Clyde & Co is advising global metals group Liberty House Group, one of the key UK bidders looking to acquire Tata Steel’s UK assets.
In May, Liberty House confirmed it had formally submitted its bid for Tata Steel’s UK assets, including its biggest UK plant, Port Talbot Steelworks. The company has already successfully acquired Tata Steel’s Scottish plate-making facilities in Lanarkshire. The company is one of two UK firms to have submitted a bid, the other being management buyout group Excalibur Steel.
Clydes team on the deal is being led by corporate finance partner Simon Vere Nicoll and disputes partner Michael Swangard.
Swangard, who also sits on the International Steel Trade Association executive, said it is crucial to have a knowledge of the market when advising on such a bid.
‘We can anticipate what some of the knock-on consequences for legal questions are if you already know what the broader landscape looks like in the steel industry,’ he said.
The firm has also brought in its expertise from its pensions, property and employment teams to aid in Liberty House’s bid.
Long-time adviser Slaughter and May continues to work with Tata Steel on the sale of its assets. Corporate partner Gary Eaborn is leading a team that includes finance partners Ian Johnson and Andrew McClean, corporate partner Padraig Cronin, real estate partner John Nevin, tax partner Gareth Miles and IP partner Cathy Connolly.
Other advisers on the deal include Travers Smith, which is advising the trustees of the British Steel Pensions scheme with a team led by the firm’s head of pensions, Paul Stannard, and finance partner Jeremy Walsh.
Ashurst is advising the government, which in April announced it was prepared to take a possible minority stake in a bid to attract buyers. The firm’s team is being led by partner Philip Vernon, who is advising on M&A aspects, and includes pensions partner Marcus Fink, restructuring partner Giles Boothman and finance partner Derwin Jenkinson.
In April Forsters advised UK investment house Greybull Capital on its bid for Tata Steel’s long products business. The deal covers seven sites making steel used in construction, including Tata Steel’s steelworks in Scunthorpe and two mills in Teesside.
madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk