Hans-Martin Eckstein
Senior Counsel
Baker McKenzie Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH von Rechtsanwälten und Steuerberatern
Biography
Hans-Martin Eckstein joined Baker McKenzie on 1 September 2021. He was a tax partner with pwc for a total of 23 years until 30 June 2021, with an interim three-year stint at a German multidisciplinary firm as a partner. He is a tax advisor and certified accountant in Germany and has practiced international tax for more than 36 years. In the course of his career Hans-Martin has worked several years in pwc's New York office, where he led the German tax desk and the European tax group, and he led pwc's global and German M&A Tax practices for three years. Lately he served as a Lead Tax Partner for several German multinational groups, both public - Dax 30 - and privately held. In addition he currently chairs the tax committee of the German Institute of Public Accountants, is member of the tax committee of the Chamber of Public Accountants, of the Chamber of Tax Advisors, of the tax committee of Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft für Betriebswirtschaft and of the German branch of the International Fiscal Association.
Practice Focus
Hans-Martin's main focus is on transactional tax advice for large scale mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations and financing transactions. He has comprehensive and in-depth experience in providing tax advice to German and foreign multinationals on domestic and international corporate tax issues. He focuses on deal related tax structuring as well as on corporate reorganizations.
Representative Legal Matters
Prior to joining the Firm, Hans-Martin was involved in several notable transactions, including,
- Advised a German DAX 30 group on structuring several global acquisitions (values between EUR 2 and 14 billion) and the financing thereof, including due diligence and post deal integration structuring in up to 70 countries.
- Advised a German DAX 30 group on the establishment of a joint venture with a US multination group for one of their divisions.
- Advised a German DAX 30 group on structuring a transaction including the carve-out of a division, an acquisition into that carved out division and the investment of a private equity investor into the new business, stretching over three countries.
- Advised a professional services franchise on the elimination of a European holding company and coordination between six countries.
- Strategic advice to a family owned group on the global reorganization into a divisional structure.
- Advised a German DAX 30 group on structuring several international acquisitions (values between EUR 250 million and 6 billion) and the financing of thereof, including due diligence and post deal integration structuring.
- Advised a Danish pharmaceutical group on their acquisition of a German business, including post deal integration and cross-border transfer of businesses.
- Advised on several corporate simplification projects for several US or UK based clients.
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Chamber of Tax Advisors - Member
- Chamber of Public Accountants - Member
- German Institute of Public Accountants - Chair Tax Committee
- Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft für Betriebswirtschaft - Member Tax Committee
- International Fiscal Association - Member
Admissions
- Certified Public Accountant (1994)
- Certified Tax Advisor (Steuerberater)~Germany (1990)
Education
- University of Applied Sciences for Public Administration and Finance Ludwigsburg (Diploma in Finance) (1985)
Languages
- English
- German
Geschäftsführer: Dr. Alexander Wolff, Dr. Oliver Socher, Dr. Christian Vocke
Baker McKenzie Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH von Rechtsanwälten und Steuerberatern is registered with the Local Court of Frankfurt/Main (registered seat) HRB 123975. It is associated with Baker & McKenzie International, a Verein organized under the laws of Switzerland.