Daniel Donhauser advises in corporate law on all issues of legal structuring and optimization and focuses on acquisitions, investments and growth. He has many years of experience in advising on national and international transactions of VC investors and start-up companies and advises in the field of venture capital and private equity on all issues related to investments and financing, in a strongly growth-oriented environment, as well as on shareholder disputes.
In addition, Daniel Donhauser provides comprehensive advice on employment law, negotiation, contract drafting and disputes in court. By advising both employers and employees, founders and investors, Daniel Donhauser knows both sides and focuses on holistic optimizing legal advice and design and finds here especially creative and strategic solutions.
In addition, Daniel Donhauser provides comprehensive advice on employment law, negotiation, contract drafting and disputes in court. By advising both employers and employees, founders and investors, Daniel Donhauser knows both sides and focuses on holistic optimizing legal advice and design and finds here especially creative and strategic solutions.
Daniel Donhauser studied law with a focus on capital markets and corporate law at the LMU in Munich. Prior to that, he studied molecular biotechnology and sports science with a medical focus at the Technical University of Munich, which is why he advises many clients from the sports, nutrition, health care and life sciences sectors.
After working as legal counsel for a health-tech startup and as a corporate lawyer at a top-level American law firm ReedSmith, he joined one of the largest German law firms as a senior lawyer and handled national and international mandates in the field of commercial & corporate law in the Munich office, and built up the venture capital department in Munich.
Daniel Donhauser's experience in corporate law, tax law, and employment law, as well as his experience as an entrepreneur and advisory board member for a number of startup companies, provides a unified and economically optimized view of his clients' affairs. He combines this with negotiation tactics and experience from advising both sides, making him an expert in entrepreneurial contract drafting.
Daniel Donhauser hat Rechtswissenschaften mit Schwerpunkt Kapitalmarkt- und Kapitalgesellschaftsrecht an der LMU in München studiert. Zuvor studierte er molekulare Biotechnologie, und Sportwissenschaft mit medizinischem Schwerpunkt an der TU München, weswegen er vielen Mandaten aus dem Bereich Sport, Nutrition, Health-Care und Life Sciences berät.
Nach seiner Arbeit als Legal Counsel für ein Health-Tech Startup und seiner Tätigkeit als Anwalt für Gesellschaftsrecht bei einer Top-Level amerikanischen Großkanzlei ReedSmith wechselte er als Senior Anwalt zu einer der größten deutschen Kanzleien und betreute im Münchner Büro nationale und internationale Mandate auf dem Gebiet des Handels- & Gesellschaftsrechts, und baute den Bereich Venture-Capital in München auf.
Daniel Donhauser bietet mit seiner Erfahrung aus dem Gesellschaftsrecht, Steuerrecht und Arbeitsrecht sowie als Unternehmer und Beirat bei einer Vielzahl von Startup Unternehmen einen einheitlichen und wirtschaftlich optimierten Blick auf die Angelegenheiten seiner Mandanten. Er kombiniert dies mit Verhandlungstaktik und Erfahrung aus der Beratung beider Seiten und ist dadurch Experte für unternehmerische Vertragsgestaltung.
Commercial & Corporate Law
Labor Law | Tax Law
Technik | Medien
Gesundheitspflege | Lebenswissenschaften
Startups
VC- und PE-Fonds
Familienbüros
Privatkunden
Consultation in English and German.
Advice on structuring and support from formation to exit, such as choice of legal form, holding company, capital measures, financing rounds, secondaries and buyouts, in particular:
Corporate Finance, Corporate Governance, Corporate Housekeeping, Shareholder Disputes, Shareholder Meetings, Articles of Association, Shareholder Agreements, Mergers & Acquisition, Board and Management Consulting, Employee Participation, Private Equity, Venture Capital.
Advice on holding and holding structures, contribution and spin-off of commercial enterprises, business valuations, income tax, corporate tax, trade tax, VAT and real estate transfer tax law, inheritance and gift tax law, as well as appeals against tax assessments.
Advice and negotiation in all employment law matters, such as employment and termination agreements, vacation and salary claims, as well as effective representation in court in all employment law matters, such as actions for protection against dismissal, for both employers and employees.
Specialized and strategic advice in corporate finance for financing rounds and capital measures. Support in particular in preparations and negotiations such as data room screening, due diligence and term sheet negotiations, as well as drafting and optimizing convertible loan agreements, equity financing rounds, shareholder agreements, shareholder loans and participation agreements.
Strategic advice to secure growth through the combination of different areas of law specially tailored and optimized to the needs of high-growth companies.
Beratung über die steuerlichen Auswirkungen von Investitionen, Unternehmenstransaktionen, Umstrukturierungen und sonstige oft anspruchsvolle steuerliche Gestaltungen.
Der Fokus liegt auf der Optimierung von Verträgen, Transaktionen und Beteiligungen wie zB. bei Holding, Finanzierungen, Buyouts, Abfindungen, Optionsrechten, Mitarbeiterbeteiligungen und Ähnlichem und findet stets in Kombination mit dem Handels- Gesellschafts- & Arbeitsrecht statt.
Full range of advice on private equity and M&A transactions, corporate acquisitions, private equity investments, equity and mezzanine financings, deal structuring and legal due diligence, in particular in the Tech & Media, Bio-Tech, HealthCare and LifeSciences sectors.
1. Accompaniment of over 50 equity and debt financings involving private investors, business angels, family offices and venture capital funds on both the investor and startup side with up to 20 million. Extensive experience in drafting complex investment agreements.
2. Negotiation as well as structuring hybrid forms of financing, such as convertible loans, convertible bonds and mezzanine investments, with optimized results for startups in terms of the originally applied valuation.
1. Consulting and support of company acquisitions and sales, especially in the industries:
with transaction volumes of up to more than €100 million. Accompaniment and management of legal due diligence reviews, negotiation and drafting of company purchase agreements and supervision of the closing process.
2. Structuring asset deals and intellectual property transfers for software products, (social) media assets and other digital assets.
I. Advice, optimization and support of more than 100 company formations and shareholding transfers as well as all types of shareholder agreements. Extensive experience with cross-border matters and foreign parties such as China, the United Kingdom and the USA.
II. Structuring and optimization of more than 30 employee stock option programs in all forms, in particular straight equity options and virtual shares / phantom stock options.
III. Support and negotiation of shareholder disputes, both out of court and in court.
IV. Negotiation of out-of-court and in-court shareholder disputes up to EUR 100 million.
V. Ongoing advice to companies with administration-intensive legal forms on compliance with corporate law requirements, compliance requirements and optimization of liability risks. Advising shareholders and C-level on all issues of corporate liability, claim defense and claim enforcement.
I. On the employee side:
Extensive experience in dismissal protection proceedings and severance negotiations with severance volumes of up to EUR 250,000.
Negotiation of structuring and optimization of employment contracts, employee bonuses, employee participation and termination agreements in German and English.
II. On the employer side:
Consulting and strategy in setting up companies with a view to:
Strategic advice on how to proceed in the event of intended operational changes such as, in particular, staff reductions, site closures, wage cuts and short-time working.
Negotiation and representation of termination agreements and actions for protection against dismissal
Drafting and negotiating numerous complex contracts from various areas of commercial law, including general terms and conditions (GTC), service agreements, license agreements, franchise agreements, cooperation and distribution partner agreements, with a view to growth of the company.
Preparation of data protection declarations and data protection law consents
Advising and structuring the contribution of company shares to a subsequently established holding company with a share value of €1.2 million.
Structuring of call option rights in the buy-out over 120 million euros.
Tax audit of the transfer of intellectual property into a newly established limited liability company.
Structuring of management shareholdings and the inclusion of subsequent co-founders.
Advising and structuring the contribution of company shares to a subsequently established holding company with a share value of €1.2 million.
Structuring of call option rights in the buy-out over 120 million euros.
Tax audit of the transfer of intellectual property into a newly established limited liability company.
Structuring of management shareholdings and the inclusion of subsequent co-founders.
I do not deal with everything, but with the essentials.
• Incorporations
• Partnership agreements
• Shareholder agreements (vesting, tag/drag, IP transactions etc.)
• Corporate actions
• Shareholders' meetings
• Shareholder disputes
• Corporate governance
• Corporate housekeeping
• Corporate acquisitions
• Holding structures
• Venture Capital Financing
• Participation agreements
• Share transfers
• Option rights (put / call)
• Conversions
• Splitting of operations
• Contribution & spin-off of commercial operations
• Foundations
• Tax law issues regarding EStG, GewStG, KStG, UStG
• Structuring and optimization of assets and income sources
• Tax implications on inheritance law, gifts, family law
• Appeals against tax assessments
• Consulting for managing directors regarding
- liability
- rights
- Duties
• Managing director liability
• Status determination procedure
• Employee stock options such as
- Employee stock options (ESOP)
- Virtual stock options (VSOP)
- Profit participation rights
• Management intensification
• Managing director service contracts
• Equity participation of later co-founders
• Buyout
• Earnout
• Termination agreements
• Severance payments
• Bonuses
• Employer Consulting & Employee Consulting
• Dismissal Protection
• Contracts & Agreements
- Ongoing Consulting
- Liability
- Particularities
- Salary claims
The USP of my advice lies in the overlap of the legal fields and the resulting design and strategy in disputes.
A consultation appointment for binding information and advice can be booked here and we will discuss your case directly in a video call. For other mandate inquiries please contact the office directly.
"I solve problems before they arise."
I am a lawyer, but also an investor and founder and therefore know every side! In addition to my legal work, I use my experience from advising founders and investors, as an advisor to startups and investor, to build companies. In the area of Company Building & Investments, I offer models like „Brain for Equity“ as well as „Smart Capital“, to build companies together as a team and secure growth.
In Founder Mentoring, I coach and support a variety of founders and startups in building their business.
Receive mentoring to build your business for the pre-startup phase through the first round of funding. With these strategies and know-how, you'll need less legal advice while learning how to build a business.