It has been known for a while that women in detention in the Netherlands are confronted with misconduct by prison officers, including transgressive behaviour, abuse of power and sexual abuse. Confidentially reporting these abuses is virtually impossible, according to accounts from dozens of current and former detained women. Together with Bureau Clara Wichmann, Loonstein Advocaten and many of these women, De Brauw advocates for protecting the rights of detained women.

De Brauw acted as lead counsel to Heineken N.V. on the disposal by FEMSA of approximately EUR 3.7 billion in shares in the Heineken group. Following its selldown in February of this year, FEMSA has now sold the remaining part of its interest in the Heineken group (representing approximately 6.0% of the combined interest) through an accelerated bookbuild offering (ABB) for EUR 3.3 billion. Concurrently with this transaction, Heineken N.V. purchased EUR 333 million Heineken group shares under a bilateral agreement. The shares purchased by Heineken N.V. in this second selldown are subject to the dividend waiver arrangements agreed by Heineken N.V. and Heineken Holding N.V. in February. Upon completion of the disposal, FEMSA no longer holds any shares in the Heineken group, other than the Heineken Holding N.V. shares underlying the exchangeable bond.

De Brauw has advised Eurocommercial Properties N.V. on the Dutch law and regulatory aspects of the listing of its shares on Euronext Milan. Eurocommercial was able to benefit from a Prospectus Regulation exemption due to its listing on Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Brussels for more than 18 months, on the condition of the publication of a summary document. The project required elaborate work on Dutch law, corporate governance, clearing and settlement and other aspects to comply with stock exchange and clearing and settlement rules and practical requirements. Trading in Milan will start on 16 May 2023.

De Brauw advised Triton Partners on the sale of Unica (alongside three other portfolio companies) to a newly-formed vehicle, Triton IV Continuation Fund, which closed at €1.63 billion following a competitive auction process. Unica is a leading independent provider of technical services in the Netherlands, focused on end-to-end, sustainable solutions for utility buildings and industry. Unica is set to continue its growth journey through operational excellence and new add-on acquisitions via its proven M&A playbook. The business is further supported by market tailwinds in smart building and energy efficiency. De Brauw worked alongside Kirkland & Ellis, Thomessen and Linklaters to advise Triton on this complex multi asset fund to fund transaction, which provided Triton IV investors with a return of 3.7x on the combined invested capital, or the option to roll into the new vehicle to participate in the Portfolio Companies’ future growth.

Together with White & Case LLP and Elvinger Hoss Prussen SA, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is advising Teleperformance SE ("Teleperformance") on its EUR 3bn takeover offer on Majorel, announced on 26 April 2023. Teleperformance, a global digital business services company listed on Euronext Paris, announced its mixed cash / share offer on Majorel. Majorel is a global customer experience leader and listed on Euronext Amsterdam. The intended offer consists of a cash payment of EUR 30 per share (ex dividend for 2022 of EUR 0.68) and the possibility for Majorel shareholders to elect to receive Teleperformance shares instead of cash (based on an exchange ratio of 30/217 up to a maximum of 4.6M Teleperformance shares). Teleperformance has obtained irrevocable commitments from two majority shareholders electing the share consideration option, thereby securing support of 78.98% of the Majorel shareholders for its intended public offer. More information can be found in Teleperformance's press release: TP (teleperformance.com).

De Brauw has advised Stellantis on its EUR 1.5 billion share buyback programme. The programme's first tranche commenced on 17 March 2023 and it is expected to be completed at the latest by 19 June 2023. The first tranche will cover an amount of up to EUR 500 million. The common shares acquired will be cancelled in due course.

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (“Couche-Tard”) has committed to purchase the entirety of TotalEnergies' Dutch and German petrol stations. In addition, Couche-Tard and TotalEnergies intend to cooperate in the exploitation of TotalEnergies' Belgian and Luxembourg petrol stations. The transaction value is EUR 3.1 billion.Couche-Tard is a leader in the Canadian convenience store industry and is one of the largest independent convenience store operators in the United States. In Europe, Couche-Tard is a leader in convenience store and road transportation fuel retail in Scandinavia and the Baltic. TotalEnergies is a multi-energy company that produces and markets energies on a global scale.De Brauw has been engaged as Dutch counsel to Couche-Tard, acting alongside Cleary Gottlieb. The De Brauw team comprises Reinier Kleipool, Yi Duan, Rick van 't Wout, Eveline de Waard, Patrick van Rutten and Nick van Dongen.

The founder and CEO Pieter Janssen of Prodrive Technologies Group B.V. and HAL Investments B.V. have acquired the Prodrive Technologies shares owned by co-founder Hans Verhagen.

Redomiciliation of Spanish listed construction company Ferrovial to the Netherlands, adding a listing on Euronext Amsterdam

De Brauw advises Heineken N.V. on EUR 3.6 billion FEMSA selldown.

Pyxus International, Inc., a global value-added agricultural company, successfully completed a USD 700 million exchange transaction and solicitation process for its outstanding senior secured notes and term loans, involving a complex cross-jurisdiction restructuring of security. De Brauw successfully advised the majority equity investors and creditors on the advantageous finance and security reshuffling, involving a complex release and retake of several layers of security on different entities and safeguarded the lenders' interest in its multi-jurisdictional and high-end intercreditor arrangements, ensuring seamless application of proceeds and continued security for the future.

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.