Legal Business

Revolving doors: Linklaters boosts Asia restructuring practice while SJ Berwin makes key disputes hire

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Strategic recruitment King & Wood MallesonsLinklaters
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In the second recruit to its Hong Kong office in the last couple of weeks, Linklaters has hired former Allen & Overy (A&O) partner David Kidd to lead its restructuring & insolvency (R&I) practice as the Magic Circle firm strengthens its finance and litigation teams in the region.

Kidd, who has operated under his own banner for around a year since leaving A&O in 2012, will make the move to Linklaters next month, joining former Herbert Smith Freehills Asia disputes head Gavin Lewis, whose appointment as partner to Linklaters litigation team was announced in August.

Kidd joins the firm in direct response to client demand for additional expertise in the region, according to Linklaters’ global restructuring and insolvency head Tony Bugg. Kidd will join insolvency litigator Melvin Sng, who is currently the only restructuring partner in the firm’s 160-lawyer Hong Kong office.

Bugg said: ‘Up until now we’ve done restructuring work mainly out of our litigation practice and some out of the banking practice but the insolvency practice up until now has been just Melvin. We’ve done some restructuring work but we’ve not had a dedicated partner.

‘As the leading restructuring team in Europe, we work with the advisory community in the accountancy firms and deal with all the major institutions in Asia. We’ve been talking to a number of these clients for some time and they have recognised we had a gap in our offering. David’s objective will be to look after our finance and distressed investor clients as well as the financial advisory community for anything that’s up and coming in the market.’

As head of A&O’s R&I practice – a market leader in the region according to the Legal 500 – Kidd recently advised separate creditors’ committees on restructuring the $15bn debt of Dubai World, $10.5bn debt of Nakheel, and $3bn debt of Drydocks World, which collectively represent the world’s largest restructuring of government-related entities.

Kidd has practised in Asia since 1998 having moved to Hong Kong with Cameron McKenna before joining A&O in 2001.

Meanwhile, closer to home, SJ Berwin has boosted its London disputes practice with Dentons international arbitration partner Paul Stothard, who led legacy SNR Dentons’ dispute resolution practice in the Middle East between 2008 and 2012.

This new comes just a few weeks after arbitration partner and former Salans UK international arbitration head George Burn left Dentons for US firm Vinson & Elkins.

Also in the City, longstanding head of Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP)’s commercial and technology group, Adam Rose, is to join Mishcon de Reya after 23 years at the firm.

Rose, who spent 12 of those years as head of the information law unit, leaves BLP after a tough few months at the firm, which has seen numerous partner exits followed by disappointing financials, with revenue dropping 5% to £233m and profit per lawyer expected to be down 6% to £56,000 at the end of the 2012/13 financial year, although the firm has remained tight-lipped on profitability.

Rose, who joined BLP in 1990 before becoming partner in 1997, was also head of vice-chair of Lex Anglo-Brasil, being actively involved with Latin American chambers of commerce in the UK. His is the latest in a string of high-profile exits from the firm, most notably head of private equity Raymond McKeeve.

Elsewhere, as one partner joins Linklaters, another leaves, this time in Portugal where former Lisbon managing partner Jorge Bleck was appointed as head of M&A and corporate finance at Portuguese firm Vieira de Almeida & Associados.

Bleck, who helped to launch Linklaters’ Lisbon office in 2002, where he was also member of its European management committee before being elected to Linklaters highest management body – its international board – has played a key role in a number of key deals, including, recently privatisations undertaken under the terms of Portugal’s 2011 €78bn bailout.

Elsewhere, DAC Beachcroft welcomes new corporate partner James Reed from Baker & McKenzie, where he was a London partner and one of the three founding partners at the firm’s Abu Dhabi office, while Irish firm McCann FitzGerald has made a rare lateral hire from a ‘Big Five’ rival, boosting its corporate offering with former Arthur Cox corporate and M&A partner Conor O’Dwyer, who will join McCanns’ all-equity partnership later this year.

francesca.fanshawe@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Takeover potential – Linklaters & Simmons lead on Amec’s £700m bid for Kentz

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Corporate LinklatersSimmons & Simmons
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Linklaters and
Simmons & Simmons‘ longstanding corporate relationships with Amec and Kentz have gifted them with a potentially lucrative takeover bid instruction as Kentz this week announced it had rejected a £700m offer from its larger engineering rival.

Linklaters corporate partners Shane Griffin and Aedamar Comiskey are leading the team for Amec, which it has advised on corporate matters for well over a decade. Simmons corporate partner Edward Baker is advising Kentz on the offer, which the FTSE 250 engineering company said it had rejected, together with an earlier offer in July from Germany’s M+W Group, on the basis that it undervalued the company.

Simmons previously advised Tipperary-based engineering contractor Kentz, which helps companies to develop oilfields, gasfields and mines, on its 2008 AIM listing and its move to the main market in 2011, on which Baker also led. Ogiers led by corporate partner Tim Morgan and William Fry is understood to have a secondary role on this latest deal.

While July and August typically represent a lull in corporate work, the bid by AMEC is the latest of a series of high profile bids for UK engineering companies during the summer months.

Earlier this month, British industrial manufacturer Edwards Group was bought out by Swedish engineering company Atlas Copco for $1.6m, with the London office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Davis Polk & Wardwell notably taking leading roles for Edwards. Last month, meanwhile, saw the £3.3bn takeover bid by France’s Schneider Electric for UK engineering firm Invensys. Magic Circle firms Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer are advising the respective companies on the deal.

Amec has until 16 September to make a formal bid for Kentz, said in the financial press to be holding out for a better offer.

Speaking earlier to Legal Business, Simmons international head of corporate, Mark Curtis, said that the end of July and August have seen more deals as the market gears up for autumn.

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Revolving Doors: Linklaters hires former Herbert Smith Asia head as Clayton Utz and Norton Rose make key hires

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Strategic recruitment Clayton UtzHerbert Smith FreehillsLinklatersNorton Rose Fulbright
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Herbert Smith Freehills recent internal confidence that its run of post-merger exits had come to an end has been dashed after Friday (16 August) saw former Asia disputes head Gavin Lewis leave to join Linklaters.

A ‘solid and experienced litigator’, Lewis is ‘among the best in Hong Kong’ according to The Legal 500 and his departure is a blow to the firm in the wake of the exodus of other high profile litigators such as Ted Greeno to Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan earlier this year and Kevin Lloyd to Debevoise & Plimpton last year.

Lewis joined Herbert Smith in 1996 and after spending two years as managing director at UBS in Hong Kong, returned to the firm in 2008, becoming head of the firm’s first-tier Asia disputes practice in 2011.

His departure follows that of Hong Kong colleague and financial services regulatory partner Tim Mak, who left for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in April this year. Meanwhile, Lewis is Linklaters’ third raid on Herbert Smith in less than a year, after contentious financial regulation partners Martyn Hopper and Nikunj Kiri joined in September and January respectively.

A spokesman for Herbert Smith said: ‘We’re grateful for Gavin’s contribution and wish him all the best for the future.’

The fallout of largely legacy Herbert Smith partners have been attributed to a number of factors, all related to its merger with Australia’s Freehills, including the resistance of many of Herbert Smith’s more conservative partners to operating as a global merit driven business.

Elsewhere, the ink had only just dried on SJ Berwin’s market changing tie-up with Asia-Pacific firm King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) when Clayton Utz last week announced the hire of KWM Australia real estate partner Andrew Norman.

Norman had been with legacy Mallesons for 22 years and has been involved in projects including the leasing and development of National Australia Bank’s Commercial office headquarters in Docklands, Melbourne, and the sale of GE Real Estate’s Australian property portfolio to Mirvac, valued at over Aus$1.4bn.

Clayton Utz, one of the big six Australian firms which has made clear its strategy to remain independent, is looking to boost its property practice as the country suffers from a dip in transactional activity.

A spokesperson for the firm told Legal Business: ‘It’s a strategic lateral hire in an area where we’re anticipating strong future growth.’

Meanwhile, Norton Rose Fulbright has boosted its dispute resolution practice with the hire of Elisabeth Bremner from DLA Piper in London.

Bremner’s broad ranging practice includes investigating allegations of insider dealing, market abuse and trader mis-marking in the investment banking and hedge fund sectors.

‘Our litigation team continues to grow with the appointment of Elisabeth and recent hires including Kirsty Hick. In addition, through our recent combination we have expanded our global offering to include over 1000 dispute resolution lawyers,’ said Deirdre Walker, head of dispute resolution and litigation for Europe, Middle East and Asia.

Legal Business

Into the Breach: Investigations work on the rise as Linklaters takes on G4S tagging role

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Big ticket M&A may be in short supply but both defensive and regulator-instigated investigations into corporate behaviour is burgeoning, as Linklaters becomes the latest leading law firm to secure a high profile mandate, advising G4S on its recent tagging scandal.

The Magic Circle firm led by corporate partner Richard Godden and litigator Tom Lidstrom has been called in to advise the private security company, which recently returned to the public eye after the justice secretary Chris Grayling called for it and rival security firm Serco to be investigated for overcharging for the electronic tagging of offenders.

Chris Grayling has asked the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to consider investigating after telling MPs that the security outfits have been overcharging by millions of pounds for tracking the movements of offenders who have moved abroad, had their tags removed, or even died.

It is understood that Godden and Lidstrom have been assisting G4S for a few months and it was Godden who advised the beleaguered company when it was unable to comply with its obligations to provide the contracted level of security personnel for the London 2012 Olympics, leading to a national outcry and the resignation of G4S chief Nick Buckles.

A powerful combination of the criminalisation of corporate law and the continuing depressed economy means investigations continue to rise – a boon for litigation departments – as politicians and regulators demonstrate their willingness and speed to act against corporate crime, and corporates conduct their own investigations in order to get their houses in order and minimise negative publicity.

Firms including Allen & Overy, White & Case and Gibson Dunn have secured high profile mandates in relation to investigations on Libor rigging alone.

Antony Dutton, a litigation partner at Dechert and former partner at legacy Norton Rose, said: ‘Contentious practitioners are seeing a considerable increase in the volume of regulatory investigations being undertaken in the wake of the global financial crisis, with Libor being the most high profile. There are also more SFO probes.

‘This is now a very substantial area of work. The reality is that there is far more of an appetite amongst the regulatory community for investigations. This had led clients to be more proactive and to get their house in order in advance with associated opportunities to conduct audits.’

A statement from the SFO said: ‘The SFO is aware of [the G4S] matter and awaits the referral from the Ministry of Justice.’

Grayling has stated he has no evidence of dishonesty at this stage and both companies have promised to repay any money found to be due.

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Freshfields and Linklaters take the lead on Schneider Electric’s £3.3bn Invensys bid

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Corporate Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerLinklaters
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Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have landed the leading roles on a takeover bid by France’s Schneider Electric for UK engineering firm Invensys in an offer that values the company at £3.3bn.

Linklaters led by London corporate partner Nick Rees is lead adviser to the French power equipment company, while Freshfields led by corporate head Barry O’Brien and City M&A co-head Ben Spiers is advising longstanding client Invensys. The deal comes just under a year after O’Brien and Spiers led on the company’s £1.74bn sale of its rail division to Siemens.

Linklaters has acted for Schneider on a number of deals including its 2010 acquisition of Areva T&D, led by Paris corporate partner Marc Loy.

Invensys today confirmed that it has received a takeover offer after rumours first emerged earlier this week, and the Invensys board has advised that it is likely to accept Schneider’s offer of 505p per share, valuing the company at £3.3bn.

In it’s own statement today, Schneider confirmed it is in the early stages of talks regarding an offer, but said it was not making an announcement of a firm intention to make an offer under rule 2.7 of the Takeover Code and there can be no certainty that an offer will be made. Schneider, which is now required to make a formal offer by 8 August, said a deal would hep it develop its robotics business.

Invensys provides software, systems and controls to a wide range of clients from oil refineries to appliance manufacturers in order to help monitor, control and automate products and processes. Schneider specialises in medium and low-voltage electrical power equipment.

Earlier this year, Severn Trent Water received a takeover offer from a Canadian, Kuwaiti and UK consortium, reportedly valuing the target at £5bn, an offer rejected by the Severn Trent board.

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) led by City corporate partners Stephen Wilkinson and Robert Moore advised longstanding client Severn Trent, while Allen & Overy led by corporate partner Richard Evans advised the consortium, made up of Borealis Infrastructure Management, the Kuwait Investment Office and Universities Superannuation Scheme.

 

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

  

 

 

 

     

 

 

Legal Business

Another senior departure for Shearman’s Euro practice as Links rebuilds French securities team with high profile hire

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Europe LinklatersShearman & Sterling
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The revolving door at Shearman & Sterling’s European practice was spinning once again today (11 July) with news that capital markets partner Bertrand Sénéchal has quit the US law firm to join the Paris arm of Linklaters.

Sénéchal’s practice covers a broad range of debt and equity securities work. The high profile partner has handled the French and US aspects of several large high-yield and Yankee bond transactions, and has advised major companies like Danone and Schneider Electric, as well as prominent underwriters.

‘Bertrand Sénéchal is one of the best French lawyers in capital markets. He is a natural fit with our five capital markets partners and is a superb addition to the team. We are very pleased about his arrival, which is an important step in our development plans for the practice,’ said Paul Lignières, managing partner of Linklaters in Paris.

The departure of Sénéchal, who has been a partner at Shearman’s Paris arm since 2005, comes amid a period of upheaval for the 840-lawyer firm’s European network. Notably Shearman earlier this year announced a major restructuring of its German practice, leading to the closure of offices in Dusseldorf and Munich. Latham & Watkins in May subsequently recruited three corporate partners in Germany – Harald Selzner, Rainer Wilke and Martin Neuhaus – while Allen & Overy in April recruited corporate partner Hans Diekmann.

Shearman’s French practice also in January saw the departure of arbitration partner Philippe Pinsolle to launch a Paris arm for US disputes leader Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.

While Shearman asserts that the German restructuring is a positive move, the firm is generally regarded to have lost considerable ground since the early 2000s, when it was viewed by many as the top US adviser in Europe.

Linklaters, meanwhile, has been moving to restock its French securities practice after in February losing a major chunk of its Paris capital markets team to White & Case amid disagreements over strategy. The departing team comprised partners Cenzi Gargaro, Philippe Herbelin and Séverin Robillard along with a consultant and senior associate with all five joining White & Case as partners.

Sénéchal commented in a statement: ‘Linklaters provides an ideal platform to further develop my business activity. The truly globally-minded environment and the teamwork are decisive advantages to me and I am very pleased to join this French and international team.’

David.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

India calling: Freshfields and Linklaters make key India hires as Amarchand opens up its partnership

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Strategic recruitment Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & CoFreshfields Bruckhaus DeringerLinklaters
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The periodic excitement over the liberalisation of the Indian legal market may currently be reduced to background chatter but the past fews days have been a reminder that the top UK firms continue to position themselves for India work while leading local firms are themselves bulking up and adopting far more expansive strategies.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has appointed Linklaters’ Arun Balasubramanian to co-head the firm’s India group out of Singapore, working alongside Pratap Amin, chairman of Freshfields’ India group.

Balasubramanian was a partner in Linklaters Singapore office and brings with him India capital market expertise and US law practice in Southeast Asia. He has worked on two of the largest IPOs in Indian history: DLF Limited (US$2.2bn) and Cairn India Limited (US$1.9bn).

Freshfields senior partner Will Lawes said: ‘Arun’s market knowledge and experience will make him an invaluable member of our India team and will greatly enhance the already considerable level of experience within Freshfields for Indian work. We also expect Arun to contribute to the development of our fast growing Southeast Asia practice.’

Rob Ashworth, Freshfields’ regional managing partner for Asia added: ‘We have a strong and growing Asian practice. The Indian and Southeast Asian markets are increasingly important to the firm’s clients and Arun’s experience will enhance our ability to assist them.’

However, Linklaters has already gone some way to offsetting its loss with the hire of Narayan Iyer, a partner in one of India’s leading law firms and Linklaters Indian ‘best friend’ Talwar Thakore & Associates (TT&A) in Mumbai, who will be re-joining Linklaters in August this year.

Iyer first joined Linklaters as a trainee in 1996 and was elected to become partner in 2007. He joined the TT&A partnership in late 2009, where he spent the last three and a half years developing the firm’s finance practice.

In his new role, Iyer will be based in London and work alongside head of Linklaters India practice Sandeep Katwala and corporate partner Savi Hebbur to support client investment into India and advise on the global expansions of India corporates and financial institutions.

Katwala said: ‘We need to respond appropriately to the evolving needs of our India related clients. Narayan’s return will further strengthen our London-based India facing capability and complement the India expertise we have in Asia. Our best friends arrangement between Linklaters and TT&A will continue to thrive and Narayan will play a key part in strengthening this relationship.’

Separately, Citibank’s India general counsel Sandip Beri has left the corporate world to re-join private practice with leading full service law firm Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co. (Amarchand Mangaldas). Beri joins the firm’s New Delhi office following his most recent role at Citibank for the South Asia regions, where he specialised in corporate and securities, M&A, banking and structured finance, private Equity, government relations and regulatory compliance.

Amarchand has further boosted its general corporate practice with the hire of partner Yashojit Mitram, who joins the Mumbai office from Economic Law Practice where he was recommended by Legal 500 for investment funds work.

Both lateral hires follow the firm’s recent round of 13 internal partner promotions, in which, significantly, the majority were not family members.

Seven associates have been made up in New Delhi, five in Mumbai and one in Bangalore. The promotions came into effect on 1 April this year and were split across the firm’s corporate, banking and finance, projects, capital markets and disputes practices.

The firm has grown from having 69 partners to an 84-partner team across seven domestic offices. From the new additions, only five are family members, countering the long-held perception that most partnerships in Indian firms are of the same blood line.

Amarchand Mangaldas managing partner Cyril Shroff said: ‘Inevitably, there will be perception that this is family-controlled, but this is not the case, it is family-led rather. Family remains a position of influence but it is as much as a meritocracy as any other.

‘You can be a young graduate with no relations and have as much chance to make it to the top like anyone. We have a standard and family members have to go through these same hoops.’

The firm has been working on revamping its image for some time now and by 2017 aims to reduce its family stake within the partnership to 40%.

Additionally, the progressive firm has one of the highest numbers of female partners worldwide. Over 60% of its partners are women – well above UK and Wall Street firms.

The firm plans eventually to open offices internationally, with Singapore, London and New York being considered, however Shroff said: ‘Until we have completely covered the Indian space, it would be a distraction to open anywhere. We have to get our head around what it takes to run an international operation. Once we have mastered what we do in India, we can tap into a slightly different skillset to tackle it globally.’

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Reporting season floodgates open as four major City firms reveal 2012/13 revenues

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Financial results 2012/13 AshurstFreshfields Bruckhaus DeringerLinklaters
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Reporting season has opened in earnest in the City as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer today (5 July) reveals it has bucked the trend towards flat revenue growth among its Magic Circle rivals while Linklaters, Ashurst and Norton Rose Fulbright disclose a varying set of 2012/13 numbers.

In a year that has already seen a number of managing partners blame challenging market conditions for flat revenue streams, Freshfields reported a 7.2% revenue increase from £1.139bn to £1.22bn, while its profit per equity partner (PEP) rose by 7.6% to £1.398m.

Global managing partner Ted Burke said: ‘Over the past six years we have worked hard at making our offering across our practices, sectors and geographies as nimble and flexible as possible to ensure we can adapt to changing client demand. We feel that we are now very well-placed to provide the transactional, regulatory, contentious and risk management help our clients need, wherever in the world they want it. These strong results demonstrate how this approach is working’.

Headline deals for the 2332-lawyer firm have included its role advising the government on the long-running IPO of Royal Mail, and advising Betfair on CVC Capital Partners’ £910m takeover bid. For Q1 of 2013, Freshfields was ranked by mergermarket in third place for global M&A behind US firms Davis Polk & Wardwell and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and second for global buyouts behind Kirkland & Ellis.

In contrast, Magic Circle rival Linklaters‘ turnover dropped by 1% to £1.195bn, although its PEP saw the second-largest increase among the Magic Circle, up 6% to £1.260m. Linklaters global managing partner Simon Davies said: ‘I’m cautiously optimistic. Our longer term growth will continue at a lower pace. There’s plenty of cash in the market, although not much optimism on where to deploy it. We’re very comfortable with our model. There’s not a market that we should be in and are not.’

Flat revenues amid challenging conditions are also a feature of Ashurst’s past year, which in line with many City firms reported a slow start to the year and a strong final quarter. The top 20 firm saw its turnover increase only marginally from £322m in 2012 to £323m (0.3%) over the past financial year. PEP is down by 8.6% from £744,000 to £680,000. The partner profit range has also dropped to £375,000 to £975,000 (down from £405,000 to £1,052,000 in 2012) and the firm’s net profit was down from £112m to £105m.

Ashurst managing partner James Collis said: ‘Market conditions remain challenging and this has inevitably impacted activity levels…The year was characterised by a difficult first half, a better second half and a strong last quarter.

‘In the last year, our non-UK revenue accounted for 41% of the total. We have seen a notable improvement in performance in the last year in Asia, Middle East and the US. In the UK, activity in energy, transport and infrastructure and finance has been particularly robust. That said, market conditions in Continental Europe have continued to be challenging and the weakening in the Euro has had a marked impact.’

Elsewhere, Norton Rose Fulbright disclosed a 1% increase in revenue to $1.334bn. That figure does not include Fulbright Jaworski’s revenues after the firms’ merger went live on 3 June. In Sterling terms that figure is £845.3m (converting at average exchange rates during the year), up 3% from £822.3m last year. However, the firm has declared an overall increase of 4% owing to depreciation against Sterling of the SA Rand.

Global chief executive Peter Martyr said: ‘We are happy with a 4% growth across the world, particularly given the economic climate and the huge strategic steps we have made.’

Yesterday, Allen & Overy reported a 0.6% increase in revenues for its year to April 2013, with income hitting £1.19bn and flat profit per equity partner of £1.1m.

Outside of the Magic Circle, many of the top 50 UK firms have revealed spikes in turnover off the back of recent mergers and international expansion. Top-20 firm Pinsent Masons posted a 40% increase in revenue from £221m to £309m following its merger with McGrigors last June. The firms, which would have had a combined turnover last year of around £294m, have in real terms seen a growth in revenue of 5%.

Clyde & Co, meanwhile, saw a hike in turnover of 17% as it continues to see the effects of its 2011 merger with Barlow Lyde & Gilbert. The insurance-focused firm’s revenues are up to £336.6m from £287m last financial year, having shot up by 38% the year before in the more immediate aftermath of its merger with Barlows. PEP is also up 4% this year from £558,000 to £580,000.

However, it has also been a good year for boutique and specialist firms, including litigation outfit Stewarts Law, which on 3 July announced an increase in turnover of 29.5% to £45.2m for 2012/13 and average profits per equity partner of £1.1m.

Macfarlanes, on the other hand, stands out for being one of the few firms to have announced significant increases in turnover and profit without having expanded from its single site office or made changes to its predominantly transactional practice.

The high-performing City firm posted a 12% increase in revenues for 2012/2013 from £102.2m to £114.16m. The firm, which recorded an 8% rise in revenues in 2011/2012, continues to be one of the most profitable firms in the City, with net income up 16% from £42.44m to £49.25m, equating to a PEP of £985,000 – an increase of 9% on 2011/2012. Profit per lawyer at the firm stands at £158,000 – a rise of 7%.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Back at the gate: US invaders raise fresh questions over private equity status of CC and Linklaters

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David Stevenson surveys a fast-changing buyout landscape to find US ‘barbarians’ once again pressing in on City leaders

Unfortunately for top City firms looking to defend their position in private equity, it takes more than a five-year freeze in credit markets and a sustained downturn in leveraged buyouts to stop foreign rivals trying to move in on their patch.

Such a dynamic has once again thrown scrutiny on Linklaters’ now decade-long effort to carve a credible position in the private equity market and the position of Clifford Chance (CC), by contrast traditionally established as the market leader in Europe’s buyout scene.

In the former case, the debate continues among peers (and some internally at Silk Street) over the extent to which Linklaters has forged a practice worthy of its much-vaunted general corporate team. In CC’s case, a purple patch in public M&A last year arguably did not extend to private equity, while the firm has had to contend with the resignation in April of global head of private equity David Walker for Latham & Watkins.

Legal Business

Corporate: Alibaba and Kabel Deutschland deals land roles for Freshfields, Linklaters and Hengeler Mueller

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Corporate Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerHengeler MuellerLinklaters
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Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters have landed two major corporate mandates advising Alibaba on what Reuters describes as ‘the most anticipated IPO since Facebook’ and Vodafone on its €7.7bn (£6.6bn) acquisition of Germany’s largest cable TV operator respectively.

Amidst much market speculation over roles and particularly the levels of fees that will be commanded, Freshfields is understood to be advising the China e-commerce giant on an IPO reportedly valued at as much as $100bn (64bn), with Hong Kong equity capital markets partner and Greater China head Teresa Ko understood to be leading the team.The Magic Circle firm recently advised Alibaba, which under the helm of former CEO Jack Ma (pictured) transformed into one of the world’s largest e-commerce businesses with 24,000 employees, on its $8bn debt refinancing and buyback of half of Yahoo!’s 40% stake in the company in May last year.

Linklaters, meanwhile, is advising long-term client Vodafone, one of the world’s largest mobile communications companies with a market capitalisation of £85.3bn, on its first foray into consumer broadband and television with the acquisition of Kabel Deutschland, offering Kabel shareholders €87 per share in cash, as announced yesterday (24 June).

Düsseldorf partner Klaus Hoenig and Frankfurt partner Stephan Oppenhoff are leading the team at Linklaters, which last year advised the phone company on its $1.7bn purchase of London-based Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW), which provides businesses with voice, date and intellectual property communications.

The deal also represents a significant win for German law firm Hengeler Mueller, which is advising Kabel Deutschland, fielding a multi-jurisdictional team led by corporate partners Maximilian Schiessl and Achim Herfs together with regulatory partner Wolfgang Spoerr and antitrust partner Christoph Stadler.

Hengeler Mueller also advised the cable TV company last July on its €618m agreement to acquire Tele Columbus, which was vetoed this year by Germany’s antitrust regulator.

Francesca.Fanshawe@legalease.co.uk