Germany

Wolfram Schmerl is CEO of ALANTRA Germany. Before co-founding ALANTRA Germany in 2013,  Mr. Schmerl gained over 20 years of experience in Corporate Finance with Hauck & Aufhäuser, Sal. Oppenheim and Price Waterhouse.

He advised on more than 90 completed transactions in various industries with an accumulated transaction value of more than EUR 18bn.

Mr. Schmerl holds a diploma in Business Administration from the University of Bamberg.

Over 25 years of experience in investment banking and private equity with European Capital, Dresdner Kleinwort and Dresdner Anschutz in New York, London and Frankfurt as well as Hauck & Aufhäuser.

Worked on more than 50 completed leveraged buy-outs and MBOs in Germany, North America and the UK.

Robert von Finckenstein has a BA Honors (Distinction) from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.

Prior to joining Alantra, Frank Merkel’s career has focused on M&A for more than 15 years, including co-founding C.W. Downer & Co.’s German office in 2003. In that time he has led more than 50 M&A deals, most of which cross-border sell-side transactions. Since C.W. Downer & Co.’s merger with Alantra in 2016 he serves as a Managing Partner of the combined Frankfurt office and a member of the Global Executive Management Committee of Alantra’s investment banking group.

Mr. Merkel has significant experience within various industrial sectors, in particular he is leading Alantra’s global Industrial Automation sector team and has a dedicated focus on the Oil & Gas and Marine industries. Geographically he focuses on German-speaking Europe and Scandinavia, but has completed transactions involving businesses across Europe, North America and Asia.

His professional education includes studies at the International Business School in Bad Nauheim (Germany), where he received his Diploma in International Management, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Lincoln (UK).

Before joining Alantra Germany in 2014, Dr. Bernd Schneider worked as Head of Chemicals at Lincoln International.

Dr. Bernd Schneider has a broad experience in this sector, having advised on more than 45 transactions in all relevant sub-segments of the chemical industry.

Dr. Schneider studied chemistry and business administration in parallel at the University of Bayreuth and holds both degrees (“Diplom-Chemiker”, “DiplomKaufmann”). He received his PhD in polymer chemistry (University of Bayreuth / Germany and University of California Santa Barbara).

Mr. Müller has over 18 years of Corporate Finance experience, mainly relating to M&A transactions. Prior to joining Alantra in 2016, he was a co-founder of the German operations of C.W. Downer & Co. in 2003. Before that Mr. Müller had been responsible for the middle-market M&A business of a focused German investment bank. His expertise includes M&A deals in the national and international areas as well as various Equity Capital Market transactions.

Mr. Müller received a Degree as a Business Economist from the University of Bonn (Germany). In addition, he holds a MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in Chicago and the WHU Vallendar (Germany).

Besides his native German, Mr. Müller is fluent in English and has a strong working knowledge of Spanish.

Christoph Handrup is a co-founder of ALANTRA Germany in 2013. Prior to joining ALANTRA, Christoph worked in the corporate finance divisions of Hauck & Aufhäuser and Sal. Oppenheim.

Christoph has over 13 years of experience in M&A and debt advisory. He successfully advised corporate clients and private equity investors on numerous domestic as well as international M&A transactions.

At Alantra Germany, Christoph is responsible for the Consumer Goods Retail sector and  Financial Sponsor Coverage.

Christoph holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster.

Konstantin Kastius is a co-founder of ALANTRA Germany in 2013. Prior to joining ALANTRA, Konstantin worked in the corporate finance divisions of Hauck & Aufhäuser, Sal. Oppenheim and Miller Buckfire (one-year secondment to the USA).

Konstantin has over 15 years of experience in M&A and debt advisory. He advised on numerous transactions in the industrials & services, TMT and consumer goods sector for both, corporate and private equity clients. At Alantra Germany he is responsible for the Business Services and the TMT sector.

Konstantin holds a degree in Economics and Business Studies (INTERMAS).

Before joining Alantra in 2015, Maximilian Rohardt worked for 10 years within leveraged finance and global debt restructuring at The Royal Bank of Scotland plc.

Maximilian has extensive experience in both leveraged finance (structuring and arranging of leveraged buy-outs, recaps/refinancings) and in restructuring (development of complex restructuring solutions for both distressed corporate/LBO and real estate debt).

Maximilian holds a business degree from the European Business School (Oestrich-Winkel) with Majors in Finance and Real Estate Management.

Jens Schmadel joined Alantra Germany in 2013 as co-founder. Prior to joining Alantra, Jens worked at Hauck & Aufhäuser and Sal. Oppenheim.

Jens has over 10 years of experience in M&A and debt advisory. He successfully advised corporate clients and private equity investors on numerous domestic as well as international M&A transactions. At Alantra Germany, Jens is particularly focusing on the Industrials and Automotive sector. Furthermore, he is responsible for coordinating the activities in the Industrials sector within the Alantra network.

Jens holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and studied at Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (Germany) and University of Stellenbosch (South Africa).

Jochen Köhler was part of the Frankfurt team of C.W. Downer & Co., when the company merged with ALANTRA in 2016. He started his career at Sal. Oppenheim.

Jochen has more than 9 years of experience in M&A advisory. He has worked on buy and sell side mandates for financial sponsors as well as corporate clients and has gained extensive transaction experience from numerous successfully closed cross-border M&A transactions.

Jochen received his degree as an Economist from the University of Cologne.

Prior to the merger that formed Alantra, Ray Morin worked for the Frankfurt office of C.W. Downer & Co., which he joined from the Lehman Brothers German M&A Team.

While at Downer and Lehman Brothers, as well as at Booz-Allen Hamilton as a strategy consultant, Ray Morin has advised clients in the Industrials, Oil & Gas, Automotive and Chemicals sectors, including mandates from both corporate and private equity clients.

He received an MBA from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College where he graduated as an Edward Tuck Scholar. He also holds an MS in Engineering Management from the University of Missouri and a BS in Mathematics from the US Military Academy at West Point. In addition to his native English, he is fluent in German.

Prior to the merger that formed Alantra, Michaela Pfeifenberger has worked for the Frankfurt office of C.W. Downer & Co., which she joined in 2007. Since then, Ms. Pfeifenberger has advised both private equity and corporate clients on M&A transactions specifically within the Industrial Automation and Oil & Gas and Marine sectors, mainly on sell-side transactions. Geographically Ms. Pfeifenberger has completed transactions involving businesses across Europe, as well as North America and Asia.

Ms. Pfeifenberger received her Master of Business Administration degree with distinction from the Karl Franzens University Graz, Austria and completed an exchange semester at the University of Extremadura, Spain. In addition to her native German, Ms. Pfeifenberger is fluent in English and Spanish and has a good working knowledge in Italian.

Christopher Jobst joined Alantra in July 2015. He has more than 9 years of experience in corporate finance with leading mid-cap focused investment banks in Germany. He advised on various transactions predominantly in the Healthcare and Industrials sector for both, corporate as well as private equity clients. At Alantra Germany he is responsible for the Healthcare sector.

Prior to joining Alantra, Christopher worked as a Vice President in the Healthcare team of Commerzbank M&A Advisory and started his career at Clearwater International, Wiesbaden, Germany.

Christopher holds a Masters’ degree in Business Administration (Diplom-Kaufmann) and studied at University of Mannheim and Hanken Svenska Handelshögskolan (Finland).

Christian Lang was part of the Frankfurt team of C.W. Downer & Co., when the company merged with Alantra in 2016. Before this, he worked 3 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Financial Services Consulting.

Mr. Lang has more than 10 years of experience in corporate finance. He successfully advised corporate and private equity clients on various M&A and debt advisory transactions.

Mr. Lang received his Diploma in business from the University of Nuremberg, Germany and Master in business from the EM Strasbourg, France.