Carolien Lode

Corporate Managing Associate, Amsterdam

“I have many years of experience as a candidate civil law notary and corporate law specialist focusing on advisory and transactional work. I offer clients a combination of technical expertise, impartial judgment and a commercial approach to deliver practical solutions. Clients benefit from my rigorous attention to detail, in depth knowledge of corporate law and tailored, efficient and pragmatic advice for their issues and needs.”

Overview

Professional experience

Education and qualifications

Overview

Carolien is a Managing Associate and candidate civil law notary specialising in corporate law. She is involved in advising international clients on cross-border transactions, restructurings, mergers and acquisitions as well as various corporate governance issues. From September 2021 until June 2022, Carolien has been on secondment to the Mainstream Corporate team of Linklaters in London, where she focused on, among other things, advising listed companies.

Work highlights

  • Just Eat plc: advising this miscellaneous food and kindred product company on its £9bn recommended all-share combination with Takeaway.com N.V.
  • LeasePlan Corporation N.V.: advising the shareholders of LeasePlan, one of the world's leading vehicle leasing companies, on its combination with ALD, Societe Generale's car leasing division, for €4.9bn.
  • Cerberus European Investment LLC and Staples International B.V.: advising on their exit from Staples Europe, a leading provider of workplace products, services and solutions to businesses in Europe and related carve-out sale of €78m to Lyreco S.A.S.
  • Steinhoff International Holdings N.V.: advising on the debt and equity restructuring undertaken through a Dutch law WHOA Restructuring Plan that completed on 30 June 2023. 
  • MultiChoice: advising on the combination of a 70% (MultiChoice) / 30 (NBCUniversal) partnership in Showmax, providing streaming services to sub-Saharan Africa. 
  • Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau: advising this German state-owned development bank on its €300m strategic investment in the German biopharmaceutical company CureVac with a view to securing access to a potential vaccine against COVID-19 in the European Union.

Professional experience

Carolien joined the Linklaters Amsterdam office in 2016. She was promoted to Managing Associate in 2022.

Carolien is actively involved in pro bono matters and participates in community investment projects run from the Amsterdam office.

Further work highlights include:

  • CarNext and TDR Capital: advising one of Europe’s leading online B2C and B2B used car marketplaces in the carve out from vehicle leasing company LeasePlan and raising of €400m capital raise.
  • Triton Advisers (Sweden) AB: advising on the acquisition of Hofmeester Groep B.V., a Dutch dental distribution company. The transaction closed on 23 November 2022.
  • Triton Advisers (Sweden) AB: advising on the acquisition of American Dental Trading B.V., a Dental Depot that offers its products and services exclusively to dental professionals in the Benelux, Germany, Austria and France.
  • Shareholders of LeasePlan Corporation N.V.: advising on its combination with ALD, Société Générale’s car leasing division, for EUR 4.9 billion.
  • Twitter: advising on the acquisition of 100% of the shares in Revue Holding B.V., a Dutch editorial newsletter platform which allows users to publish and distribute (paid) newsletters.

Education and qualifications

Carolien studied at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, and obtained a master’s degree in Notarial Law. 

Carolien is a member of the Royal Dutch Notarial Association (Koninklijke Notariële Beroepsvereniging). She speaks fluent Dutch and English.