Profile details
About Dr. Robin Helmke
Robin is a partner in the firm’s Global Transactions Group.
He specialises in structured finance, capital market transactions, acquisition and infrastructure finance.
Robin advises lenders, sponsors and corporate borrowers on all aspects of leveraged financings, financial restructurings and structured acquisitions. He has significant expertise in corporate finance and treasury, helping clients in defining their liquidity strategy and access to private or public capital whether in the context of strategic acquisitions, refinancings or distressed credit situations.
The versatility and innovative strength of his practice is widely recognized in the market and awarded him several distinctions.
Robin is a German native speaker. He also speaks English and French.
Recent work
Structured Acquisitions and Capital Markets
- Zhejiang Geely on the structured acquisition of minority participations in Daimler AG and in AB Volvo as well as on their role as lead investor in Volocopter;
- An international hedge fund on a highly structured investment in a European solar renewable company;
- Equity-linked transactions for CVC, Drillisch, Fresenius, Deutsche Lufthansa and convertible bonds for Klöckner, Kuka and Deutsche Post; and
- Accelerated equity placements for Geely Sweden Holdings/Volvo Car AB (publ), BC Partners/Brenntag, CVC/Evonik, Oaktree/Deutsche Wohnen and Permira/Freenet.
Private Capital and Structured Financing
- Paypal on the sale of receivables of a total of ~40 billion euros to KKR, including the securitisation of receivables in various European jurisdictions;
- AUTO1 Group Operations SE on an innovative pan-European asset-backed financing and on its first asset-backed securitisation of consumer auto financing receivables;
- Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA in relation to its non-recourse pan-European trade receivables programme,
- numerous German corporates in relation to their ABCP programmes and complex working capital financing solution;
- Permira on a pan-Scandinavian financing programme; and
- Hybrid regulatory capital instruments for various financial institutions such as NORD/LB or HCOB.
Global energy and infrastructure
- A group of asset managers and insurance companies on their senior debt holdco financing for the ‘GodeWind 1’ transaction, the first project bond financing of an offshore wind farm worldwide;
- An international bank consortium on the senior debt holdco financing for the offshore wind farm Borkum Riffgrund 3 in the German EEZ;
- Several consortia led by HTPPPS on the bond financings for the PPP projects “A-Model A6”, “A-Model A7” and “A-Model A8”; and
- Fraport Regional Airports of Greece in connection with the contemplated restructuring of the refinancing of 14 Greek regional airports.
Qualifications
Education
- Law, Philipps University of Marburg, Germany (Dr. iur.)
- University Panthéon-Assas, Paris, France (law – maîtrise en droit)
- Columbia University, US (master of laws – LLM)
- Additional studies in economics and passed the CFA Level 1 exam
Professional qualifications
Admitted to the German Bar and the New York Bar, First Judicial District