Allen & Overy (A&O) has advised as Japanese beer giant Asahi has made a bid to acquire SABMiller’s well-known European beer brands including Peroni and Grolsch as the European beer giant moves to complete its mega-merger with Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev).
US financials: London launch sees firmwide Cooley revenues rise 14%
Cooley‘s financials for 2015 show revenue has risen 14% to $912m, while profit per equity partner increased by 9% to $1.9m, off the back of the firm’s London office launch in January last year.
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Aussie exodus: Skadden closes sole office in Sydney
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has confirmed it is closing its Sydney office – the US firm’s only base in Australia. The six-staff office will shut down in the first half of this year with all staff understood to be departing from the firm aside from co-head of Skadden Arps corporate finance group Adrian Deitz who will remain based in Sydney and operate as part of the firm’s Singapore and Hong Kong team.
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Private equity play: Mayer Brown makes major move with the hire of Reed Smith’s Europe head Yam
US firm Mayer Brown has hired Reed Smith’s Europe and Middle East head of private equity Perry Yam (pictured) to lead growth in the City private equity market.
Cooley continues City expansion with Mayer Brown finance partner Clark
US firm Cooley continues to recruit major lateral hires into its year-old London office as it has announced today (11 February) the appointment of senior finance partner John Clark (pictured) from Mayer Brown.
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Dundas & Wilson acquisition helps boost CMS turnover by more than 25%, accounts reveal
CMS Cameron McKenna has revealed a 26% rise in group turnover to £259.2m from £206.1m, boosted by the acquisition of Scottish firm Dundas & Wilson in 2014 which posted turnover of £47m.
BPP Law School changes hands in $1.1bn private equity deal
The dean of BPP University Law School Peter Crisp (pictured) says its ‘business as usual’ as the education provider has changed hands in a $1.1bn deal involving three private equity firms. The school is used by more than 50 City law firms to educate their lawyers.
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Cutting back: Ashurst’s highest paid member hit with 11% pay decrease, as other staff costs fall
Ashurst‘s highest paid member pocketed 11% less in the 2014/15 financial year compared to 2013/14, the firm’s LLP accounts show. The member with the highest entitlement to profit took home a little over £1m compared to £1.1m the previous year.
KWM under scrutiny for administrative error in £40m real estate deal for Better Capital
King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has come under scrutiny for an ’embarrassing’ error made on a £40m real estate finance deal carried out on behalf of private equity group, Better Capital, last March.
A job half done for Green QC as UK Serious Fraud Office director signs up until 2018
The director of the UK Serious Fraud Office, David Green QC (pictured) has had his contract extended by two years to maintain his position as the UK’s top financial crime prosecutor until April 2018.
Akin Gump more than doubles City revenue in first full year since Bingham acquisition
Revenue at US firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld rose by 7% to $930m in 2015, with London contributing $91m following the acquisition of Bingham McCutchen’s London office at the end of 2014. The City revenue figure is up more than two and half times what the firm posted the year prior.
‘A valuable contribution’: all change Down Under at CC as founding duo depart firm
Two of the founders of Clifford Chance‘s (CC’s) Australian arm, including the firm’s Sydney managing partner, are stepping down from their roles at the Magic Circle firm.
Dentons UKMEA posts 6% revenue lift as profit jumps 12%
Dentons LLP accounts for the UK, Middle East and Africa have revealed the firm’s revenue increased by 6% for the 2014/15 financial year to £157m from £148m, while overall profit before taxation climbed about 12% to £42.4m from £37.9m.
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Latham & Watkins lures CMA director of mergers to broaden London offering
Latham & Watkins has hired the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s director of mergers Jonathan Parker as it rounds out its London offering.
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LLP latest: NRF accounts show modest profit rise for international business as turnover stalls
In its third year post-merger, Norton Rose Fulbright‘s LLP has revealed flat turnover of £391.7m while overall pre-tax profit rose by 2% to £112m from £109m for the year to 30 April 2015.
London overlooked: Dentons creates one new City partner amid US-heavy promotion round
In a move that goes against its accelerated global expansion this past year, Dentons has promoted just 47 associates to partner in its 2016 round – with a hefty 79% located in the US and Canada – but just two in the UK.
‘Reaped the rewards’: latest accounts underline strong year for expansive Pinsents
Pinsent Masons‘ highest-paid LLP member took home 38% more last year than in 2013/14, as the firm posted double-digit growth across the board.
Comment: Doing something radical – how Dentons sort of won me over
Everywhere I go in legal circles these days, people ask about Dentons. How incredible it would have been even 18 months ago that this child of a second-line Illinois player and the most battered City law brand of the 2000s would attract such interest. Much of that attention is aghast that this dismissed institution has emerged somehow after a remarkable 2015 as the world’s most lawyered firm.
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Revolving doors: team hires galore as Stephenson Harwood, Dentons and Clydes all add to their benches
In a busy week for international hires, several firms have made key team hires around the globe, with Stephenson Harwood, Clyde & Co and Milan all making appointments.
Ashurst to consider non-lawyers for global head position as partner contenders emerge
Candidates to replace Ashurst‘s global managing partner have emerged as Legal Business can reveal the board is using a headhunter to find external non-lawyers to be considered for the role.