Financial Markets & Regulation

+ 23 other experts

Financial Services Industry experts

... advising financial firms on complex matters driven or affected by the supervision and regulation of the financial services industry. We:

  • assist large national and international groups of banks, insurance companies, investment firms and other financial firms involved in complex M&A and capital markets transactions;
  • advise on securities offering rules, the listing and trading of financial instruments, market abuse issues, and financial market infrastructures as experts in market regulation; and
  • provide expertise for financial firms on all elements of licensing; governance and the structure of business operations; the structuring of financial services and products; regulatory capital issues and compliance with other rules of prudential supervision; and recovery and resolution.

Our experts are actively involved in legislative processes and, as lecturers and speakers, also contribute to the academic development of the supervision and regulation of the wider financial services industry.

Our AML practice group provide specialist advice on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) legislation, the implementation of AML in policies and agreements and on dealings with regulators.

Recent Matters

4 September 2023

De Brauw advises DIF Capital Partners on sale to CVC Capital Partners

De Brauw is advising the Partners of leading infrastructure manager DIF Capital Partners on the sale of the business to CVC Capital Partners.The acquisition provides CVC with a leading infrastructure platform, directly adjacent and highly complementary to its existing private equity, secondary and credit strategies. In addition, the acquisition accelerates the growth of DIF, which will continue to operate under the DIF brand and retain independence over its operations and investment decisions. DIF will continue to be led by its current CEO and Partners. The combination creates a global private markets manager with seven complementary strategies and approximately €177 billion of total assets under management. DIF is headquartered in Amsterdam with €16 billion of assets under management, a team of over 225 professionals across 11 offices and operating two different investment strategies – the Core / Build-to-Core funds and the Core-plus funds. DIF was founded in 2005 and has built a leading position in mid-market infrastructure investments, primarily in Europe, North America and Australia.
2 July 2023

Aegon to change its legal seat to Bermuda

On 30 June 2023, Aegon announced its intention to change its legal seat to Bermuda. As a result of the sale of its Dutch business to a.s.r., Aegon will no longer have a regulated insurance business in the Netherlands. DNB will therefore no longer be able to be Aegon's group supervisor, with group supervision to instead transfer to the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA). Aegon will maintain its headquarters in the Netherlands, will remain a Dutch tax resident and will continue to be listed on Euronext Amsterdam and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Aegon will also make certain amendments to its governance pursuant to becoming a Bermuda Ltd., including changing to a one-tier board. The matter involved many interesting aspects such as: - designing an unprecedented double cross border conversion: first a conversion from Aegon N.V. into Aegon S.A. - a Luxembourg entity - and subsequently from Aegon S.A. into Aegon Ltd. This was further complicated by the pending implementation of the Mobility Directive into Dutch law, which would have far reaching implications on the structure of the conversion if implemented prior to publication of the conversion proposal- designing a new governance structure for Aegon Ltd that (i) continues to take into account the interests of Aegon and its stakeholders, (ii) applies well-recognized and accepted international governance standards and (iii) preserves the current governance to the extent possible and practical in view of the change in legal domicile- extensive regulatory analysis and interaction with the various involved supervisors in order to arrive at a suitable solution for group supervision following the transaction with a.s.r.- due to Aegon's US listing, a US prospectus is required for the change in legal domicile, impacting the potential timelines for implementation- ensuring a set-up that would ensure that Aegon remains tax residence in the Netherlands, a key aspect for AegonThe matter showcased perfectly the integrated offering by De Brauw, with MACM, Corporate Advisory, FMR, Tax, F&R, EEB and Litigation teams working together seamlessly to be able to advise Aegon on the myriad of questions and issues that arose during the project.
24 January 2023

Waterland funds reach final close of EUR 4bn in aggregate

De Brauw assisted Waterland Private Equity Investments (Waterland) as Dutch legal and regulatory counsel in relation to the closing of Waterland's ninth institutional flagship fund, Waterland Private Equity Fund IX ("WPEF IX") at EUR 3.5 billion, alongside Waterland Partnership Fund I ( "WPF I") at EUR 500 million. The funds closed at their respective hard caps four months after initial launch. WPEF IX will focus on investments in medium-sized companies in fragmented growth markets in Europe to finance organic and acquisitive growth. WPF I is the first fund of its kind under management of Waterland a natural extension of the Waterland platform. WPF I expects to make minority investments in a very select number of Waterland portfolio companies when these are exited.Interesting features comprised a stapled structure of multiple limited partnerships (CV's) under Dutch law and the use of feeder vehicles under Irish law. In addition to acting as Dutch legal and regulatory counsel, De Brauw also took on a coordinating role via its legal project management and data science department, with DocuSign and interactive subscription tools being used to make the fundraising process more efficient and streamlined.

With a good knowledge base, the team is composed such that on any subject service can be delivered instantly. Integration of law, regulation, network and governance is a strength.

Legal 500, 2021