Leo Borchardt
  1. Partner
  1. London
+44 20 7418 1334

Mr. Borchardt is a partner in Davis Polk’s Corporate Department, practicing in the London office. He has advised large corporations, boards of directors, special committees and investment banks on a variety of significant capital markets, cross-border M&A and other strategic corporate transactions. He also regularly advises clients on corporate governance, reporting and compliance and general corporate matters.  Mr. Borchardt is bilingual in German and English.

Work Highlights

Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Mereo Biopharma on its pending combination with OncoMed Pharmaceuticals and U.S. listing
  • Reliance Industries Limited on its acquisition of wireless infrastructure assets from Reliance Communications
  • Telia Company on the:
    • $1.03 billion sale of its holding in Nepalese telecom operator Ncell to Axiata
    • Sale of its interest in Tajik telecom operator Tcell to AKFED
  • Technip on its $17 billion business combination with FMC Technologies
  • Pattern Energy’s committee of independent directors on the acquisitions of six wind power projects
  • A major European telecom operator on its anchor investment in a VC fund
  • Affiliates of Morgan Stanley in connection with the bankruptcy of Anthracite Capital
  • Sterling Financial on its $2 billion merger with Umpqua and related divestitures
  • XL Group on the establishment of a joint venture with Stone Point Capital
  • Bertelsmann on the combination of Random House and Penguin
  • Guggenheim on various transactions
  • MSCI in its acquisition of IPD Group
  • ThyssenKrupp on U.S. aspects of the sale of its stainless steel business
Capital Markets
  • The underwriters on Handicare’s SEK 1 billion IPO
  • Boozt on its SEK 1.85 billion IPO
  • The underwriters on Deutsche Bank’s:
    • €8.0 billion (2017), €6.7 billion (2014) and €10.2 billion (2010) SEC-registered rights offerings
    • $1.0 billion SEC-registered offering of subordinated Tier 2 notes
    • $1.5 billion SEC-registered offering of additional Tier 1 (AT1) notes
  • Scout24 on its €1.2 billion IPO
  • The underwriters on Schaeffler’s €938 million IPO
  • Tele Columbus on its €367 million IPO
  • The underwriters on the $476 million SEC-registered IPO, a subsequent $1 billion SEC-registered secondary offering and a $1 billion offering of high-yield bonds of NXP
  • SEC-registered notes offerings for AstraZeneca and BBVA (issuer side) and Diageo, Equinor, OeKB and Rio Tinto (underwriters side), totaling more than $35 billion
  • Rule 144A notes offerings of Roche and a leading German automobile manufacturer (issuer side) and Yara International (underwriters side), totaling more than $9 billion
  • The underwriters on Erste Group's €1.7 billion rights offering
  • Julius Baer on the spin off of its asset management business
  • HeidelbergCement on its €4.4 billion primary and secondary re-IPO
  • Numerous accelerated bookbuild offerings and other private placements

Of Note

  • Fellow, Royal Society of Arts
  • Member, Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House
  • Erasmus Scholar, Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, 2002-2003
  • Visiting Scholar, Max Planck Institute for International Law, Heidelberg, 2006-2007

Professional History

  • Davis Polk since 2008
  • Partner, 2016-present
  • London office, 2009-2012; 2014-present
  • New York office, 2012-2014
  • Frankfurt office, 2008-2009
  • Judicial Clerk, Court of Appeals of Graz, 2008

    Practice Focus

    Bar Admissions

    • State of New York

    Education

    • Magister Juris, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, 2003
      • Book of Honor
      • Second in Class
    • LL.M., New York University School of Law, 2006
      • Arthur T. Vanderbilt Scholarship
      • Frank T. Diersen Prize
      • Vanderbilt Medal for Outstanding Contributions to the School of Law
      • Graduate Editor, Journal of International Law and Politics

    Languages

    • French
    • German
    • Italian