Henri Nelen, Partner at Novel, Corporate / M&A

Henri Nelen

Partner
Corporate / M&A

henri.nelen@novel-law.com
+32 484 27 93 93

Henri helps clients move beyond deadlock, whether by designing the right transaction structure or by reconciling competing interests.

Practice

Henri advises listed companies, private equity firms and corporates on complex public and private M&A and capital markets transactions. He has developed significant expertise in public takeovers, acting for bidders, target boards and reference shareholders. He also acts as a trusted advisor to listed companies and their boards on related party transactions, corporate governance and MAR.

Henri’s approach

Henri is at his best when a deal seems stuck. He gets particular energy from finding a way forward where competing interests and complex requirements appear difficult to reconcile, whether by designing a transaction structure or helping parties move beyond a deadlock. He values close working relationships with his clients and takes a hands-on approach to helping them achieve their objectives.

Qualifications

Henri is a graduate of the University of Antwerp (Law degree, 2012) and the University of Leiden (LL.M, 2013). During his career, he gained valuable expertise at other (international) law firms, including as an International Visiting Attorney at Skadden, Arps in London. Henri has been a member of the Bar since 2013.

Recent matters

Henri’s recent experience includes advising:

  • VGP on various capital markets transactions, including green bond issuances, rights issues and accelerated bookbuild offerings.

  • Ageas’ committee of independent directors on a series of interconditional transactions with BNP Paribas, through which Ageas acquired full ownership of AG Insurance.

  • CMB.TECH on its acquisition of a 40.8% stake in Golden Ocean Group and the subsequent share-for-share cross-border merger.

  • LawVu on its acquisition of ClauseBase, a Belgian legaltech company specialising in AI-assisted contract drafting.

  • Saverex on its two successive voluntary consolidation bids for Exmar.

  • CMB on the transactions that resolved the deadlock at Euronav, including the acquisition of a 26% stake from Frontline and the subsequent mandatory takeover bid, conducted through concurrent Belgian and US offers.

  • Bidders and boards in connection with the public takeover bids for smartphoto, Resilux and Zenitel.