Dr. Christian Franz

Dr. Christian Franz


Partner
Düsseldorf Office



+49 211 942508-50

christian.franz@dfa.legal

Christian is a bar approved lawyer for International Business Law (Fachanwalt). He has a long track record from running his own partnership after having worked for major international corporate law firms. He advises German and international companies and financial investors on Mergers & Acquisitions, financings and corporate and capital market law issues. His clients include German and French venture capital and private equity funds.


Since 25+ years he is active on cross-border and international transactions. He offers a French Desk for midsized to large Corporate clients, advising French companies on commercial law issues and supporting German companies in France.


Christian has been a lawyer since 1992 and is recommended repeatively in lawyer rankings for his corporate law and for his German-French practice. He is admitted as a German attorney and as a French Avocat and is also a lecturer of International Business Law at the University of Haute-Alsace. He studied law at the Universities of Saarbrücken, Bonn and Nancy/France.

Areas of focus

Insights on Christians sample deals and transactions.

Private Euqity funded QSIL Group acquires the majority FCTI Ingenieurkeramik 



Dr Christian Franz has advised the Private-Equity funded QSIL Group on the acquisition of a majority stake in FCTI Ingenieurkeramik GmbH, a specialist for silicon nitride and silicon carbide-based ceramic materials, QSIL is one of the world's leading manufacturers of quartz glass and oxide ceramics with a reported turnover of more than €100m. With the majority stake in FCTI Ingenieurkeramik GmbH, the QSIl Group takes over a company with 30 years of experience and competence in materials technology and in the manufacture of ceramic high-performance materials and composites. FCTI Ingenieurkeramik GmbH specializes in silicon nitride and silicon carbide-based ceramic materials.









#M&A  # Private Equity

 

Sale of majority of a leading German Cloud company  to 1&1 INTERNET SE



Our Partner Dr Christian Franz has advised with his former law firm the founders and majority shareholders of BERLIN-based cloud computing provider on the sale of their stake in 1 & 1 INTERNET SE.  Founded in 2010, the company employs more than 120 people. The company is a specialized cloud computing provider for Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) in Germany and offers professional public and hybrid cloud solutions based on the strict German and European data protection guidelines.











#M&A

 

Ad-on acquisition by German fintec Crossinx in Hungary

 


Dr. Christian Franz and the transactions team has advised the German fintec Crossinx GmbH (now part of Unifiedpost Group) to acquiring First Businesspost Kft.

















#M&A  # Venture Capital

 


Level-Up I fund invests in Meta Games



DFA's Christian Franz and Mélanie Clerc (French desk) advised Level-Up Ventures, a Fund based in France/ Luxembourg in their investment in the Berlin-based gaming studio Meta Games.


Level-Up  is an investment fund primarily focused on mobile studios and gaming technologies.















#Venture Capital # French Desk #IT Law


Level-Up I fund invests in Awesome Prototype GmbH



DFA's Christian Franz and Mélanie Clerc (French desk) advised Level-Up Ventures, a Fund based in France/ Luxembourg in their investment in Awesome Prototype GmbH, a Berlin-based Creator of leading sport games.


Level-Up  is an investment fund primarily focused on mobile studios and gaming technologies.













#Venture Capital # French Desk #IT Law


German-French joint venture between maexpartners GmbH & Theano Advisors SAS 

Our Partner Dr Christian Franz has advised (with his former law firm) maexpartners GmbH on the establishment of a joint venture with Theano Advisors SAS in France and in Germany

maexpartners GmbH is a German management consultancy focused on industry and high technology, and is particularly active in the operational area.

The transaction involved the establishment of a joint consulting company in France under the name maexpartners SAS, as well as the opening of another joint consulting company in Germany under the name Theano Advisors GmbH. Both consulting companies will be "staffed" exclusively with binational teams, and will place their operational and strategic expertise at the service of large international clients.






#M&A #French Desk

French Group Avril acquires German Lecico GmbH

DFA's Christian Franz advised (with his previous Law Firm) French Group Avril in the acquisition of Hamburg based Lecithin and Pospholipid Specialist Lecico GmbH, see https://www.lecico.de/mit-der-uebernahme-des-deutschen-lecithin-experten-lecico-avanciert-avril-zu-einem-globalen-marktfuehrer-fuer-non-gmo-lecithine/.


Avril Group employs 7,600 people in 21 countries and generated sales of EUR 6.2 billion in 2017. 











#M&A #French Desk

Squeeze-out of miniority shareholders of Erfurt-based Ibykus AG



Our Corporate law team team has advised the  Squeeze-out of Erfurt based Ibykus AG für Informationstechnologie‘s minority shareholders by way of merging Ibykus into Isthmos Holding AG (Verschmelzungsrechtlicher Squeeze-our). Our team has acted as Counsel to the majority shareholder.















#Corporate

Convertible loan by Isthmos Holding AG


Dr Christian Franz has advised the Issuance of convertible loan by Isthmos Holding AG






















#Corporate

Recent news from DFA's litigation practice



DFA acts as counsel in litigation relating to the non-performance of an international plant construction contract as a result of sanctions imposed on the principal of the contract.




















#Litigation

Swiss client supported against German court judgement (application of EU-Regulation)



DFA‘ Nehle Bornemann succeeds in stopping enforcement of German default judgement rendered against Swiss client, by obtaining annulment of service of statement of claims, judgement and attachment order pointing out that service to Switzerland does not work under Regulation (EC) No 1393/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2007 on the service in the Member States of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil or commercial matters, but under the Hague Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters. Contrary to the Former, the latter does not allow,as far as Switzerland is concerned, direct service using postal services only but formal service through the official channel in Switzerland.








#International Business law #Litigation

DFA assisted German client to enforce loan repayment by a French Bank



DFA attorneys obtain enforcement of claim for loan repayment by French bank under a French notarized loan agreement, making use of the fact that payment claims under a deed notarised in France constitute an enforceable title under the Brussels I and Brussels Ia Regulation, without having to have recourse to the courts first. Within days of receiving copy of the deed declared enforceable by the competent German court, the debtor paid of the entire amount plus cost.   













# International Business law # Litigation

# French Desk

Recent news from DFA's litigation practice



DFA sues major German bank for non-performance under a URDG [Uniform Rules on Demand Guarantees] 758 governed demand payment guarantee.
















#Litigation

Arbitration claim for annulment of shareholders‘ resolutions 

 
DFA defends German limited partnership against a claim for annulment of a shareholders’ resolution brought in Deutsche Institution für Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit (DIS) proceedings.















#Dispute Resolution

Recent ICC arbitration proceedings in Paris


 

DFA team members have acted as counsel for oil and mining player in ICC arbitration in Paris involving German and French legal aspects.














#Dispute Resolution# International Business law #French Desk

Recent alternative dispute resolution assignments at DFA




DFA lawyers succeed in settling a claim for Annulement of repaid shareholder loans under European Insolvency Statute (EuInsVO)















#Dispute Resolution

Service of statement of claims and procedural acts from Germany to Switzerland 




DFA team successfully obtains annulment of default judgement and related enforcement procedures in Germany against Swiss client based on poor service of judicial documents under the EuZVO and the Hague Convention of Service of legal documents.












#Dispute Resolution

Multi-jurisdictional labour court proceedings

DFA advises a French Group multi-jurisdictional labour court proceedings in Germany and in France triggered by the dismissal of an officer of the client group’s German subsidiary with forum related aspects under the Brussels Ia regulation and with conflict of law aspects under the Rome I regulation.
















#Litigation #French Desk #Labour Law

Recent news from DFA's litigation practice



Our litigation team team has files claims and conducts proceedings for nullification of a implementation regulation of the European Commission with the European Court of Justice.
















#Litigation


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A few case examples for our practice from the last 20+ years with hands on management by the partners of DFA

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