Allen & Overy LLP has advised BNP Paribas Personal Finance S.A. on all aspects relating to the termination of its joint venture with Commerzbank AG, Commerz Finanz GmbH. In this context, the Banking business unit was split-off from Commerz Finanz GmbH to Commerzbank AG and all shares in Commerz Finanz GmbH that were still held by Commerzbank AG have been transferred to BNP Paribas Personal Finance S.A.

Allen & Overy advised BNP Paribas Personal Finance not only on all aspects relating to structuring and negotiating the transaction in terms of corporate, regulatory, employment and tax law but also on the merger control proceedings before the European Commission and on IP, data-protection and pension law issues.

Following completion of the split-off, Commerz Finanz GmbH will be merged cross-border into BNP Paribas S.A. and will continue to do business under "Consors Finanz", as part of the German branch of BNP Paribas S.A.
A&O corporate partner Matthias Horn confirmed, "It has been a pleasure assisting BNP Paribas Personal Finance S.A. as legal advisor for more than 15 years, from the launch of this joint venture with Dresdner Bank AG in 2001 through its continuation with Commerzbank AG right up to its termination."

With approx. 1,000 employees in Germany, Commerz Finanz GmbH ranks among the leading providers in the German consumer finance market. Its focus lies on granting consumer loans, in particular in the point-of-sale finance business with retailers and car dealers, as well as in the e-commerce sector.

Commerz Finanz GmbH (formerly Dresdner-Cetelem Kreditbank GmbH) was established in 2001 as a joint venture between BNP Paribas Personal Finance S.A. and Dresdner Bank AG. In 2009 the joint venture was continued by Commerzbank AG following its takeover of Dresdner Bank.

The Allen & Overy team was led by Frankfurt-based partner Dr Matthias Horn (Corporate/M&A) with the assistance of partners Jürgen Schindler (Antitrust, Brussels), Dr Heike Weber (Tax, Frankfurt), Dr Jens Matthes (IP, Düsseldorf) and Jean-Claude Rivalland (Corporate/M&A, Paris), counsel Dennis Kunschke (ICM/Regulatory, Frankfurt), senior associates Dr Fabio Borggreve (Corporate/M&A), Dr Sebastian Schulz (Employment & Benefits), Peter Seidel (Tax, all Frankfurt), Dr Achim Schmid (Pensions), Miray Kavruk (IP) and Yukiko Hitzelberger-Kijima (Data Protection, all Düsseldorf) as well as associates Matthias Diegelmann (Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt) and Benjamin Geisel (Antitrust, Brussels).

The in-house legal team at BNP Paribas Personal Finance S.A. comprised Dragana Radojevic (Head of M&A) and Vinciane Ribes (Senior Legal Counsel, both BNP Paribas Personal Finance S.A.).