Hans Martin Schmid is a partner in the Munich office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is a member of the firm’s International Tax and Real Estate Groups.

As a certified tax lawyer and tax adviser, Mr. Schmid is experienced in all areas of national and international tax law, with particular emphasis on fund and investment structures, corporate reorganizations, restructurings, joint ventures, financing structures, and financial and derivative instruments.

Mr. Schmid provides tax advice for major public and private corporations, multi-nationals, investment banks, insurance companies, private equity and real estate funds and foundations. He has developed significant expertise in the taxation of trusts and tax-planning for high net worth individuals.

Legal Experts EMEA recommend Mr. Schmid among the leading tax and real estate lawyers in Germany. The Legal 500 series has noted that he has an “impressive tax record”. He is also listed by Handelsblatt / The Best Lawyers™  2019/20 among the best lawyers in Germany for Real Estate Law.

Mr. Schmid regularly publishes on tax law and tax related matters.

He is member of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Mr. Schmid was a partner at a U.S. corporate law firm in Munich and Frankfurt.

He speaks German and English.

Experience

Representative matters providing tax advice related to corporate transactions include:

• Bosch:
  • Acquisition of Siemens’ 50% stake in BSH Bosch and Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH, Europe’s largest producer of household appliances for approx. € 3 bn;
  • Acquisition of ZF Friedrichshafen’s 50% stake in ZF Lenksysteme GmbH, a leading global supplier of automotive steering systems;
  • Disposal of Bosch Rexroth’s wind turbine and generator gear boxes business to ZF Friedrichshafen;
  • Disposal of its ATW business to Stargate Capital.
• CCL Industries Inc.: Acquisition of Treofan America Inc. and Trespaphan Mexico Holdings GmbH from M&C S.p.A.
• A consortium consisting of funds managed by Baird Capital and Granville, VR Equitypartner and the management team ZARGES on the sale of ZARGES Group to WernerCo, a Triton IV fund company.
• HJM Investment GmbH & Co. KG: Sale of a stake in RENOLIT SE and the acquisition of RKW SE.
• OJSC LSR: Tax advice on finance and fund structuring issues for joint bid with One Equity Partners for the acquisition of Haniel’s construction materials business, Xella International (deal volume approx. € 2 bn).
• One Equity Partners: Acquisition of Alltub Group, a market leader in aluminium and laminate specialty packaging for the cosmetics industry and other markets.
• Stone Canyon Industries and its subsidiary BWAY: Transaction tax advice on the US$2.3 bn acquisition of Mauser Group, a leading industrial packaging company, from Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.
• Triton on its acquisition of Lamina Technologies SA.
• Trusted Media Brands: Transaction tax advice on the sale of the German operation Reader’s Digest Germany Verlag DAS BESTE GmbH and its subsidiaries in Germany, Austria and Switzerland to CIL Inversiones, S.L.
• Xella: Transaction tax advice to Xella, a leading building materials company headquartered in Germany, and the Management Team on the sale of Xella to Lone Star; subsequently tax advice in connection with a management participation program.

Representative matters providing general corporate, structuring and finance related tax advice include:

• Celanese Corporation: Major refinancing and restructuring transactions.
• Giesecke+Devrient: Issuance of a € 200 m loan note.
• ICAP Securities: Advice world largest interdealer broker in a tax litigation matter (cum/ex securities transactions) against Unicredit.
• Wirecard: General tax advice on corporate law and corporate governance matters.

Representative matters providing real estate related tax advise include:

• Ascott Group: Tax structure and acquisition of new hotel development project; proposed acquisition of two operating hotels; tax advice, restructuring and exit scenarios.
• CTF Hotels and Resorts: Sale of hotel property to the Marriott Group and the restructuring of the German operations of CTF.
• FFA Real Estate: Tax advice on the construction, management and sale of real estate portfolios and retail properties in Germany.
• U.S.-based real estate opportunity fund:
  • Restructuring of investment in hotel platform;
  • Mezzanine financing for a historical mall in Munich;
  • Structuring and financing of German real estate portfolios;
  • International tax structure for an investment in Swiss real estate;
  • German and international tax planning for a portfolio of six German commercial real estate properties and a Swiss commercial property with a total value in excess of € 150 m.;
  • Successful refinancing of a €80 million portfolio of property and tax-free repatriation of the financing proceeds (representing a return of equity and substantial proceeds in excess of equity);
  • International tax structuring for the acquisition of German real estate projects in Hamburg and Frankfurt;
  • International tax structuring for the acquisition of a large office building in Frankfurt.

Representative matters providing tax disclosure advice include:

• Swiss bank: Advice on the implementation of FATCA and a tax disclosure program initiated by the US Department of Justice;
• US Technology Company: Conducting an internal investigation followed by a tax disclosure in Germany.