Dieter Gericke’s assignments include advising the board of directors of SoftwareOne in the unsolicited approach by Bain Capital, CSL in the public takeover of Vifor Pharma (USD 12.7 bn), Bobst Group in its going private (CHF 1.2 bn), ChemChina in the public takeover of Syngenta (USD 43 bn), Nestlé in the sale of Alcon to Novartis (USD 50 bn), EF in the sale of its China kids business, PPF in the sale of NBE to Boehringer Ingelheim (EUR 1.18 bn), Meyer-Burger Technology in proxy fight and recapitalizations, KKR in the acquisition of Biosynth Carbosynth, Therachon in the sale to Pfizer (USD 810 m), FNZ in the acquisition of Appway, Bregal in the acquisition of Kunststoff Schwanden, Bühler in the acquisition of Haas Group, Givaudan in the acquisition of Induchem, Infront Sports & Media in the sale to Dalian Wanda, or SCOR in the unsolicited takeover of Converium (USD 3.1 bn). He advised on numerous IPOs, including On Shoes, Sophia Genetics, ADC Therapeutics, Zur Rose Group, AC Immune, Endosense, Kuros Biosurgery, Molecular Partners, Wanda Sports (Infront), Gategroup, Santhera or tamedia. Special projects included advising the Swiss Federal Department of Defense on the acquisition of new Jet Fighters (F-35). He has long-standing experience in assisting boards of directors and managements in corporate governance matters and specific challenges like shareholder activism and -claims, proxy-fights, securities regulations, reorganizations and directors’ & officers’ liability. Dieter Gericke has a particularly strong foothold in the life sciences, chemicals, engineering and technology as well as insurance industries.
Dieter Gericke is a member of the Corporate and M&A Committee and the Securities Law Committee (where he served as Vice Chair) of the International Bar Association. In addition, he served as member of the advisory board of the Law Firm Management Committee.
Dieter Gericke has chaired or been a speaker at numerous conferences and authored various publications on negotiation tactics, takeovers, M&A, equity capital markets, shareholder activism, private equity, joint ventures, corporate governance and D&O liability, as well as on the new Swiss corporate law. In 2009, the Europa Institute at the University of Zurich entrusted him with the establishment of a conference on private equity, which he chaired ever since. He is Co-Chair of the Legal Chapter of the Swiss Biotech Association.
Dieter Gericke joined Homburger as associate in 2000 and has been partner since 2004 and head of the Corporate M&A practice team from 2014-2024. He also co-headed the Capital Markets Group for several years. He co-founded and headed the Homburger China Group since 2011 and initiated and co-led the Healthcare / Life Sciences Group until 2024. He studied law at the University of Zurich, where he graduated and accomplished his doctorate, both summa cum laude. In 1999, he graduated from Harvard Law School with an LL.M. In addition, Dieter Gericke studied one semester at Université de Paris II (Assas). Since many years he has been engaged in teaching assignments at the Universities of Zurich and St. Gallen.
Dieter Gericke is a member of the board of directors of Proman Group. He has been a member of the boards of directors of a number of other companies, including Syngenta, Tigen Pharma, CDR-Life or BIH. Since many years, he is also on the board of Gericke Group, which produces powder processing equipment and systems for food, pharma and chemical industries. In addition, he is serving in honorary capacity as a member of the board of supervisors of Theater an der Winkelwiese, Zurich, of the Harvard Club of Switzerland and of Life Sciences Cares, Switzerland, as well as a committee member of a global philanthropic organization
