Ashurst advises ebase (now FNZ Bank) on change of legal form to an SE

Ashurst has advised the former European Bank for Financial Services GmbH (ebase), operating under the name FNZ Bank since the end of September 2023, on the formation of a European Company (SE) under the name FNZ Bank SE.

FNZ Bank SE was formed by the merger of the Irish FNZ group company Sage Hill plc. with the former European Bank for Financial Services GmbH (after the change of legal form FNZ Bank AG), which adopted the legal form of an SE when the merger became effective.

Since summer 2019, FNZ Bank has been part of the global financial services group FNZ, which provides investment platforms to financial institutions and asset managers worldwide. 

As FNZ Bank is a full-service bank under the supervision of the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), the transition to the legal form of an SE also required intensive coordination with the supervisory authority. 

The successful completion of the SE formation was made possible in particular by the dedicated efforts of FNZ Bank's in-house team under the leadership of General Counsel FNZ Germany Pamela Schmidt-Fischbach, German Head of Legal Anita Wörand and Head of Regulatory & Corporate Office Alexander Nürk. At international level, the project was managed by Ani Lock-wood (Head of Strategic Initiatives, Europe) and Project Manager Lawrence Anfo-Whyte.

FNZ Bank was advised by Ashurst under the lead of partner Prof Dr Florian Drinhausen (Corporate Transactions). Further team members were partners Dr Detmar Loff (Regulatory) and Dr Andreas Mauroschat (Employment), Counsel Astrid Keinath, Senior Associate Quynh Anh Le (both Corporate Transactions), Senior Associate Tobias Bauerfeind (Regulatory) and Associates Cornelius Hille (Regulatory) and Lena Kühnberger (Employment).

Prof Dr Florian Drinhausen and Astrid Keinath had already advised numerous companies on the formation of SEs during their previous work at Linklaters until the beginning of 2014, including today's Vonovia SE, NORMA Group SE and BP Europa SE.