Hogan Lovells has hired a team of M&A lawyers from Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) to expand its Frankfurt corporate practice.

The new recruits include WFW’s current Frankfurt office managing partner Torsten Rosenboom, who joins at the start of next month, and partner Christoph Naumann, who started today. They will also be joined by a quartet of associates.

The team’s practice will focus on a range of corporate and M&A-related activities, such as advising on transactions, joint ventures, restructurings and general corporate matters. Rosenboom has a particular focus on the energy and infrastructure sector, while Naumann has expertise in the tech and life sciences space, focusing on private equity and venture capital.

James Doyle, global head of Hogan Lovells’ corporate and finance practice, said: “Our German corporate and finance practice is one of the key engines of the firm. Their appointment adds to the depth and experience of our Germany M&A team who are already delivering high-end domestic and cross-border transactions for a broad range of clients.”

Rosenboom spent more than eight years as a partner at WFW, having previously worked at Linklaters, also in Frankfurt. Naumann spent more than five years as a partner at WFW, having joined from Norton Rose Fulbright, where he was counsel for a little more than two years. Naumann also had spells as an associate at Magic Circle firms Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance in Frankfurt and Dusseldorf. He trained as a lawyer with Shearman & Sterling in New York.

Nikolas Zirngibl, head of the firm’s German corporate and finance practice group, said: “Rosenboom and Naumann are an excellent fit with the culture of our firm, both professionally and personally,” adding that their appointment is an “integral part of our growth strategy for the German corporate and finance practice.”

In October, US firm Kirkland & Ellis strengthened its German business with the arrival of private equity partner Hendrik Braun in Munich from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Other international firms have also been ramping up their German presence of late. In September, Herbert Smith Freehills expanded its German corporate practice with a four-strong insurance team hire from DLA Piper, while last month US IP boutique Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunne hired a team from Baker McKenzie to open its first German office in Munich.