Legal Business

Glencore picks Freshfields as mining giant sues Colombia over coal deal

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Litigation Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
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Mining and commodities giant Glencore has instructed Magic Circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to sue Colombia over claims the government sought to revoke parts of a coal mining license.

Glencore, which in March reported a 32% drop in annual profits after being hit by weak commodity prices, has filed an arbitration claim at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington DC over claims the Colombian government has sought to revoke parts of an amended concession agreement signed with government in 2010 to expand the mine.

The damages could run into billions of dollars, with a 1,637-page prospectus put out by Glencore as part of its $11bn IPO on the London Stock Exchange in 2011 stating it had spent $2.6bn on expanding coal production in Colombia. The plan was to double production at its Calenturitas and La Jagua mines to 20.7 million metric tonnes per annum by 2015, with $1.5bn spent on mining concessions, mining equipment, transport, port and other infrastructure up until the end of 2010. Two years after the amendment to the concession, then Colombian mines and energy minister Amylkar Acosta said Glencore must pay higher royalties after purchasing different companies operating in Colombia and reducing costs through integration.

A team from Freshfields, led by Washington-based Nigel Blackaby, is representing Glencore in a claim brought under the 2006 Switzerland-Colombia bilateral investment treaty. Blackaby is global co-head of Freshfields international arbitration group and its Latin America group.

Dechert has been instructed to defend Colombia, with Paris-based Eduardo Silva Romero leading a team that includes Washington-based international counsel Alvaro Galindo and Juan Felipe Merizalde Urdaneta.

Glencore’s activites in Colombia have been dogged by scandal, with at least 10 people murdered when paramilitaries seized a patch of land called El Prado next to Glencore’s Calenturitas coal mining concession in 2002, while communities have been rehoused over environmental damage and the firm has faced large-scale strikes by workers over low salaries.

In the past the metals firm has used Magic Circle firms Linklaters and Clifford Chance to implement plans to cut $10.2bn from the business’ $30bn debt pile, in Glencore’s biggest mandate since its $66bn acquisition of Xstrata in 2013. The legal team chosen by Glencore was the same team from Linklaters and Clifford Chance that executed the drawn-out Xstrata deal.

In disputes Glencore used Clyde & Co last year when it lost a high court case against Romanian oil company OMV Petrom. It was ordered to pay out just over $40m for fraudulently shipping oil of a lower than supposed quality to Romania in the 1990s.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk 

Legal Business

Freshfields the latest to post reduced retention rate with 82% of trainees kept on

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Trainee retention Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
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Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, the last Magic Circle firm to post its trainee retention rate this spring, posted a reduced figure, keeping on 82% of trainees this spring. The firm offered 33 of 38, or 87% of its trainees places.

The rate is slightly worse than last year’s spring figure of 85%, after the firm kept on 41 of 48 trainees, after offering 91% of the trainees places.

By keeping 31 out of 38 trainees, the firm has performed better than Magic Circle peer Clifford Chance, which posted a rate of 80%. Freshfields once again did not disclose in which offices and practice areas the trainees would be qualifying. 

However Freshfields performed poorly in comparison with Linklaters which posted an 83% rate and Allen & Overy (A&O) which kept on 39 of 43 or 91% of trainees. Both (A&O) and Linklaters kept on fewer trainees this year than spring prior.

Slaughter and May has had the best retention rate of the Magic Circle this time around, with a rate of 91%, when 38 of the firm’s 40 qualifying trainees accepted newly-qualified positions. The intake was an improvement on Slaughter and May’s autumn 2015 figure of 33 of 37 trainees, and ahead of its 2015 spring intake when 88% of a 42 strong cohort accepted offers.

Earlier this week, Berwin Leighton Paisner posted a 70% retention rate for March. With a markedly smaller trainee cohort of 20, 14 of the 16 positions that the firm offered were accepted. The new trainee intake will be spread across the firm’s finance, real estate, corporate, litigation and corporate risk practices.

Our sister website The Lex 100 has created a retention rate table which will be updated as more figures are announced.

victoria.young@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Freshfields disputes veteran Terry heads to the Bar

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The Bar Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
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Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer disputes veteran Ian Terry is leaving the Magic Circle firm after 38 years and heading to the Bar.

After a long-standing run with Freshfields Terry is retiring from the firm and will join One Essex Court as a mediator later this year.

Terry joined Freshfields in 1978, one year after studying law at the University of Oxford. He qualified in 1980 and became a partner in 1986.

He became managing partner in 1996 for five years, becoming the first litigator to take on the role, and was the practice group leader for disputes from 2006 to the end of 2008.

In recent years, Terry has acted in a number of high profile Russian and CIS related disputes. Some of his highlight matters include representing various defendants in proceedings brought by Boris Berezovsky against Roman Abramovich and others in the UK High Court; advising a Ukrainian oligarch in UK High Court and LCIA proceedings brought by a fellow oligarch; and acting for a leading pharmaceuticals company in a dispute with a biotech company concerning the royalties payable in relation to a blockbuster drug developed in a joint collaboration.

Freshfields boasts a large disputes team in the City with over 30 partners specialising in disputes including Ian Taylor, Geoff Nicholas and, Chris Pugh who was recently elected co-global managing partner of the firm.

‘I have been involved in a lot of mediations in my time and know many fantastic counsel at One Essex Court and I’m really excited about joining,’ Terry told Legal Business. ‘I have had the privilege to be involved in all the international expansion in what was a very interesting time for the firm.’

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

For more on Freshfields see the feature ‘The last champions – meet the leaders intent on sealing Freshfields’ place in the global elite.’

Legal Business

Freshfields makes key competition hire as Clifford Chance City partner to relocate to lead Hong Kong practice

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Strategic recruitment Clifford ChanceFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
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Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has hired Clifford Chance’s Alastair Mordaunt to become the new competition head of its Hong Kong practice.

Mordaunt joined Clifford Chance in 2011 as a partner and has been based in the London office, but the new role will see him relocate from the City to lead Freshfields Asia’ competition team.

Before Clifford Chance, Mordaunt spent five years at the UK’s Office of Fair Trading, most recently as director of a competition enforcement team and director of the mergers group before that.

Mordaunt returns to Freshfields where he previously was a solicitor for eight years from 1999 during which he worked in the London, Brussels and Washington DC office.

Asia managing partner Robert Ashworth said: ‘Alastair’s background as a regulator combined with our distinctive competition litigation expertise in Hong Kong will provide a compelling offering to local and international clients doing business in Hong Kong, where enforcement will take place largely through a contentious tribunal system.’

‘In terms of the global regulatory environment in competition and antitrust, Hong Kong is a very exciting place to be,’ Mordaunt said. ‘Very rarely do companies have to come to grips with an entirely new regime in such a sophisticated market. In that sense, the Hong Kong competition regime poses some unique challenges for companies doing business in the jurisdiction.’

The hire comes weeks after Freshfields hired Kirkland & Ellis’ capital markets partner Andrew Hagan in London who will join the Magic Circle firm in April.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Partner promotions: Freshfields drops round to 16 following steady increases since 2013

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Partnership promotions Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
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Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has announced 16 lawyers will make the cut to partnership this year, one less than last year when 17 were promoted.

The first round to be revealed by a Magic Circle firm for 2016, Freshfields’ promotions sees five of the total or 29% being made up at its Fleet Street headquarters with Charles Hayes in corporate, Gabriel Mpubani in finance, Craig Montgomery in disputes, Alice Greenwell in employment, and Vikki Hills in real estate, all joining the partnership.

This is an increase from 2015 when just three partners were made up in the City with two in corporate and one in employment.

The remainder of this year’s promotions were mainly across Europe in the Düsseldorf, Paris, Madrid, Vienna offices, alongside New York, Washington DC and Dubai. No promotions were made in Asia.

The partnership round at the Magic Circle firm still has some way to go before reaching the levels of 2011 and 2012, when Freshfields made up 20 partners, although the firm has steadily increased its rounds since 2013 when the firm promoted 14 lawyers and in 2014 when 15 were made up.

The appointments will take effect on 1 May 2016.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

The partnership promotion list in full:

Antitrust, Competition and Trade

Katrin Gassner, Düsseldorf

Mary Lehner, Washington

Corporate

Rob Cant, Dubai

Charles Hayes, London

Florent Mazeron, Paris

Javier Monzon, Madrid

Stephan Pachinger, Vienna

Dispute Resolution

Moritz Becker, Düsseldorf

Craig Montgomery, London

Caroline Richard, Washington

Employment, Pensions and Benefits

Alice Greenwell, London

Finance

Haris Meyer Hanif, Dubai

Gabriel Mpubani, London

Ryan Suda, New York

Real Estate

Vikki Hills, London

Tax

David Beutel, Munich

Legal Business

Life during law: Avril Martindale

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Life During Law Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
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I had no intention of doing law. My father was a detective in the Scottish flying squad. I wanted to join the police.

I got a traineeship at Dundas & Wilson where I was the only female trainee. I was also one of the very few that hadn’t been to public school. People were nice but it did feel very odd.

Legal Business

Kirkland & Ellis suffers London mass exit as seven partners walk out in less than a week

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Strategic recruitment Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerKirkland & Ellis
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Kirkland & Ellis has lost capital markets partner Andrew Hagan to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, within days of the firm losing a six-partner team to Sidley Austin.

Hagan will join the Magic Circle firm in April this year and is a boost for Freshfields which is steadily building its debt markets team. The hire comes after the recruit of high-yield heavyweight Ward McKimm who quit Kirkland to co-head Freshfields European leveraged finance team in London in June 2015.

Some of Hagan’s deal highlights include advising Credit Suisse, Barclays, JP Morgan and KKR in connection with R&R Ice Cream’s offering of €150m senior secured notes due 2020; and representing CVC Capital Partners on the issuance of €550m floating rate senior secured high-yield bonds due 2021 to finance of CVC’s acquisition of ParexGroup Participations SAS.

Freshfields global finance group head David Trott said: ‘The firm is rightly regarded as a first choice for European high yield transactions and Andy’s experience and expertise will ensure that we continue to develop our market-leading leveraged finance platform and to offer clients a first-class high yield capability.’

The news comes after a six-partner team from Kirkland announced they would exit the firm to set up a City private equity team at Sidley Austin. While there has been a lateral partner revolving door between Kirkland and other rival firms, Kirkland rarely loses a sizeable team like this.

City private equity partners Christian Iwasko, Erik Dahl and Fatema Orjela alongside banking partner Bryan Robson, corporate partner Sava Savov and tax partner Oliver Currall are set to exit Kirkland to join Sidley Austin.

The team hire will improve Sidley Austin’s private equity offering which currently only cites one partner, Stephen Blackshaw, who also co-heads the corporate group, as advising on private equity transactions in London; alongside two other partners who are also based in the US.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Magic Circle trio land roles as London City Airport sold to Canadian consortium in £2bn deal

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Dealwatch Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerLinklaters
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Three Magic Circle firms won positions to advise on the sale of London City Airport to a Canadian-led consortium of investors in a deal worth £2bn.

Linklaters, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May acted on the sale of the airport, located 6 miles from London’s financial centre at Canary Wharf, which was completed yesterday with the Canadian consortium successfully outbidding two Chinese firms.

Slaughter and May advised Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) on its 75% interest in the airport. The multinational private equity firm acquired its interest through two successive transactions in 2006 and 2008.

Slaughters corporate partner Mark Horton, who has a focus on domestic and international corporate finance, led the firm’s team on the deal alongside finance partner Philip Snell and tax partner William Watson. Horton has advised GIP in the past, acting as the fund bought London Gatwick Airport back in 2009.

Both Linklaters and Freshfields are advising the Canadian-led consortium, which includes Alberta Investment Management Corporation, Borealis Infrastructure, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and Wren House Infrastructure Management Limited.

Linklaters acted for the consortium on infrastructure matters with partner Ian Andrews taking the lead on the deal along with planning law partner David Watkins. The team for Freshfields’ was led by the co-head of the firm’s energy and natural resources group Laurie McFadden with corporate partner Martin Nelson-Jones. 

Andrews who understands the consortium solidified the sale with a lower offer after a competing bidder with a higher offer failed to show certainty of funds, told Legal Business he was pleased with the result.

He added: ‘It’s important to make sure the bid’s ready. [The certainty of funds failure] shows it’s really important to be ready. It’s a huge amount of work and effort, so it’s pleasing for everybody involved. London City Airport is an airport that’s got a lot of potential and I think that was why it was such an attractive asset for so many people.’

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Latham targets Asian private equity market with hires from Clifford Chance and Freshfields

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Strategic recruitment Clifford ChanceFreshfields Bruckhaus DeringerLatham & Watkins
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After making significant investment into its European private equity practice to transform it into one of the region’s biggest private equity players, US firm Latham & Watkins has set its sights on Asia with a triple hire and two relocations.

Having kick-started its drive into European private equity market with the hire of Clifford Chance’s private equity chief David Walker in 2013, Latham returned to the Magic Circle firm to hire Hong Kong deal doer Simon Cooke as it turns its attention to Asia. Cooke leaves Clifford Chance after two decades at the firm, the last nine of which have been as a partner.

Having so far struggled to gain a strong footing in the Asia market, Cooke arrives as part of a triple hire into Asia with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer counsel Amy Beckingham joining as a partner and Hogan Lovells leveraged finance partner Gary Hamp also joining in Hong Kong.

Latham, which has built its global expansion around cornerstone private equity and capital markets practices, is applying the same formula to its expansion in Asia as PE takes off in the region. Asian tycoons have historically shut out private equity firms and preferred to make direct investments but that appears to be changing, with US consultancy firm Bain reporting that PE in the Asia-Pacific region broke out of a sobering two-year slump in 2014 as deal values broke previous records and more funds were raised.

Cooke and Beckingham, M&A lawyers with a track record of selling companies through IPOs, are expected to work closely with leveraged finance specialist Hamp. Also arriving in Asia are high yield partner James Burnett and restructuring partner Josef Athanas, who relocate to Hong Kong from London and Chicago respectively.

Latham chair and managing partner Bill Voge said: ‘Latham has been deeply involved in the development of private equity and leveraged finance markets in the United States and Europe, and there are clear signs that those markets are growing and evolving in Asia. The arrival of these partners in Hong Kong, along with the talented team in London, New York and other global financial capitals, puts us in place to capitalise on these trends.’

Cooke added: ‘Latham has had significant success in its other markets and the firm’s commitment to achieve the same market stature in Asia, together with its incredibly strong finance platform, is very attractive to me.’

Bryant Edwards, Latham’s Asia chair, said the firm ‘saw strong growth in private equity and related finance in London and Europe 10 years ago’ and is ‘seeing the same patterns in Asia today, in particular where high yield has grown to become a significant part of leveraged finance’.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Merger take-three: Freshfields and Linklaters advise as LSE and Deutsche Börse re-visit talks

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Dealwatch Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerLinklaters
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Nearly 16 years since talks first began, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and German rival Deutsche Börse are engaged in merger discussions again, and Magic Circle duo Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters have won roles advising on the potential combination.

Both stock exchanges confirmed yesterday (23 February) they are in negotiations about an all-share merger with Freshfield partners Andrew Hutchings, Mark Rawlinson and London M&A co-head Piers Prichard Jones leading the firm’s team to represent LSE.

Linklaters corporate partner Roger Barron is acting for Deutsche Börse along with Simon Branigan in London; Ralph Wollburg and Staffan Illert in Germany. The Magic Circle firm had advised the stock exchange when it set up a clearing house in Singapore in 2015, as well as the acquisition of foreign exchange trading platform 360T Beteiligungs GmbH in July last year for €720m.

The London and Frankfurt exchanges said they were in ‘detailed discussions about a potential merger of equals’, which if it goes ahead, will create a European trading powerhouse under a new holding company that would give Deutsche Börse shareholders a 54.4% stake and LSE shareholders 45.6%.

However, both exchanges said in their respective statements that ‘there can be no certainty that any transaction will occur’.

The decision to combine comes after both stock exchanges first attempted to merge back in 2000, and tried to form a new company called iX but the deal collapsed, resulting in both listing their own stock separately instead. In December 2004, Deutsche Börse made a £1.3bn approach for the LSE but saw its offer rebuffed.

Under the terms of the potential merger however, LSE shareholders would receive 0.4421 new shares in exchange for each LSE share, and Deutsche Börse shareholders would receive one new share in exchange for each Deutsche Börse share. The combined group would have a unitary board composed of equal numbers of LSE and Deutsche Börse directors.

Discussions between the parties remain ongoing regarding the other terms and conditions of the potential merger.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk