Koen Hoornaert

Van Olmen & Wynant, the Brussels law firm where Koen Hoornaert is a partner, has been named M&A Law Firm of the Year in Belgium at the 2024 Corporate INTL Global Awards. The recognition reflects the firm's strength in corporate and transactional work and its reputation for practical, client-focused advice on mergers and acquisitions.

The firm is based on Avenue Louise in Brussels, one of the Belgian capital's principal business addresses, and combines expertise in corporate law with a well-known employment practice. This pairing is a natural fit for M&A work, where the sale or acquisition of a business almost always brings both corporate and workforce questions into play. Clients benefit from a team that can address the structure of a transaction and its consequences for people and contracts within the same firm, rather than coordinating separate advisers for each dimension.

As a partner, Koen Hoornaert contributes to the firm's corporate and M&A offering, advising clients on the transactions through which businesses are bought, sold, combined and restructured. Mergers and acquisitions work of this kind typically runs from initial structuring and due diligence through the negotiation and drafting of transaction documents to completion and any post-deal integration. It calls for close attention to detail, commercial awareness and the ability to keep a complex process moving to a successful close, qualities that sit at the heart of the firm's approach.

Van Olmen & Wynant is recognised for being pragmatic and client-orientated. The firm is known for lawyers who are accessible, practical and responsive in addressing complex legal matters, an approach that clients value particularly in the pressured environment of a live transaction. Operating in English, Dutch and French, the firm is well placed to serve both Belgian and international clients, and its multilingual capability supports the cross-border transactions that are a feature of the M&A market.

The firm's international reach is reinforced by its role as a co-founder of L&E Global, an international network of employment and corporate law firms. Membership of a network of this kind allows Van Olmen & Wynant to support clients whose transactions and operations extend beyond Belgium, drawing on trusted contacts in other jurisdictions when a deal requires coordinated advice across borders. For acquirers and vendors with international interests, this combination of local depth and global connection is a significant advantage.

Being named M&A Law Firm of the Year in Belgium underlines the firm's standing in corporate transactions and the confidence clients place in its practical, integrated approach. With partners such as Koen Hoornaert leading its transactional work, Van Olmen & Wynant continues to advise businesses on the acquisitions, disposals and restructurings that shape their growth in the Belgian and international markets.