Dr. Thomas Lappe
Thomas Lappe is a partner in the firm's Berlin office focusing on mergers and acquisitions. He has 25 years of experience in advising corporate clients and private equity firms on international M&A transactions including carve-out and buyout transactions. Thomas also frequently handles international joint ventures, corporate reorganizations, and venture capital transactions. He focuses on the sectors automotive and technology.
Thomas is recognized as a leading practitioner in legal directories such as JUVE, The Legal 500 and Chambers Europe. JUVE 2015/16 refers to him as “one of the most successful M&A lawyers in Germany’s capital Berlin”.
Thomas joined the firm in January 2007. From 2005 through 2006 he was partner with an international law firm in their Berlin office. From 2001 through 2005 he worked for an international law firm in their Hamburg office and from 1996 through 2001 as a transactional in-house counsel for a DAX 30 company.
- Gesellschaftsrechtliche Vereinigung
- International Bar Association
- German Bar Association
A thought leader on corporate and transactional topics, Thomas frequently publishes on corporate law and M&A and is a regular speaker on these topics.
- Selected legal aspects of carve-out transactions (Ausgewählte rechtliche Themen bei Carve-out-Transaktionen), Annual Meeting of M&A Alumni Deutschland e.V., Berlin 2015.
- Purchase price adjustment clauses (Kaufpreisanpassungsklauseln), series of seminars by Beck-Akademie, 2013-2015.
- Transatlantic trends in M&A, K&L Gates Client Event, Pittsburgh 2013.
- International M&A transactions (Internationale M&A-Transaktionen), series of Management Circle seminars, 2012
- Ed. Lappe/Gattringer: Carve-out transactions – legal, tax and accounting aspects of the drop-down and divestiture of business units (Carve-out-Transaktionen – Recht, Steuern und Bilanzen bei Ausgliederung und Verkauf von Unternehmensteilen), C.H. Beck, Munich, second edition, 2021.
- Fairness opinions in M&A transactions (Die Fairness Opinion im Transaktionsgeschäft), Corporate Finance Law, p. 312 et seq., 2010 (with Axel Stafflage).
- Commentary on the liability of supervisory boards as a result of the failure to cause an insolvency filing (Kommentar zur Haftung des Aufsichtsrats wegen unterlassenen Hinwirkens auf Insolvenzantrag), p.1207 et seq., 2009 (with Alexander Hartmann).
- SPACs, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, May 2008 (with Alexander Hartmann).
- Risk allocation in M&A transactions (Risikoverteilung beim Unternehmenskauf), Der Betrieb, p. 153 et seq., 2007 (with Alexander Schmitt).
- Hidden contributions in kind and Private International Law (Verdeckte Sacheinlagen und IPR), GmbH-Rundschau, p. 584 et seq., 2005 (with Andrea Schefold).
- On the relocation of German corporations (Das Heimatrecht im Gepäck), Financial Times Deutschland, March 2003 (with Axel Stafflage).
- Free choice of legal form (Freie Rechtsformwahl), Unternehmermagazin, p. 36 et seq., 2003 (with Axel Stafflage).
- Valuations under the German Takeover Act (Unternehmensbewertungen nach dem Wertpapiererwerbs- und Übernahmegesetz), Betriebs-Berater, p. 2185 et seq., 2002 (with Axel Stafflage).
- Mixed capital increase and the exclusion of the subscription right in restructuring cases (Gemischte Kapitalerhöhung und Bezugsrechtsausschluss in Restrukturierungsfällen), Betriebs-Berater, p. 313 et seq., 2000.
- The assessment of environmental advertisement from a competition law perspective (Die wettbewerbsrechtliche Beurteilung der Umweltwerbung), R. v. Decker's Verlag, Heidelberg 1995.
- On the ecological exploitability of the competition law (Zur ökologischen Instrumentalisierbarkeit des Wettbewerbsrechts), Wettbewerb in Recht und Praxis, p. 170 et seq., 1993.
- Cross-border environmental law protection (Grenzüberschreitender Umweltrechtsschutz), Natur und Recht, p. 213 et seq., 1993.
- Competition law aspects of marking products with the „Green Point“ (Lauterkeitsrechtliche Aspekte der Kennzeichnung von Produkten mit Hilfe des „Grünen Punktes“), Betriebs-Berater, p. 1661 et seq., 1992.
- On the term of the concrete danger in connection with drunken driving (Zum Begriff der konkreten Gefahr bei der Trunkenheitsfahrt), Juristische Schulung, p. 133 et seq., 1990 (with Johann Wilhelm Knollmann).
K&L Gates LLP advises upper medium-sized companies as well as international manufacturing and technology companies on domestic and cross-border transactions. The team regularly seeks advice from the firm's international network on cross-border issues and also offers transactional advice with regard to corporate and financial law as well as insolvency law in the course of distressed M&A scenarios. Thomas Lappe has strong expertise in carve-outs and heads the practice from the Berlin office
K&L Gates LLP's corporate practice is closely tied to the firm's transactional work, and mandates frequently have aspects of group law. Clients include upper medium-sized companies, executive and supervisory boards of listed companies as well as international companies. Thomas Lappe at the Berlin office has strong expertise in carve-out transactions and heads the team.
