Jacques Iffland
Partner, Head of Capital Markets
Dr. iur., Attorney at Law
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Partner, Head of Capital Markets Dr. iur., Attorney at Law +41 58 450 70 00 jacques.iffland@lenzstaehelin.com |
Geneva Route de Chêne 30 CH-1211 Geneva www.lenzstaehelin.com |
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Expertise
Jacques Iffland is a partner specialising in corporate law, securities regulation and M&A, with a focus on transactions involving public companies. He is authorised to represent issuers before the SIX Swiss Exchange and is chair of the Capital Markets and Technology Association.
In recent years, Jacques has advised, among others, the following clients:
– The investor group comprised of NewGAMe, an investment vehicle controlled by Rock Investment, a subsidiary of NJJ Holding, the personal holding company of Mr. Xavier Niel, and Bruellan, an independent provider of global wealth management solutions, in the successful takeover of GAM Holding, the SIX-listed global asset management firm
– JBF Finance SA in its CHF 600 million public tender offer for all publicly held shares of SIX-listed Bobst Group SA, the parent company of Bobst, one of the world's leading suppliers of substrate processing, printing and converting equipment
– Edizione, one of Europe's leading industrial holding companies and wholly owned by the Benetton family, on the integration between Autogrill and Dufry to create a global company in food & beverage and retail services for travellers
– SCCF Structured Commodity & Corporate Finance, a Swiss-based trade finance company, in the first issuance of digitalised (tokenised) short-term notes used to refinance commodity trading activities
– ObsEva, a listed biopharmaceutical company developing and commercialising novel therapies for women’s health, in the company's equity and debt financing activities and in its debt restructuring operations
– Immosynergies Holding Sàrl and its owner Mr. Olivier Plan on the sale and contribution of its real estate portfolio and development activities to Allreal Holding AG, the Swiss SIX-listed real estate investment company, for a net consideration of approximately CHF 400 million
– Swissquote, the online bank, on the creation of 'Yuh', a digital neobanking application developed as part of a joint venture with PostFinance, and the creation of the bank's crypto-exchange SQX
– Cartier, part of Richemont, together with LVMH and the Prada Group on the creation of the Aura Blockchain Consortium, a Swiss association based in Geneva, which operates the first global blockchain solution dedicated to the luxury industry
– Richemont on the issuance of tradable shareholder warrants, listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and distributed to the shareholders of the company as part of a loyalty scheme intended to allow shareholders to benefit from a potential upside of the price of Richemont's 'A' shares, once the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic had been overcome
– The Frère and Desmarais families in the CHF 3.3 billion public exchange offer and subsequent freeze-out merger of the Swiss industrial holding company Pargesa.
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Practices
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Professional Experience and Education
and Education
Jacques studied law at the University of Lausanne, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in 1992 and a doctorate in 1994 for a thesis on the criminal prosecution of share price manipulation. After a two-year traineeship in a Lausanne law firm, he was admitted to the bar in 1996. From 1997 to 2001, he worked as a legal adviser to the Swiss Stock Exchange Regulatory Commission and its successor organisation, the Swiss Federal Takeover Board. He joined Lenz & Staehelin in 2001 and became a partner in 2007. -
Specialist Areas
Corporate and M&A, Public Takeovers, Capital Markets, Securities Regulation -
Languages
French, English, German -
Memberships
Geneva Bar Association (OdA), Swiss Bar Association (FSA), Société Genevoise de Droit et de Législation (SGDL) -
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
- Iffland J., Identification des actionnaires, restrictions de transfert et « white listings » La tenue du registre des actions à l'ère de la digitalisation, de la lutte contre le blanchiment et des sanctions internationales, in: SZW/RSDA, 3/2023, 335-347
- Iffland J., Commentaire des articles 683 ss du Code des obligations, in: Nobel/Müller (eds), Berner Kommentar, Das Aktienrecht/Kommentar der ersten Stunde, Berne 2023
- Iffland J., La tokenisation des valeurs mobilières - La nouvelle frontière du marché des capitaux, Droit et économie numérique, CEDIDAC, April 2021, 61-80
- Iffland J., Ben Hattar A., Central Securities Depositaries in the Age of Tokenized Securities, in: CapLaw, Swiss Capital Markets Law, Regulatory, April 2020, 22-27
- Iffland J., Acceptation de dépôts du public, émission d’obligations et ICO, in: GesKR (Gesellschafts- und Kapitalmarktrecht) 3/2019, 459-465
- Iffland J., Tokenised securities are now possible under Swiss law, in: Swissquote Magazine, n°2 May 2019, 64-65
- Iffland J., Läser A., Die Tokenisierung von Effekten - Ein neuer Weg an den Kapitalmarkt, in: GesKR (Gesellschafts- und Kapitalmarktrecht) 4/2018, 415-423
- Diem H., Iffland J., View beyond the Rim of the Plate. Pitfalls for Issuers with Cross-Border Listings., Going Public Magazine, Capital Market Switzerland 2018, October 2018, 2021
- Iffland J., Ben Hattar A., Activists - The investors Switzerland loves to hate, in: The Lawyer, Briefings, April 2018
- Iffland J., Activisme actionnarial : Minder a-t-il ouvert la porte de la bergerie ?, in Agefi, July 2017
- Iffland J., Répression des infractions boursières - De la prohibition de la tromperie vers celle de l'abus de faiblesse, in Vuille/Oberholzer/Graf (ed.), Vérité, tromperie et mensonge, Groupe Suisse de Criminologie (GSC), volume 33, Bern 2016, 163-174
- Iffland J., Ben Hattar A., Les Systèmes organisés de négociation, in: GesKR 4/2016, p. 458-469
- Iffland J., Nouvelles règles en matière de publicité des participations : conséquences pour l'industrie de la gestion d’actifs et des fonds, in: GesKR (Gesellschafts- und Kapitalmarktrecht), 4/2015, 525-531
- Iffland J., Publicité des participations et principe de légalité - Mythe ou réalité ?, in: SZW/RSDA, 3/2015, p. 226-238
- Tschäni R., Diem H., Iffland J., Gaberthüel T., Öffentliche Kaufangebote, 3rd edition, Zurich 2014
- Iffland J., Les procédures d’enforcement de la FINMA, ou de la difficulté de coordonner les procédures coercitives administratives et les procédures pénales sous l’empire du nouveau CPP et de la LFINMA, in: Thévenoz/Bovet (eds.), Journée 2010 de droit bancaire et financier, Zurich 2011
- Iffland J., Diem H., De la prohibition des conditions potestatives à celle des conditions inéquitables, in: Oertle/Wolf/Breitenstein/Diem (eds.), M&A - Recht und Wirtschaft in der Praxis, Liber Amicorum for Rudolf Tschäni, Zurich 2010, 251-264
- Iffland J., Acquisition de sociétés de famille cotées en bourse, in: Pierre Marty (ed.), Fusions et acquisitions: questions actuelles, Publication CEDIDAC no. 81, Lausanne 2009, 1 et seq.
- Iffland J., Le rachat d'actions propres - Ce que le projet de révision du droit de la société anonyme prévoit de changer, in: GesKR (Gesellschafts- und Kapitalmarktrecht), special edition, 2008, 52-54
- Iffland J., OPA hostiles: le combat est-il équitable?, in: Journée 2007 de droit bancaire et financier, Zurich 2008, 59-78
- Iffland J., Gilliard ., Les nouvelles règles en matière de publicité des participations importantes, in: GesKR (Gesellschafts- und Kapitalmarktrecht), 2/2007, 365-384
- Iffland J., Secret Swiss Stake-Building with CFDs, in: Professional Investor, December 2006/January 2007, 20-22
- Rötheli A., Iffland J., La décotation, in: SZW/RSDA 4/2004, 305-322
- Iffland J., Groupes et actions de concert dans la loi sur les bourses, in: Journée 2003 de droit bancaire et financier, Zurich 2004, 143-174
- Iffland J., Opérations d'initiés ou exploitation abusive d'informations privilégiées? Le temps de choisir, in: De Lege Ferenda - Etudes pour le Professeur Alain Hirsch, Geneva 2004, 313-320
- Iffland J., La notion de manipulation de cours illicite après l'arrêt Fondation F. et l'entrée en vigueur de l'article 161bis du code pénal, in: Journée 1997 de droit bancaire et financier, Bern 1997, 67-82
- Iffland J., La répression pénale des manipulations de cours en droit suisse - Etude critique du projet de réglementation fédérale et du droit pénal fédéral positif, Collection juridique romande, Lausanne 1994
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Other Activities
Member of the Independent Appeals Body of the SIX Swiss Exchange
Member of the board of editors of the Swiss Review of Business and Financial Market Law, one of Switzerland's leading legal publications
Chairman of the Capital Markets and Technology Association, a Geneva-based association of representatives from the banking, technology and legal industries, whose aim is to promote the use of new technologies in the capital markets
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Contact Details
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Assistant
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Other Activities
Member of the Independent Appeals Body of the SIX Swiss Exchange
Member of the board of editors of the Swiss Review of Business and Financial Market Law, one of Switzerland's leading legal publications
Chairman of the Capital Markets and Technology Association, a Geneva-based association of representatives from the banking, technology and legal industries, whose aim is to promote the use of new technologies in the capital markets
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References
Jacques Iffland is an extraordinary expert on Capital Markets and very pleasant to work with.
The Legal 500, 2025He provides very solid experience in public offer situations.
Chambers & Partners, 2025Jacques Iffland has the ability to formulate complex matters in very simple terms so that many different parties can get to an agreement.
Chambers & Partners, 2025Whenever you need advice on a public tender, you will not go wrong going to Jacques Iffland.
Chambers & Partners, 2025Jacques Iffland is a standout figure in the market who frequently represents high-profile clients in major M&A transactions.
Who's Who Legal, 2024Jacques Iffland is well-known and respected in the Swiss capital markets community. He is one of the most outstanding lawyers I have ever worked with.
Legal 500, 2024Jacques Iffland is a very diplomatic lawyer that knows how to align the interest of many different parties and how to explain very complex problems in simple terms.
Chambers & Partners, 2024
Publications
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Commentaire des articles 683 ss du Code des obligations
in: Nobel/Müller (eds), Berner Kommentar, Das Aktienrecht/Kommentar der ersten Stunde, Berne 2023