An array of top firms have advised on Porsche’s initial public offering that valued the German car company at around €78bn—one of Europe’s largest ever listings.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters, Clifford Chance, Sullivan & Cromwell, Gleiss Lutz and White & Case are among the firms that enjoyed key roles in the complex transaction.

Freshfields advised Porsche, Linklaters advised its parent company Volkswagen and Clifford Chance advised the 15 banks on the deal, which included Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan as joint global coordinators.

Sullivan & Cromwell advised Porsche SE - the controlling shareholder of Volkswagen - on its €10.1bn investment in listed company Porsche AG in what the firm said was one of the largest M&A deals in Europe to date.

Gleiss Lutz, meantime, advised Volkswagen’s supervisory board, while White & Case advised Qatar Holding as cornerstone investor on the initial public offering.

Volkswagen sold almost 114 million shares in its sports car brand at €82.50 a share, raising around €9.4bn. The shares are listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Porsche said the IPO was the largest ever in Europe by market cap. The car maker also said the IPO opens up greater entrepreneurial freedom for Porsche as it seeks to ensure more than 80% of new vehicles delivered by 2030 are battery-electric vehicles.

Oliver Blume, chairman of Porsche’s executive board, said: “With the completion of the IPO, we are beginning a new chapter in the unique history of our company.”

He added: “We aim to redefine the concept of modern luxury by combining luxury with sustainability and social commitment.”

Freshfields’ team advising Porsche was led by Düsseldorf-based corporate and M&A lawyer Stephan Waldhausen, alongside Vienna-based corporate partner Konrad Gröller, employment law expert Klaus-Stefan Hohenstatt in Hamburg, capital markets partner Christoph Gleske in Frankfurt, Berlin-based regulatory partner Marcel Kaufmann and antitrust partner Peter Niggemann. Associates included corporate lawyers Arne Krawinkel, Constanze Roth and Kevin Jansen and employment law attorney Hubertus Reinbach.

Meantime, Clifford Chance’s team was led by capital markets partner George Hacket in Frankfurt, alongside the firm’s global financial markets team, including counsel Axel Wittmann, senior associates Andrei Manea and Sarah Steece and associates Maks Mencin and Lucy Liu. Partner Markus Stephanblome also advised on German corporate law matters while partner Thomas Voland advised on ESG matters.

The Gleiss Lutz team was led by corporate partners Michael Arnold and Adrian Bingel, and included employment partner Christian Arnold, all of whom are based in Stuttgart.

The Frankfurt-based Sullivan team was led by Carsten Berrar, office managing partner and co-head of the firm's capital markets group. It also included Konstantin Technau, Clemens Rechberger, Sophie Moeder, Lars Rueve, Stephan Rauch, Isabelle de Lange, Manon Grimm and Nico Evangelisti.

White & Case's Frankfurt team was led by partner Thilo Diehl and included partners Rebecca Emory and Roger Kiem, counsel David Santoro and associate Timo Lockemann.