Linklaters and Clifford Chance advised on the exclusive negotiations in relation to the contemplated sale of Athlon, one of Europe’s leading providers of vehicle leasing and fleet management services, by Mercedes-Benz Group to Arval, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas.

The contemplated transaction remains subject to completion of the information and consultation process with the relevant employee representative bodies of the entities concerned. The completion of the transaction is expected during 2026, following receipt of the necessary approvals from the competent authorities.

Linklaters advises Mercedes-Benz Group. The international cross-practice team was led by Partner – Marco G. Carbonare (Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt) and Partner Mariken van Esch (Corporate/M&A, Amsterdam), working alongside Mercedes-Benz Group AG in-house legal counsels Tobias Reimold and Loretta Lang.

The core team also included Managing Associate Tom Reker (Corporate/M&A, Amsterdam) and Managing Associate Niki van Kessel (Corporate/M&A, Amsterdam), Counsel Joost Rompen (Tax, Amsterdam), Partner Hubert Segain (Corporate/M&A, Paris), Managing Associate Sabine Lee (Corporate/M&A, Paris), Partners Bernd Meyring & Lodewick Prompers (Antitrust and Foreign Investment, Brussels), Partner Andreas Dehio (Financial Regulatory, Frankfurt), Partner Matthew Devey (Employment, Frankfurt), Counsel Alice Klein (Employment, Paris), Managing Associate Jill Reijnen Husagić (Employment, Amsterdam), Partner Michael Leicht (TMT, Frankfurt), Counsel Thilo Zimmermann (Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt) and Partner Cyril Boussion (Tax, Paris).

Clifford Chance has advised BNP Paribas on the exclusive negotiations between Arval and Mercedes-Benz Group for the acquisition of Athlon.

The international Clifford Chance team for BNP Paribas was led by partners Thomas Krecek (Frankfurt), Tim Heerschop (Amsterdam) and Mathieu Remy (Paris) and comprised Senior Associate Thomas Conradi (Munich), Associate Marie Möllering (Frankfurt, all Corporate/M&A), partner Marc Benzler and Senior Associate Judith Werkmeister (both Financial Regulatory, Frankfurt and Munich), Partner Christopher Fischer (Frankfurt) and Counsel Astrid van Ommeren (Amsterdam) (both Employment), Counsel Claus-Peter Knöller (Tax, Frankfurt), Senior Associate Michael Kümmel and associate Stephanie Giek (both TechDigital, Frankfurt) as well as Partner Marc Besen (Antitrust, Düsseldorf).

The BNP Paribas in-house legal team was led by Louis-Philippe Vasconcelos (Global Head of M&A/Private Equity – Legal) and included Laure Khemiri (M&A Private Equity Legal Counsel) and Louis Romero (M&A Private Equity Legal Counsel).