​Dirk Oberbracht is a partner in the Frankfurt office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is a member of the firm’s Private Equity and Mergers & Acquisitions Groups and Partner-in-Charge of the Frankfurt office.

Mr. Oberbracht is a leading Private Equity and M&A lawyer. He advises private equity investors, corporate clients, families and management teams. He has extensive expertise in cross-border and domestic deals, including carve-outs, joint ventures, minority investments, corporate restructurings and management equity programs.

Mr. Oberbracht is “frequently recommended” for Private Equity and M&A (JUVE Handbook 2020/2021). Chambers Europe Germany 2020 ranks him in Band 2 for Private Equity. “‘He is amazingly good at negotiating,’ enthuses one interviewee” (Chambers Europe Germany 2019). Chambers Global and Chambers Europe 2020 rank him in Germany Corporate/M&A: High-end Capability. Clients described him as “very strategic, smart and great in getting complex deals done” (Chambers Europe Germany 2019). The Legal 500 Deutschland 2021 recommends him for Corporate, M&A and Private Equity citing a reference who emphasizes his “highest M&A expertise, high negotiation skills, excellent implementation of negotiation results into legal documents” as well as his “great accuracy even in stressful situations.” He is a member of The Legal 500 Hall of Fame, recognized for his continued excellence and constant praise from clients in the area of Private Equity – Transactions. Handelsblatt / The Best Lawyers™ in Germany, Who’s Who Legal – Germany and IFLR1000 regularly list him as a leading lawyer for Private Equity, M&A and Corporate . He is “lauded as a ‘well-experienced, highly skillful and extremely hardworking dealmaker’ by market commentators” (Who’s Who Legal Germany 2021). WirtschaftsWoche recognized him as one of the Top Lawyers in M&A and Corporate (2020). He is recommended by Kanzleimonitor 2020/2021, a study of the German Institute for Legal Departments and Corporate Lawyers (diruj), for M&A. Expert Guides 2020 recognized him as top legal practitioner for Private Equity in Germany. Clients comment: “When we have a transaction north of €100 million, he’s the guy I call” , “superb negotiator with significant amount of experience and a clear focus on client satisfaction, “excellent market reputation for M&A work,” and “strong experience in public and private deals. He has a good sense of what the client wants.”

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Dirk Oberbracht was a corporate partner in the Frankfurt office of a renowned US law firm and headed such office for several years.

Mr. Oberbracht is fluent in German and English.

Experience

Representative transactions* include advising:

• Atlas Copco in connection with the €1.1 billion tender offer for ISRA VISION AG.
• Atlas Copco on the €486 million acquisition of Oerlikon Leybold, the vacuum segment of the Swiss Oerlikon group.
• CANAL+ on the €1 billion acquisition of M7 Group, a European pay-TV Operator, from Astorg, a private equity firm.
• Celanese on the acquisition of Nouryon’s Elotex® brand redispersible polymer powders business.
• Clariant and Ashland on the €257 million sale of ASK Chemicals, a leading manufacturer of foundry chemicals with facilities in 25 countries, to Rhône Capital.
• Dubai International Capital on the US$1.7 billion sale of Mauser, a leading industrial packaging company, to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.
• Gilead Sciences, Inc. on its acquisition of MYR GmbH (approx. €1.15 billion plus up to €300 million milestone payment).
• Goldman Sachs as financial advisor on the €3.1 billion acquisition of Kabel Baden-Württemberg by Liberty Global, Inc.
• Heska Corporation on the acquisition of scil animal care GmbH, a veterinary point of care laboratory and imaging diagnostics leader, from Covetrus, Inc.
• HJM Investment GmbH & Co. KG on the sale of a stake in RENOLIT SE and the acquisition of RKW SE.
• Madison Dearborn Partners on the €800 million acquisition of Sirona Dental.
• Nordic Capital on the intended acquisition of a global hydraulic business (above €500 million).
• One Equity Partners on the acquisition of Alltub Group, a market leader in aluminum and Laminate specialty packaging for the cosmetics industry and other markets.
• One Equity Partners on the acquisition of transformer manufacturer SGB-SMIT from private equity investor BC Partners.
• One Equity Partners on the acquisition of Mauser, an international leading industrial manufacturing company, and the €850 million sale of Mauser to Dubai International Capital.
• One Equity Partners on the acquisition of Vacuumschmelze, a manufacturer of advanced magnetic materials, from The Morgan Crucible Company and the US$1 billion sale of Vacuumschmelze to OM Group.
• Stone Canyon Industries Holdings in connection with the US$3.2 billion acquisition of K+S Aktiengesellschaft’s Americas salt business, including Morton Salt
• Stone Canyon Industries and its subsidiary BWAY on the US$2.3 billion acquisition of Mauser Group, a leading industrial packaging company, from Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.
• Triton, a PE fund, on several acquisitions.
• Triton on its investment in Meine Radiologie Holding.
• Triton on its acquisition of Lamina Technologies SA.
• Xella International S.A., a Holding company of funds advised by Goldman Sachs and PAI Partners, on the sale of Xella to Lone Star.
  
  (*Includes experience prior to joining Gibson Dunn)