Senior executive shareholders of Cobrason have transferred the control of the company to two investment funds, Liberfy and Naxicap, partners of Luc de Noirmont

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre adviser to Unilever Plc and Unilever Ivory Coast within the scope of the transfer by Unilever Ivory Coast of its palm oil business and the acquisition of new soap activities

The Bloomberg 2008 Quarter 2 rankings are out and once again, CMS has performed exceptionally well.

CMS has agreed to a five-year sponsorship of a programme in Civil Justice Systems through The Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Oxford, England

A guide to fixing and documenting transfer pricing and facing tax audit

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre currently has a team of 450 lawyers, including 87 partners

CMS ranked 5th in the Mergermarket preliminary results for the first half of 2008

We're pleased to announce that our firm was awarded by the Décideurs magazine during the Law Awards ceremony that took place on June 12th.

On 6th June 2008, the Supervisory Board of CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre chaired by Jean-Claude Anisten, partner, appointed the following members of the Management Board, with effect from 1 July: Didier Gingembre, Philippe Rosenpick, Pierre-Sébastien Thill

The merger will strengthen our market-leading position in Austria and grow the firm to nearly 120 lawyers. The firm will retain the CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz name. The merger is subject to approval from the Vienna Bar Association

Cornelius Brandi was re-elected today as Managing Partner of law firm CMS Hasche Sigle. The long-term incumbent Managing Partner received the overwhelming approval of the 184 active partners at the meeting of the largest German law firm in Hamburg. He will lead the firm in his fourth term for three more years until June 2011

Bruno Gibert, CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre partner, has been elevated to the rank of «Officier de l'Ordre National du Mérite» [Officer of the National Order of Merit] by decree of the President of the Republic dated 16 May 2008, published at Journal Officiel of 17 May 2008

The 2008 Oscar in company law and stock market law has been awarded to two works of which Précis Droit Financier (Financial Law), to be published in Editions Dalloz on 25 June 2008

The Japanese Otsuka group has acquired a 49% stake in Alma SA, a French leading manufacture and distributor of bottled mineral and spring water. This transaction amounted to Euro750m

Author: Philippe Juilhard, Counsel, is a New-York Bar Member, CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre Partner

Tax Survey Department recruits a new expert in the person of Elisabeth Ashworth

On 21 May 2008, Lyreco SAS shareholders announced that they entered into a merger agreement with Corporate Express NV

The Conseil d'Etat proves APLUS right for its fight for the conservation of patients' rights and freedoms and their chemists

Created jointly by CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre and CMS Hasche Sigle, the French-German CMS Prize awards a post-graduate student, Ph. D or Business School, for a thesis or a training course report treating a legal or fiscal subject-matter in the French-German context

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre which promotes sustainable development actions and wishes to become involved in environment safeguard, is partner of the campaign "Biodiversités, nos vies sont liées" which will be launched on 22 May 2008 by Noé Conservation Association

The Hotel Group consisted of the Hotel Industry Group and Tikehau Capital Partners Investment Company has acquired, through the Tikotel Reuilly company, a hotel located in Paris (Bastille Le Faubourg Area) held by the Paris Reuilly Company

Nine lawyers whose five partners just joined CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre Lyon. Through these recruitments CMS BFL Lyon develops significantly its tax and corporate practices, following the example of its parent company CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre which ranks among the first few business law firms in France

As of 1 April 2008, CMS von Erlach Henrici is pleased to announce the lateral hire of David Hürlimann. David will lead with his broad experience our tax team

"Cercle des Juristes" whose aim is to "encourage and strengthen law place in the public discourse" but also to favour meetings between decision-makers, legal and business world, has just been created

Memento pratique « European Union » has just been published. For the part "Public procurement contracts" to the initial collaboration of Jean-Luc Tixier, Partner, has been added for this edition the Céline Cloché-Dubois's one (Public Law Department - Property Law).

Bloomberg's Legal Mergers and Acquisitions Advisory rankings for the first quarter of 2008 place CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre fourth in France by global deal count, up nine places.

CMS has entered into an association agreement with The Levant Lawyers (TLL) - the largest law firm in the Lebanon. TLL has 50 lawyers across its offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait, and its headquarters in Beirut and, under the agreement, is committed to further strengthening its representation throughout the Middle East

This year's European Business Awards, of which CMS is a proud sponsor, took place in the magnificent setting of the Opera Room at the InterContinental Hotel, in Paris, on 11 March 2008

CMS sponsored the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin for the seventh time

The funders of the Connecteo Group, satellite services, data and Internet provider to enterprises and mobile operators in Africa, have transferred 49% of interests in the Connecteo Group to the Monaco Telecom operator, subsidiary of Cable & Wireless

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre, legal adviser to the Optorg Company within the scope of the transfer of its distribution activities of consumer goods and convenience products, building material and equipment in the Ivory Coast and Cameroon

The France Guide Asterias 2008 has just referenced Jérôme Sutour as a lawyer specialized in Hedge Funds

The Industri Kapital fund has signed with the Lebraut family a draft agreement for the acquisition of the Etanco Group in association with Ronan Lebraut, CEO and member of the funder family as well as the management

Sale of foreign companies' securities mainly in real estate in France: the Nice Court of First Instance invalidated the tax authorities' position and stated that the law relating to liability for transfer taxes was against the law

The Art & Fragrance Swiss Company has repurchased Lalique luxury crystal glassworks to Pochet Group

The first edition of the book "Union representatives' appointment" published in Litec Professionnels collection - Labour law in Editions LexisNexis Litec, has just been published

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre and Clifford Chance, White & Case advise UNIBAIL-RODAMCO and CCIP for merging their activities as owner and manager of congress-and-exhibition planning websites with the ones of the Trade & Industry Chamber of Paris (CCIP) whose achievement occurred on 28 January 2008

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre advises Mali and Senegal to UEMOA directives' enforcement on public procurement and delegations for utilities

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre has advised CBRE Investors and MRM within the scope of the creation of an investment 'vehicle' quoted in France and combining assets of two investment companies formed and managed by CBRE Investors, Dynamique Bureaux, specialised in office space real estate and Commerces Rendement invested in commercial premises, for a total amount of managed assets worth over Euro450m at the end of 2007

Thisman Speyer settles two acquisitions in Ile-deFrance

Caceis has finalized in early December the acquisition of Olympia Capital International and one's subsidiaries

Jean-François Marquaire will replace Jean-Luc Pipon, who is joining the Russian investment bank Troïka Dialog as General Director in charge of Legal Affairs

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre, adviser to Compagnie Financière Privée within the scope of the conveyance of a shares' majority block from Didot-Bottin to Yellow Grafton SC (a related company to Perella Weinberg Partners Group LP).

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre renforce son pôle juridique avec l'arrivée de Monsieur Bruno Zabala en tant qu'avocat collaborateur consultant.

CMS Hasche Sigle has once again received JUVE wards at the 2007 ceremony in Frankfurt.

As announced in July, the new CMS Cameron McKenna LLP office in Kyiv is now fully operational

On 1 October, CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre opened a fully operational office in Algiers

The European Industrial Partnership (EIP) fund, managed by Axa Real Estate Investment, has sold to Scarborough Property Holdings Limited, in joint-venture with HBoS, a portfolio of ten industrial assets for over 140MEuro

Interior Services Group plc ("ISG"), the construction services specialist, today announces the completion of the acquisition of Interior Alpha SA and its subsidiaries ("IASA"), in which it formerly had a 20% shareholding

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre will be entering the HEC Foundation and reinforces HEC's involvement in the teaching and research of law

Issuance, by VIAL Group, of Océane bonds, convertibles into new shares or exchanged for existing ones

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre and CMS Derks Star Busmann advised TKH Group N.V. within the scope of the acquisition of 100% of CAE International S.A. and subsidiaries' capital; held by Chequers, Pechel and by CAE Group management. The amount of the transaction has been paid in cash and KH Group N.V. shares

The SIMI gathers, from 28 until 30 November 2007 in Palais des Congrès of Paris the whole decision-makers and key-market players of Office Property

Publisher: Editions Francis Lefebvre - September 2007-10-02
Author: Ariane Beetschen

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre has strengthened its tax practice by hiring Daniel Gutmann as Of Counsel and Stéphane Austry as futur Partner

Cogebi SA produces mica-based insulators, mainly in Belgium, in the Czech Republic and in the United States of America, notably for cable-and-heat insulation industries. Elinar produces, among others, mica-based insulators in Russia

The Financial Times has awarded CMS Academy training partner IMD (the International Institute for Management Development) two top positions in Europe

At the outcome of this deal, Harwanne will hold ca. 20% of the purchaser's capital, whilst the balance is hold by 21 Centrale Partners and some managers of the Nord-Est Group

COFIP, Compagnie Financière Privée, and Sopalia Compagnie Financière Holding have entered into an agreement on July 23, 2007 with Perella Weinberg Partners Group LP (PWP) pertaining to the transfer of a shares' block representing ca. 83.7% of the Didot-Bottin company's capital, listed on the C section of Paris Euronext Eurolist. The COFIP shares' block represented over 62% of Didot-Bottin's capital

BNP Paribas Corporate Finance, CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre and Grant Thornton have advised Yves and Jean-Claude Forestier within the scope of the agreement signed with Sofina

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre has advised Amatéra développement-Fimopart within the scope of the takeover of the Legoupil Industrie company by Crédit Agricole Private Equity. The latter which has achieved a LMBO with Legoupil Industrie's managers becomes a controlling shareholder of it

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre has appointed five new partners, bringing the total number of partners to 86

Axel Springer acquires 41,4 % from shares in auFeminin.com

The Legal Guide and Fiscal 2007 "Holding Companies", published in the collection Dossiers Pratiques by Editions Francis Lefebvre has been just edited

The first edition of Mémento "Commercial leases" 2007-2008 published in the collection Mémento Expert by Editions Francis Lefebvre has been just edited

Jérôme Sutour, aged 35, lawyer, has joined the firm as responsible for its financial services activity, a division of the firm's business law services that covers banking, financial products and insurance, real estate law and public law, intellectual property law and information technology run jointly by Gérard Kling, Jean-Luc Tixier, Antoine Gendreau, Jean de la Hosseraye, Laurent Mion et Philippe Riglet, partners

Acquisition by Dynamique Bureaux SAS, a company managed by CB Richard Ellis Investors SAS, of 70.3% from MRM capital, a company listed on Paris Euronext Eurolist

Acquisition of CMC Val Notre Dame by the Proclif Group

Update of the work devoted to China published at Editions Francis Lefebvre in the Dossiers Internationaux collection, drafted by Emmanuel Meril, in charge of CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre's China business and Nicolas Zhu, Chinese lawyer at our Office, in collaboration with Editions Francis Lefebvre's international editorial staff, is just published

By a judgment passed on last May 16th, the Commercial Court of Paris in particular has ordered the France Telecom company, pursuant to an action brought by TELE2 corporation, to alter all advertisements relating to its ADSL offers needing a phone subscription in order to be registered

Altaréa listed land estate company specialized in development of business centres and also present in the real estate area of dwelling houses, has bought up by Inbro N.V. Cogedim group, up-scale property promoter which is operating in dwelling real estate, business real estate and asset management

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre in collaboration with other CMS Alliance members of which CMS Cameron McKenna, coordinator of the deal, as in partnership with Kaye Scholer LLP, has advised Carestream Health Inc, ONEX's subsidiary, for the acquisition of the Eastman Kodak world activity of medical and dental digital and film imaging

PAI Partners Investment Fund has announced to have entered into a definitive agreement with KG Home, an US corporation for the buy-back of 49% of stakes that it holds in its Kaufman & Broad French subsidiary

Tereos will strengthen its presence significantly on the starch's by-products market by acquiring 5 European plants of the British Sugar Group Tate & Lyle

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre Mercosur has been appointed by an agreement entered into on May 7th, 2007 between our Firm and the Attorney General of the Argentina Major City

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre in collaboration with other CMS Alliance Members of which CMS Cameron McKenna, coordinator of the deal, as in partnership with Kaye Scholer LLP, has advised Carestream Health Inc, ONEX's subsidiary, for the acquisition of the Eastam Kodak world activity of medical and dental digital and film imaging

The Financial Times has awarded CMS Academy training partner IMD (the International Institute for Management Development) two top positions in Europe

French giant of services to local authorities has just acquired the across the Rhine number two of waste management. Amount of the deal: EUR 1.45bn, incl. debts

SCP Delaporte Briard Trichet and CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre advised Antilles Télévision (ATV) in its appeal against the decisions by the French Broadcasting Regulatory Authority and the French Presidential Election Campaign and Opinion Polls Monitoring Commission

The combinaison will be a mergers of equals which will offer investors a unique investment platform

The EU Commission has adopted a Communication based on the work carried out by the EU Joint Transfer Pricing Forum (see IP/02/1105) of which chairman is Bruno Gibert, partner of CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre

Kadéos, the PPR Group's gift card and voucher business, designs and markets eight gift cards and nine gift vouchers for businesses and consumers. Theses single-and multi-banner products can be used in more than 82 chains, including prestigious PPR banners. The cards and vouchers are sold in over 6.500 sales outlets and can be used in nearly 1.000 stores in France, as well as websites

Chairman of the Working Group : Jean-Paul Tran Thiet

The Tournier group is mainly active in the pre-processing and marketing of flat steel products. Located in Paris and in Nantes, the company employs about 41 people and achieved sales of some EUR 35 million in 2005.

DOMUSVI, first French elderly-service enterprise, lets enter to its capital Caisse Nationale des Caisses d'Epargne and MACIF Group for an amount of 17% each.

The Pizzorno Environment French group, specialized in household and industrial refuse management, has signed on 13th February, 2007, in the presence of His Majesty The King Mohammed VI, a vicarious management agreement for the building and the running of a inter-municipal controlled dump of the area of Rabat

The 2006 CMS French-German Prize has been awarded on 23rd January; 2007 to Thomas Richter, student at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, for its study on the following topic: 'Comparison of civil companies in German Law and in French Law, in the light of the recent case law of the Federal Supreme Court' and given by Joachim Gres, Partner at CMS Hasche Sigle in Frankfurt.

By a decision rendered on 30th January, 2007, the Court of Appeal of Paris imposes to SFR to formulate an offer of access for its network to the profit of the fixed phone operator AFONE, wishing to develop an activity of mobile phone on virtual network (MVNO for Mobile Virtual Network Operator).

International law firm Salans has advised the American group Pfizer, world leader in the pharmaceutical industry, in the sale of its complete worldwide division of consumer health care products (PCH) to the American group Johnson & Johnson. The deal, for a global amount of 16.6 billion USD, was closed for the French part on 26 January 2007

The high technology sector is at the top of European business as, today, ARM Holdings was among the companies whose successful feats of business and commerce were celebrated at The European Business Awards 2007

By a judgment dated January 16th, 2007, the European Court of Human Rights of Strasburg has decided that a provision of the Social Security Financing Act 2004 was opposite to Section 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights

Corbon holding company's shareholders (Activa Capital and Mr Jean-Michel Le Bolloch) have transfered 91% from Corbon holding company's capital to Paramount Bed, a Japanese listed company, manufacturer of hospital beds, on the 11th of December 2006. Corbon Holding is the holding company of Corona Medical, one of the French market leaders in the medical beds' area

In a decision of Thursday 21 December 2006, the Conseil d'État definitively confirmed the invalidity of the tax on certain advertising expenses (and in particular any brochures, leaflets and other printed advertising materials) as levied between 1998 and 2005 in order to finance the press modernisation fund

Bernard Julhiet Group, renowned player in the Management and Human Resources Consulting market, has acquired Insep Consulting company. This company of Consulting in Human Resources, which employs 60 people, will strengthen the present pole of Consulting & Training to Bernard Julhiet Group

The Moniteur group carrying on its strategy of development through internal and external growth announces the acquisition of a 75 % controlling interest in Vecteur Plus equity

JUVE votes CMS Hasche Sigle law firm of the year in M&A, media law and distribution systems

This guide for use of small and medium-sized companies within the scope of directive Nr. 194 dated 28th November 2006 and in the line of recommendations of Gibert Report (3rd November 2004) to State Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry is aiming to make the access of small and medium-sized companies to APP (Procedure of Previous Agreement as regards Tranfer Pricing) easier

Maurice Lévy, Chairman of the Board of Publicis Group and Jean-Pierre Jouyet, Chief of Tax General Inspectorate, have submitted on the 4th of December to the Government their report on the "economy of intangible".

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre and its Corporate Department headed by Philippe Rosenpick advised the issuer in the scope of Vétoquinol's initial public offering on Eurolist by Euronext

Didot-Bottin sells Compagnie de Fougerolles to COFEPP

Publication by Ariane Beetschen, Partner, and Marie-Odile Duparc, Lawyer, VAT specialists at the firm CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre

The family Desjonquères transfers the control of Saverglass to Natexis Industrie, Natexis Investissement and Crédit Agricole Private Equity

Radiall "wireless and automotive antennas" sold to Pulse

Radiall "filtered connectors" activity sold to Gonesys

Chequers takes over Société de Gestion du Casino de Mandelieu which also manages Sofitel Hotel of the same place

Management team led by Christophe Thomas and assisted with Maurice Houdayer is buying out Marvinvest Group together with Perfectis Private Equity. The deal marks relationships' continuation between historical directors and is permitting the arrival of a new reference shareholder in order to ensure the group's development among the industry's leaders.

Cauval Industries (Simmons, Steiner Paris) acquires Oniris (Dunlopillo). Cauval Industries, the French furniture manufacturer (Simmons, Steiner Paris trademarks) has announced the buyout of Oniris (Treca and Dunlopillo), the bedding company to Sumimoto Rubber Industries, the Japanese group.

The DOMUSVI Group, set up in 1983 by Yves Journel, specialized in the running of accommodations for dependent elderly persons, has announced to have taken over the MAPAD SERVICES Group which comprises 6 reference accommodations located in Paris and suburbs and 2 in the process of being built

The European Council has just adopted the Code of Conduct resulting from the work of the EU Joint Transfer Pricing Forum -  headed by Bruno Gibert, Partner at CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre - which  lays down the principles for common European transfer pricing documentation.

Sigefi Private Equity (Siparex) has just taken a majority stake in the CMR Group of Marseille by investing 9, 35 millions of euros in the acquizition holding.

Beginning 1 July 2006, the lawyers of the Moscow office of Haarmann Hemmelrath unite with CMS Hasche Sigle Moscow, to jointly advise clients as the Moscow representation of Germany's CMS Hasche Sigle GmbH. With more than 30 lawyers operating within the new office, CMS Hasche Sigle Moscow becomes the largest office of any German commercial law firm in Russia, representing international clients in commercial and tax law advice

Five new partners were co-opted, respectively part of the corporate, the tax (local taxes, direct taxation & international taxation) and the employment departments of CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre, which brings to 84 the total number of partners of the firm

Charles de Crevoisier has won the 2006 ACE 7th Trophy of the Best Corporate Lawyer on the following topic : "Fairness and Company (managers, shareholders, wage-earners, third parties)."

Lawyers working for the nine independent European law firms in the CMS Alliance are to have their own training and development academy. CMS has teamed up with Swiss business school IMD, the International Institute for Management Development, to create the CMS Academy.  It will be based in Lausanne on the campus of IMD, an independent, not-for-profit foundation, and will commence by April 2006.

CMS is a proud sponsor of the first-ever European Business Awards. Launched by Quest Media and with the Wall Street Journal as the official media partner, these