PaulVan Hooghten

Of Counsel

Brussels + 32.2.645.14.87

Paul Van Hooghten advises Belgian and international private equity houses, multinational companies, and financial institutions on all aspects of corporate law, including corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions (including public takeovers), joint ventures, and private equity. He has more than 35 years of experience and has worked in Belgium and New York City.

Paul has recently advised SWIFT on several corporate matters, the Belgian-listed company JENSEN-GROUP on its Japanese joint venture and corresponding capital increase, the shareholders of BLACKB in the sale of their shares to a U.S. company, Rockley with its acquisition of BelGaN Group, and a Dutch multinational company and Biobest in several transactions.

Paul is author of several publications on corporate and commercial law, including the book The European Takeover Directive and Its Implementation published by Oxford University Press; an article on shareholders' agreements in DAOR (Journal of Business Law), 2022 (together with Jonas Van den Bossche); and the chapter on the Belgian law on public takeovers published in the book European Takeovers: The Art of Acquisition, third edition, 2022 (together with Philippe Remels). He is a regular speaker at conferences and a guest lecturer at the University of Brussels. Paul is also a director and officer of the American Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and a council director of the Legal Council of the Conference Board.

Experience

  • Biobest acquires BiotropJones Day represented Biobest Group NV, a Belgian developer of biological crop-protection products in its €500 million capital and debt raise for the acquisition of Biotrop Participacoes SA, a provider of biological and natural farming solutions in Brazil, for an enterprise value of about €532 million.
  • JENSEN-GROUP and MIURA create heavy-duty laundry joint venture in JapanJones Day advised JENSEN-GROUP in the formation of a joint venture with MIURA whereby the JENSEN-GROUP acquired 49% of the shares of Inax Corporation, one of the main manufacturing and distribution companies for heavy-duty laundry equipment in Japan and a Japanese wholly owned subsidiary of MIURA, and MIURA took a 20% stake in the JENSEN-GROUP through a combination of 49% of the shares of Inax and an add-on capital increase in cash.
  • Biobest receives capital increase from Sofina and some private investorsJones Day advised Biobest Group NV in its capital increase in an amount of €98.5 million with cancellation of preferential subscription rights, subscribed by Sofina SA and by other private investors.
  • Consortium BelGaN Group BV acquires ON Semiconductor Belgium BVJones Day advised the consortium BelGaN Group BV with the acquisition of ON Semiconductor Belgium BV, a subsidiary of Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC, which designs and manufactures semiconductors components.
  • Fragbite acquires Lucky Kat B.V.Jones Day advised Fragbite Group AB, a global esports and gaming company, in the acquisition of Lucky Kat B.V.
  • Biobest Group obtains financing for acquisitionsJones Day assisted Biobest Group NV, one of the world's leading companies in biological control of pests and diseases & natural pollination, in connection with the financing of acquisitions.
  • BLACKB sells Darts-ip to Clarivate AnalyticsJones Day represented the various shareholders of BLACKB in the sale of all their shares to the Belgian subsidiary of the U.S. listed company Clarivate Analytics (US) LLC.
  • Additional Publications

    • December 2020
      Shareholders’ Agreements following the introduction of the New Belgian Companies and Associations Code (DAOR 2020/4)
    • 2018
      Belgium: the Delaware of Europe - AmCham Bulletin 2018
    • June 2018
      European Takeovers - The Art of Acquisition, Globe Law and Business

    Speaking Engagements

    • 25-26 March 2021
      The Conference Board - Legal Council - Topics : Covid-19 impact on companies; Brexit; Legal Tech; Management of legal departments
    • 2020
      The Conference Board - Legal Council - Chair to various sessions
    • November 2020
      Legal aspects of international trade, lectures given at the University of Brussels (VUB)
    • October 10, 2019
      The Net Asset and Liquidity Test under Belgian law, AmCham Seminar