Michal Hlásek

Michal is an experienced banking and finance lawyer advising lenders and borrowers in cross-border acquisition finance, corporate finance, leveraged finance, trade finance, infrastructure finance, refinancing and restructuring transactions. He has particular expertise in banking and finance transactions supported by Export Credit Agencies (ECAs), including those involving the German ECA, Euler Hermes.

Michal is a core member of the firm’s DACH desk/group advising on deals in the German-speaking countries of Germany, Austria and Switzerland as well as in the emerging markets.

He is rated as “Highly regarded” in IFLR1000 (IFLR1000 2022/23, Banking, Capital markets (Structured finance and securitisation), Trade finance) and as a leading lawyer in the area of “Foreign Expertise in UK” by Chambers (Banking & Finance – Germany, Foreign Expertise in UK). Furthermore, he is ranked as Best Lawyer in the area of Banking and Finance law 2022 (Handelsblatt 2022).

Work highlights

Michal has acted on a wide range of complex banking and finance transactions. Relevant highlights include advising:

• Glenmont Partners: advising on the financing of the acquisition of a 50-percent shares in Ørsted’s Offshore-Windpark Borkum Riffgrund 3.

• ams: advising on the bridge financing of the public takeover bid to shareholders of OSRAM Licht and subsequent integration of equity, debt capital raisings bank financing to refinance the bridge financing and refinancing of target indebtedness.
• Coordinators BNP Paribas, Citibank and Deutsche Bank: advising an international syndicate of lenders on a €8bn multi-currency revolving credit facility for BMW Group to refinance its existing multi-currency revolving credit facility agreement.
• Tank & Rast: advising on the €1.45bn senior secured credit facilities and associated hedging transactions on the complete refinancing of its existing senior and junior credit facilities, subsequent repricing and equity owners on its sale to Allianz led consortium.
• the equity consortium led by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA): advising on the financing of the acquisition for the Open Grid Europe from E.ON, the subsequent refinancing through the establishment of the EMTN programme for Vier Gas Transport and a new working capital credit facility and the further refinancing through a revolving credit facility and the establishment of the European Commercial Paper Programme for Vier Gas Transport.
• Almatis: advising on its restructuring, inter alia, through Chapter 11 proceedings under US law, and the exit financing as well as the subsequent refinancing of Almatis.

Before joining Linklaters in 2003, Michal was Senior Associate in the banking practice of Mallesons Stephen Jaques in Sydney. Prior to transferring as a partner to Germany in 2010, he was based in the firm’s London banking practice for seven years.

Michal also spent time on secondment with Credit Suisse in London in 2005, where he advised on leveraged buyouts in the bank’s Financial Sponsors Coverage Group.

At the beginning of his career Michal was the first general counsel of Citibank in Prague between 1993 and 1997, leading the development of an in-house legal function in a new market. In 1997 he relocated to Sydney, Australia and continued working as in-house counsel for Citibank between 1997 and 1999 whilst studying at the University of New South Wales.

Michal is a regular presenter at both Linklaters own and externally-sponsored events, He regularly speaks at the industry conferences, such as the Loan Markets Association events in London, Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna and Prague.

Michal is a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales and of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia and a German lawyer (Rechtsanwalt) at the Frankfurt Rechtsanwaltskammer.

Before joining the Frankfurt banking practice of Linklaters in 2010, Michal was based in the firm’s London banking practice and before then he practised with Mallesons Stephen Jaques in Sydney, Australia for a number of years.