Jan-Philipp Praß is counsel in Willkie’s Restructuring Group. He practices in Hamburg and is based in the Firm’s Frankfurt office.
Jan-Philipp represents clients in complex cross-border and domestic restructurings inside and outside of court proceedings and on acquisitions and disposals of distressed businesses. He advises companies, creditors, investors, management, shareholders, and insolvency administrators in connection with:
- Financial restructurings (in-court and out-of-court), including own-to-own strategies, debt-equity swaps, share pledge enforcements, and insolvency plan proceedings
- Implementation of restructuring solutions through German scheme proceedings (StaRUG)
- Operational corporate restructurings
- Distressed M&A, rescue financing, or refinancing transactions
He has been named as “highly recommended” and as one of the “top lawyers for restructuring” by WirtschaftsWoche and is recognized for restructuring and insolvency in the Handelsblatt Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch list. Jan-Philipp has authored numerous publications on restructuring, insolvency, corporate, and legal profession law.
Experience
Jan-Philipp’s experience includes advising:
- DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate AG, an investor in commercial real estate, on a comprehensive restructuring of its listed 2019/2024 German law bond of originally EUR 600m.
- Leoni Group on its restructuring (co-lead for StaRUG proceedings)
- Bank consortium on the restructuring of the Benteler Group
- Senior lenders and SteerCo in the financial and operative restructuring of Kathrein Group
- Riverside on the restructuring and the sale of the Keymile Group to Dasan Zhone Solultions Inc.
- Bank consortium on the restructuring of Borgers Group
- Bank consortium on the restructuring of IFA Holding GmbH and its affiliated companies
- Luxury goods retailer Christ Group on its amend-and-extend refinancing
- Löwenplay / Safari Holding Verwaltungs GmbH on the financial restructuring and recapitalization, which involved the first UK scheme of arrangement for a German issuer post-Brexit
- Chiho Tiande on the acquisition of Scholz Group by way of a debt-to-equity swap
- Hellmann Worldwide Logistic on its refinancing and restructuring
- Hamburg Commercial Bank in connection with various real estate financing transactions
- Hamburger Hochbahn on the divestiture of a majority stake in BeNEX to INPP
- Norddeutsche Reederei Group in connection with a merger with V.Group Germany
- Rockaway Capital SE on the acquisition of Unister out of insolvency
- H.I.G. Capital on the sale of the Losberger Group to Gilde Buy Out Partners
- Onex Corporation in the acquisition and IPO of SIG Combibloc Group
* Jan-Philipp advised on some of these matters prior to joining Willkie.
Credentials
Education
University of Hamburg, Dr. iur., 2017 Higher Regional Court of Hamburg, Second State Exam, 2015 University of Hamburg, First State Exam, 2010