White & Case has advised Eintracht Frankfurt Fußball AG on its strategic partnership with Löwen Frankfurt Eishockey-Betriebs GmbH.
The firm confirmed its role on 20 July 2026, following the clubs’ announcement of the long-term agreement on 17 June. The agreement includes Eintracht Frankfurt’s acquisition of a 10% stake in Löwen Frankfurt and its assumption of responsibility for central commercial operations, including sponsorship and hospitality marketing. Eintracht Frankfurt will also support the ice hockey club’s merchandising activities as a licensee.
Löwen Frankfurt competes in the PENNY DEL, Germany’s top professional ice hockey league. The agreement is intended to strengthen the club’s commercial organisation and forms part of its Mission 2030 strategy. PRANGE, an existing shareholder in Löwen Frankfurt, remains involved in the club’s longer-term development.
Technology is another significant part of the arrangement. Löwen Frankfurt has appointed stackwork, a subsidiary of Eintracht Frankfurt, to modernise its digital infrastructure and improve its collection and use of club data. The work is intended to bring supporters and commercial partners closer to the club, while Löwen Frankfurt will retain responsibility for its ticketing operations.
White & Case’s Frankfurt team was led by partner Karsten Wöckener and included partner Bodo Bender and local partners Johannes Ahlswede and Agmal Bahrami. The mandate follows the firm’s earlier work for Eintracht Frankfurt, including advice on the club’s 2025 capital increase and previous measures to strengthen its equity and shareholder base.
The deal shows how sports investments can extend well beyond the acquisition of shares. Here, the ownership interest sits alongside agreements covering commercial management, merchandising and digital services. Each element requires clear provisions on governance, intellectual property, data use and the division of operational responsibilities between the two clubs.
Similar arrangements depend on clear drafting over who controls sponsorship, hospitality, merchandising and supporter data. Where an investor takes on substantial commercial functions without controlling the business, the shareholder agreement must sit cleanly alongside the commercial and technology contracts.
The Eintracht Frankfurt agreement requires advice on corporate, tax, commercial, intellectual property and data protection matters. Brand licences, decision-making powers and termination rights must be consistent across the documents. As more sports clubs combine outside investment with shared commercial operations and digital services, law firms can expect several specialist teams to be involved from the start.