‘Synergies and cost savings’: Links, Slaughters and Gibson Dunn advise as Sainsbury’s takes over Asda to create supermarket giant

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‘Synergies and cost savings’: Links, Slaughters and Gibson Dunn advise as Sainsbury’s takes over Asda to create supermarket giant

Linklaters, Slaughter and May and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher have won key roles as Sainsbury’s agreed to merge with Asda in a landmark £3bn deal which will create Britain’s biggest supermarket chain.

The deal announced today (30 April) will establish one of the largest employers in the country, worth £51bn in revenue, operating around 2,800 stores and controlling 31% of the market, a larger share than current leader Tesco. Continue reading “‘Synergies and cost savings’: Links, Slaughters and Gibson Dunn advise as Sainsbury’s takes over Asda to create supermarket giant”

High street collapse sees Global 100 players line up on Toys R Us and Maplin failures

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High street collapse sees Global 100 players line up on Toys R Us and Maplin failures

In a worrying trend for high-street retailers, Toys R Us and Maplin have announced their UK domestic businesses are going into administration, allowing Kirkland & Ellis and Eversheds Sutherland to land key insolvency roles.

Kirkland was led by restructuring partners Kon Asimacopoulos and Elaine Nolan, as the firm was called in to advise Moorfield as administrator on Toys R Us, while Eversheds Sutherland was led by David Gray advising PwC on the Maplin collapse. Continue reading “High street collapse sees Global 100 players line up on Toys R Us and Maplin failures”

Freshfields and Davis Polk win key roles as Comcast looks to thwart Murdoch’s Sky bid

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Freshfields and Davis Polk win key roles as Comcast looks to thwart Murdoch’s Sky bid

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Davis Polk & Wardwell have landed pivotal roles as Comcast seeks to disrupt an existing bid from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox to buy out European satellite broadcaster Sky.

The London-based Freshfields team advising Comcast comprises M&A partners Julian Long and Alison Smith, City competition partners John Davies and Michele Davis, and London employment partner Alice Greenwell. Continue reading “Freshfields and Davis Polk win key roles as Comcast looks to thwart Murdoch’s Sky bid”

The generation game – Linklaters makes Italian corporate play with veteran rainmaker Casati

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The generation game – Linklaters makes Italian corporate play with veteran rainmaker Casati

It is well known that Italian law firms owe much of their fortunes to a small group of veteran rainmakers when it comes to M&A work. In a market still dominated by elder statesmen and their decades-long connections with the country’s top corporates, 69-year-old Roberto Casati leaving Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton to join Linklaters is one of the most significant lateral moves in the country for years.

In a bid by the international giant to expand beyond its finance and capital markets focus into mainstream corporate, Linklaters drafted a waiver to its partnership terms to allow Casati to join the firm at the top of its equity ladder, a deal worth around £2m annually. Continue reading “The generation game – Linklaters makes Italian corporate play with veteran rainmaker Casati”

Deal view: Eversheds deal team – so much promise but so much steady

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Deal view: Eversheds deal team – so much promise but so much steady

Newcomers to London quickly learn the rules of the escalator: stand still on the right or keep moving on the left. The risk with changing your mind is you can land flat on your face.

For Eversheds Sutherland, the consensus view is that its corporate team has stood on the right for years, moving along but hardly dashing. And why not? You still get where you are going. Continue reading “Deal view: Eversheds deal team – so much promise but so much steady”

Deal watch: US leaders nail key roles alongside Magic Circle on Amex, Standard Life and Fidessa plays

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City heavyweights Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May have been met by Wall Street rivals Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Davis Polk & Wardwell and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom on a host of deals marking a bumper week for public M&A.

Cleary consolidated long-standing relationships and bolstered its public M&A ambitions, advising Fidessa group on the proposed £1.4bn takeover offer from fellow financial software company Temenos Group, as well as American Express on its joint venture’s £400m takeover of Hogg Robinson. Continue reading “Deal watch: US leaders nail key roles alongside Magic Circle on Amex, Standard Life and Fidessa plays”

Deal Watch: European acquisitions generate big-ticket roles for Latham, Bakers and Bonelli

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Deal Watch: European acquisitions generate big-ticket roles for Latham, Bakers and Bonelli

Latham & Watkins, Baker McKenzie, Clifford Chance (CC) and Allen & Overy (A&O) have lined up alongside a group of top independents in two multi-billion euro deals as Europe’s M&A scene maintains its brisk 2018 form.

Latham advised Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) on the €1.94bn acquisition of Italian railway operator Italo – Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori (Ntv). The deal means the only privately-owned high-speed rail operator in Europe has shifted to American control after shelving plans to float on the Milan stock exchange. The Rome-based group is the country’s second-largest railway operator after state-backed Ferrovie dello Stato. Continue reading “Deal Watch: European acquisitions generate big-ticket roles for Latham, Bakers and Bonelli”

Alphas – the hunt for female deal stars (and why it’s hard to be a City woman)

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Alphas – the hunt for female deal stars (and why it’s hard to be a City woman)

‘You will have to go out and find the women – they won’t come to you,’ warns Travers Smith partner Lucie Cawood when Legal Business began researching this cover feature. That proved an astute prediction.

Searching for senior female talent in the City, amid weeks spent amassing nearly 60 interviews with partners, law firm leaders, corporate heads and recruiters, it becomes clear that it takes more work to get women deal lawyers talking than their male equivalents. A lot more. Continue reading “Alphas – the hunt for female deal stars (and why it’s hard to be a City woman)”

Dealwatch: the Magic Circle players kicking off 2018

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Dealwatch: the Magic Circle players kicking off 2018
  • Clifford Chance (CC) and Linklaters advised as media company Informa entered talks to acquire events organiser UBM. Corporate partners Katherine Moir and Steven Fox led the CC team advising Informa on the deal, which would create a company worth £9bn. Linklaters corporate partners Michael Honan and Iain Fenn acted for UBM.
  • Linklaters also joined Kirkland & Ellis on the restructuring of South African retail holding company Steinhoff International reported to have €2.7bn in convertible bonds and debts of €10.7bn. Restructuring partners Sean Lacey and Kon Asimacopoulos led the Kirkland team advising the convertible bonds alongside Munich restructuring partner Sacha Lürken, while Linklaters’ Richard Bussell advised Steinhoff.

Continue reading “Dealwatch: the Magic Circle players kicking off 2018”

On a roll: Eversheds Sutherland sees December deal flurry carry over

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On a roll: Eversheds Sutherland sees December deal flurry carry over

Eversheds Sutherland corporate head Richard Moulton cannot remember a busier December than in 2017 and believes the January deal market is already gathering pace.

As the transatlantic tie-up marked a year since going live this month, the firm has enjoyed a robust start to 2018. On 4 January, Eversheds advised as British retailer Poundland secured a £180m loan to reduce its reliance on its South African owner Steinhoff International, under investigation following accounting irregularities estimated at £7bn. Continue reading “On a roll: Eversheds Sutherland sees December deal flurry carry over”