe. We have assisted a Czech manufacturer in the field of electron microscopy in the acquisition of shares in competing companies not only in Germany but also in Arizona, USA. In Kazakhstan, we handled a joint venture structure that allowed our client to enter the sports betting market there. We also have experience in setting up joint venture structures in Saudi Arabia, Oman, and China.
Why invest globally?
The economic map of the world has changed fundamentally in recent years. The economic and political situation in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in particular, but also in Germany, on which we are critically dependent, is growing more challenging. USA, India, UAE – especially Dubai, but also Latin American countries (such as Mexico, Brazil) or Indonesia and Vietnam – provide an attractive alternative for investors due to the size of the market, lower degree of regulation, younger population and its higher labour force participation.
“Global investments and the international mobility of assets and high-net-worth individuals were the main reasons why ONE FAMILY OFFICE was established. Foreign investors are not coming to us, and some are gradually leaving. Money in public budgets is dwindling; logically, this will soon result in a sharp rise in taxation of the wealthy. Therefore, the multi-family office will, to a substantial extent, allocate the money earned in business and duly taxed in our country to attractive assets in countries with better economic prospects,” said Jaroslav Havel.
ONE FAMILY OFFICE is therefore actively seeking investment opportunities in the global market. It prefers the most successful investment institutions with an excellent track record in the US markets, but also in India, and other selected countries in Asia or Latin America. It focuses on PE funds, which deliver long-term returns of around 20% p.a. with a relatively high degree of certainty. Together with its partners, it invests in funds that are not easily accessible and that typically require a minimum investment of USD 10–25 million. These are some of the opportunities that even top-tier investors like W. Buffett, K. Griffin and B. Ackman trust.
