Profile

Philipp Haas is regularly involved in Switzerland’s largest corporate transactions and focuses on mergers & acquisitions, corporate defense, advice to boards and capital market transactions.

Experience

Philipp Haas is an expert in negotiated as well as hostile acquisitions. He has represented bidders and targets, public and private companies, private equity firms, leveraged acquirers and special committees of directors. He represents companies in divestitures, cross-border transactions and proxy contests, and has counseled managements and boards of directors on acquisition matters, responses to shareholder activism, conflict transactions, corporate governance and other significant issues. The NKF team led by Philipp received the Transatlantic M&A Team of the Year (Large Deal) Award in the 2018 Transatlantic Legal Awards by the American Lawyer and Legal Week for its role as lead advisor to Actelion Ltd in the USD 30 bn acquisition by Johnson & Johnson.

Highlights include:

  • Lead counsel to Actelion Ltd, the largest European biopharma company in its USD 30 bn acquisition by Johnson & Johnson and the simultaneous demerger of its drug discovery and early clinical pipeline business into Idorsia Ltd. as well as the IPO of Idorsia Ltd
  • Lead counsel to the Bill & Melinda Gate Foundation Trust in the successful defense of Sika AG against the hostile takeover attempt by Saint-Gobain
  • Counsel to NASDAQ listed BioTelemetry, Inc. in its successful competing tender offer for LifeWatch AG
  • Counsel to GSK plc in its USD 26bn portfolio swap with Novartis AG
  • Lead counsel to Actelion Ltd, the largest European biopharma company, in its successful defense against the hostile takeover attempt and proxy fight by Elliott Partners
  • Counsel to NYSE listed Dresser Rand, Inc. in its merger of equal negotiations with Sulzer AG and ultimate sale to Siemens SE
  • Lead counsel to the state owned bank Cantonal Bank of Thurgovia in its IPO and subsequent secondary offering
  • Counsel to NYSE listed Ace Ltd and NYSE listed Allied World Insurance Holding Ltd in their migration to Switzerland and their reconstitution as Swiss companies with NYSE listing
1997 Admitted to the New York Bar
1995 New York School of Law, LL.M.
1994 Admitted to the Bar
1991 University of Zurich, School of law, lic. Iur.
Best Lawyers 2011 – 2024
Chambers Global 2006 – 2024
Chambers Europe 2007 – 2023
The Legal500 EMEA 2017 – 2023 – Leading Individual
IFLR1000 2017 – 2023 – Highly Regarded
LMG Life Sciences EMEA 2022 Awards – Corporate Lawyer of the Year
Who’s Who Legal: Global 2019 – 2023
Who’s Who Legal: Switzerland 2016 – 2023
Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders – Switzerland 2022

German

English

French

Deals & Cases

26.01.2024

Evolva Holding SA sells its operations to Lallemand Inc.

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15.06.2023

Confederation and UBS sign CHF 9bn Loss Protection Agreement

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13.06.2023

Kunshan Dongwei Technology Co., Ltd. completes GDR offering and SIX Swiss Exchange listing

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Market Perception

«Philipp Haas garners respect from market sources for his assistance with a range of complex transactions, including high-value mergers and acquisitions. He is also well versed in handling defence against hostile takeovers. »
Chambers Global 2022
«Philipp Haas’ general levels of client service and his ability to handle sophisticated work are things I would rate as very strong. His commercial awareness is also very strong.»
Chambers 2022
«He is an excellent and a very experienced lawyer for any legal questions in the healthcare and life sciences area. He is a strategic thinker who comes up with constantly focused, results-oriented solutions for any legal issue. »
Chambers 2022
«Philipp Haasis renowned for his adept handling of hostile takeovers and cross-border M&A deals. »
Who’s Who Legal 2022

Awards & Rankings

14.09.2023

NKF ranked top-tier firm in six practice areas by IFLR1000 2023

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16.01.2023

Twelve NKF lawyers listed as “Thought Leaders Switzerland 2022” by Who’s Who Legal

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17.05.2022

NKF partner Philipp Haas wins LMG Life Sciences EMEA Corporate Lawyer of the Year 2022 Award

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Firm News

23.03.2021

NKF announces its new executive committee and strengthens its business services

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08.08.2019

NKF delegation will attend the 2019 IBA Annual Conference in Seoul

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04.10.2018

NKF partners will attend the 2018 IBA Annual Conference in Rome

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In the Media

12.10.2015

NKF Partners Philipp Haas and Philippe Weber featured in ‘The Lawyer’

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Publications

12.05.2020

Chambers Europe 2020, Switzerland: An Introduction to Capital Markets

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01.09.2015

Prospectus Including Offering Restrictions

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29.06.2015

Debt capital markets in Switzerland: regulatory overview

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