Magic Circle trio Allen & Overy (A&O), Linklaters and Slaughter and May have taken instructions advising on Virgin Group’s £682m sale of an 80% stake in international health club operator Virgin Active to South African-listed private equity group Brait.
10 weeks to respond: Cleary Gottlieb called in to handle EU competition claims against Google
Google’s lawyers at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton have been given 10 weeks to respond to the European Commission’s charges that the search engine abused its dominant position to favour its own price comparison service.
Targeting London: Goodwin Procter hires KWM’s Lever to launch City PE practice
Having set its sights on creating a private equity practice, given how Weil, Gotshal & Manges has made moves on prized client Advent International, Goodwin Procter has hired King & Wood Mallesons’ City corporate co-head Richard Lever.
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Financials 2013/14: Baker & McKenzie’s UK outfit sees profits slump despite turnover rise
Baker & McKenzie UK arm’s LLP accounts for the year ending 30 June 2014, filed at Companies House this week, show operating profits fell some 13% from £48.2m in 2012/13 to £42.1m in 2013/14.
Opening up new markets: Trowers becomes first foreign firm to get licence in Malaysia
Trowers & Hamlins has become the first law firm to secure a Qualified Foreign Law Firm (QFLF) licence in Malaysia as it seeks to capitalise on its Islamic finance offering and target European bound investment.
Simpson Thacher’s Glover: Tied up and tied down – a peculiar way to police the private funds market
The financial crisis ushered a wave of new regulations aimed at mitigating systemic risk to the financial system. While no-one has been able to rationally point a finger at private funds as a cause of the crisis, the industry has nonetheless seen a dramatic rise in the level of regulation and scrutiny. As legal and compliance costs soar, one is hard-pressed to find a private fund manager or – perhaps more importantly – an investor welcoming these changes.
International moves: Dentons takes on White & Case Budapest office with over 30-strong team
Dentons has enhanced its CEE presence in Budapest with the hire of White & Case partners István Réczicza, Rob Irving and Edward Keller who join alongside 30 local partners, associates and other legal professionals.
‘Seizing new market opportunities’: Bakers gets first joint operation licence to practise Chinese law
Long held at arm’s length by protectionist regulators, Baker & McKenzie has become the first international law firm to get permission to practise local law in China in a joint operation with Chinese firm FenXun Partners.
Dealwatch: Skadden, Sullivan & Cromwell and Latham act on Nokia’s €15.6bn Alcatel-Lucent takeover
US firms Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Sullivan & Cromwell have advised on Nokia’s plans to take over Alcatel-Lucent in a transaction that values the French rival at €15.6bn.
Leadership: David Ryan set as Pinsents London head after leaving managing partner role
David Ryan (pictured) is set to take up the role as head of Pinsent Masons‘ London office following the end of his 16-year tenure as the firm’s managing partner.
Guest post: A very brief glance at the Labour Party Manifesto
Here are some of the ‘justice highlights’ in the Labour Party Manifesto for the 2015 General Election. The full manifesto is here and is summarised at Election 2015: Labour Manifesto at-a-glance.
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Targeting London: Grimaldi hires former Clifford Chance chief executive Michael Bray for City ambitions
Italian independent firm Grimaldi has hired the former chief executive of Clifford Chance (CC) and prominent finance lawyer Michael Bray alongside Bonelli Erede Pappalardo’s Riccardo Sallustio in a bid to enhance its City presence.
Global London: Latham & Watkins sees London revenues jump 20%
Latham & Watkins has joined a pool of strong US firm performances in the City in 2014 and recorded a 20% jump in London office revenues to £163m ($267m) from £135m ($211m) in 2013.
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The future is not where it used to be: Ashurst’s Vickers and Burton on a seismic shift in Europe’s leveraged debt markets
For many participants in Europe’s leveraged market, 2014 on first impressions heralded something approaching a new normal.
Placed in the ‘bad bank’: Quinn Emanuel, Akin Gump and Bird & Bird lead on $835m Espirito loan dispute
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and Bird & Bird have been gifted lead instructions in two separate suits by Goldman Sachs and a group of investors on an $835m loan repayment dispute taken against Pinsent Masons’ client Portuguese bank Novo Banco at London’s High Court.
Leadership: Freshfields veterans Braham and Pugh set to go head-to-head in senior partner elections
A contest between the firm’s disputes and corporate partners is set as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s former disputes and corporate heads are expected to be the frontrunners among those campaigning for the senior partner role as the firm kicks off its election process.
Building the team: Paul Hastings hires Ashurst banking partner
Paul Hastings, which is intent on bulking up its English and US law finance practice in the City, has boosted its leveraged finance practice with the hire of Ashurst‘s banking partner Luke McDougall.
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International ambitions: Kennedys enters formal association with Chilean boutique
Insurance specialist Kennedys, which has been boosting its international ties in recent months, has entered into another formal association – this time with Chilean insurance boutique Sateler Depolo Diemoz (SDD).
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Comment: A new model, a new game as US firms secure a decisive victory
‘We’re not a corporate firm, we’re an investors’ firm.’ That simple statement by one partner stood out more than any other during a recent meeting with Ropes & Gray. The point being made was that the firm – and its rapid progress in the City – had not been built on the back of large corporate or investment banking clients – it was focused on a range of sponsors and funds, in particular in private equity and leveraged finance.
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Revolving doors: Specialists and US firms build up in the City
Last week saw specialist and US firms strengthen their presence in the City and Europe as Kingsley Napley strengthened its disputes offering, Lee & Thompson hired a head of sports, Greenberg Traurig Maher brought in a corporate partner to its London office and McDermott Will & Emery hired a team of private equity lawyers in Paris.
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