Sebastian Schoon is a partner in the Frankfurt office of Gibson Dunn. He focuses his practice on banking and finance law.
Sebastian advises private equity funds, banks, financial institutions and corporates on corporate finance matters, including leveraged buyouts, management buyouts and corporate-to-corporate transactions; real estate acquisition financing, development financing and subordinated debt. He advises on domestic as well as cross-border structured finance transactions. Sebastian also has vast experience on complex financial restructurings, such as loan-to-own, debt to equity swaps, trust structures and financial reorganizations.
Handelsblatt / The Best Lawyers™ 2024/2025 list him among the best lawyers for Banking and Finance Law in Germany. Chambers Global 2024 ranks him in Banking & Finance and Chambers Europe 2024 additionally in Real Estate: Finance – Germany. Clients say he “is a highly regarded lawyer with a very strong understanding of the German mid-market debt financing market,” and “Sebastian is very hands-on and pragmatic, and always looks to get the deal done. He is always looking for solutions.” They also “felt very well represented by Sebastian Schoon. Both the negotiation side and the pragmatism were very good.”
Sebastian's recent experience in counseling on the finance aspects of leveraged buyouts and recapitalization as well as corporate lending includes advising:
- Astorg Mid-Cap on the financing of its acquisition of a majority stake in hg medical from NORD Holding
- Aurelius Growth Investments on the financing of the acquisition of Lindemann Hotels group, which consists of four boutique hotels in Berlin and the central service company Lindemann Hotels Management GmbH
- Aurelius on the financing of its acquisition of LSG Group (International) from Deutsche Lufthansa
- Berenberg in connection with the financing of the investment by buyout firm Keensight Capital in aconso AG, a cloud software HR document management company
- Berenberg on the financing of Keensight Capital's acquisition of Quanos Solutions GmbH
- Berenberg in connection with the refinancing of Schülerhilfe group's existing financing arrangements
- Eurazeo on the re-financing of Equivia's acquisition of World Host Group GmbH and the set-up of an acquisition facility for future add-ons
- Eurazeo on the financing for Gyrus Capital's acquisition of LRE Medical GmbH
- Muzinich in connection with the financing of the acquisition of the hg medical Group by NORD Holding
- Muzinich on the financing for Borromin's acquisition of Aerotec Europe GmbH and Airplane-Equipment & Services A.E.S. GmbH
- Triton on the financing of its acquisition of Lamina Technologies SA
- A group of lenders in relation to the financing aspects of the €2.6B acquisition of German energy utility company STEAG by Spanish investment management firm Asterion Industrial Partners
His recent experience advising in special situations includes representing:
- Ad hoc group of term lenders to Diebold Nixdorf in connection with the company's agreement with stakeholders to refinance its debt
- Ad hoc group of term lenders on the reorganization of the Lumileds Holding group
- Ad hoc group of lenders and noteholders to Venator Materials in connection with the restructuring of Venator Materials, a global manufacturer and marketer of chemical products
Representative matters of Sebastian's focus on the financing of real estate acquisitions and developments include advising:
- Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG on the refinancing of a 1,500 unit residential portfolio located in Germany held by (indirect) subsidiaries of funds managed and/or controlled by a U.S.-American asset manager
- Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG on financing the acquisition of an office property located in Germany by a special purpose vehicle ultimately owned by an Asian financial services company
- Panattoni on the financing of its development of two logistics properties in Voerde, Germany
Sebastian studied law at the University of Heidelberg and has practiced as an admitted German lawyer (Rechtsanwalt) since 2004. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, he was a finance partner and co-head of the restructuring department in the Munich office of a renowned international law firm.
Sebastian regularly publishes on legal matters. Among others, he is co-author of the online legal commentary on the German insolvency code published by Verlag C.H. Beck. He is a member of Gesellschaft für Restrukturierung – TMA Deutschland e.V., the German section of the Turnaround Management Association TMA. Sebastian, in addition to his native German, is fluent in English.
Capabilities
Credentials
Education:
- Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg - 2002 Law Degree
Admissions:
- Germany - Rechtsanwalt