Kirkland & Ellis' German arm has secured coveted European buy-out house Candover as a client thanks to the hire of Clifford Chance (CC) partner Volker Kullmann last year.

Kullmann, who had advised the leading buy-out house while at CC, received his first Candover instruction at Kirkland this month after joining the US firm last November.

The Candover bid has been aborted but Kullmann, who also brought Dutch buy-out house Gilde Investment Management as a client to the firm, told Legal Week that Kirkland was set to win future instructions from Candover.

The Candover instruction will be seen as a significant boost for Kirkland's European private equity ambitions coming after Kullmann was recruited along with a five-lawyer team to launch a practice in Munich, the Chicago-based firm's first German office.

Kullmann commented: "I am pleased to see clients following and supporting my move to Kirkland."

Candover has traditionally sent much of its European work to CC, although in recent years the buyout house has used a more diverse band of advisers.

Kirkland's push in Germany comes as a growing number of international firms are focusing on Munich, which attracts much of the country's private equity work.