In a move that underlines the strategic growth of its transactional services team, international independent law firm Van Bael & Bellis (VBB) is pleased to announce the arrival of leading banking, finance and projects partner Johan Mouraux alongside senior associate Caroline Coppens and associate Lucas De Four. Based in VBB’s Brussels office, Johan is a seasoned banking, finance and projects partner with two decades of experience who will add strong expertise to the wide range of transactional expertise within the firm. Johan joins from DLA Piper where he was a partner and head of the Belgium office’s finance, projects and restructuring practice group. Johan has experience advising all parties involved in financing transactions, including arrangers, lenders, borrowers, investors, sponsors and public authorities. Johan has particular expertise in the infrastructure sector, renewables, in real estate finance and in leveraged finance. He also acts on debt restructuring transactions, and advises on financial services regulation in the banking, insurance, and investment services sectors. Johan has been recognised for many years as a leading practitioner in the main legal directories such as Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and IFLR 1000, and has received the top accolade of Global Thought Leader in project finance in the International Who’s Who Legal guide. Caroline and Lucas also join from DLA Piper. Together with Johan, the team have built up a leading marketplace reputation. Client testimonies about the team refer to “a deal-maker firm, which is absolutely primordial for us" and “close, pragmatic, very aware of the environment in which banking operates and very hands-on" (Chambers and Partners 2021), whilst Legal 500 describes the group as “an excellent team of knowledgeable, trustworthy and customer-oriented legal experts”, who are “flexible and take a pro-active approach in getting the deal through” and with “in-depth knowledge of the market”. About the Transactional Services Team of VBB VBB’s transactional services team handles all ranges of complex Belgian and cross-border transactional services. This includes mergers and acquisitions, capital markets (debt and equity), insolvency and restructuring, private equity and venture capital transactions, as well as corporate real estate transactions. The transactional services team benefits from the firm’s expertise in other areas, including competition, employment and benefits, dispute resolution and arbitration, general commercial law, intellectual property, GDPR, as well as our sector-specific public law expertise in highly regulated markets (such as renewable energy, telecom, aviation, etc.). The team is consistently ranked as one of the leading independent corporate M&A practices in Belgium. Philippe De Baere, managing partner, comments: “The arrival of Johan and his team is part of our long-standing strategy to be leaders in the specific areas we focus on. Our transactional services team has gone from strength to strength for well over a decade now and will continue its growth in the future. Following the opening of our London office, this move shows once again that VBB is a firm that invests in high-end expertise for its clients.” Michel Bonne, head of the transactional services team, adds: “Johan’s team adds strong expertise to our wide range of transactional services, in Belgium and abroad. We work continuously with Belgian and multinational clients and the finest independent firms around the globe, and Johan’s expertise fits neatly into our strategic goal of being the go-to independent in the market. We are very excited to work with Johan and his team.”
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