Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has led on the latest major European mandate for Blackstone, advising the New York Stock Exchange-listed private equity group on its acquisition of a €1.8bn portfolio of cross-border loans and swaps from the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) in Ireland. Continue reading “Deal Watch: Freshfields advises Blackstone on €1.8bn NAMA loan; CC and A&O close €2.8bn offshore wind financing”
Deal watch: Nabarro and Addleshaws take the lead on £800m Hermes/Co-Op regeneration joint venture
While major real estate deals are hard to come by, the usual suspects continue to take the lion’s share of the work as LB100 firms Nabarro and Addleshaw Goddard have advised on a £800m real estate deal between Hermes Real Estate and The Co-Operative Group to become equal partners on the regeneration of buildings and land in central Manchester.
Deal watch: Global elite giants face off in Lafarge/Holcim and Vivendi/Altice European transactions
A handful of Global 100 firms scored key roles on two signifcant European deals this week, as Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Linklaters, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised on the recently announced €40bn merger between France’s Lafarge and Switzerland’s Holcim. Continue reading “Deal watch: Global elite giants face off in Lafarge/Holcim and Vivendi/Altice European transactions”
Deal Watch: Slaughters advises on £3.6bn ICI pension annuity buy-in and £390m Ignis buyout; Travers leads on $3.1bn Nets sale
Standout corporate mandates over the past few days have included a high profile run by Slaughter and May on deals including a £3.6bn bulk annuity buy-in over the ICI Pension Fund and Standard Life’s £390m acquisition of Ignis Asset Management, as Travers Smith and Kirkland & Ellis led on the $3.1bn acquisition of Nordic card-payment business Nets Holding. Continue reading “Deal Watch: Slaughters advises on £3.6bn ICI pension annuity buy-in and £390m Ignis buyout; Travers leads on $3.1bn Nets sale”
UK elite firms defy the transactional gloom of 2013
New Year surge in high-value deals after subdued year
While deal activity was down again in 2013, last year’s growth in confidence in the corporate sector, together with fundraising activity among a number of large private equity houses, has seen some of the UK’s elite firms advise on high-value deals announced in January, including Amec’s $3.2bn acquisition of Swiss rival Foster Wheeler.
The Linklaters team advising Amec was led by corporate finance partner Shane Griffin, alongside fellow corporate partner Aedamar Comiskey. Scott Sonnenblick and Tom Shropshire are advising on US law aspects of the deal from New York and London respectively, while John Tucker and Simon Pritchard are leading on finance and antitrust issues.
Continue reading “UK elite firms defy the transactional gloom of 2013”
Deal watch – Norton Rose Fulbright and Freshfields lead on BMO’s $1.2bn takeover of F&C
Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) is advising one of its oldest clients, Edinburgh-based UK and European asset manager F&C Asset Management on its $1.2bn acquisition by Bank of Montreal (BMO Financial Group) led by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
The NRF team is being led by London corporate partners Chris Randall and Paul Whitelock, with BMO’s former senior vice president, deputy general counsel and chief compliance officer John Jason, who joined the top 10 LB100 firm’s Toronto office as of counsel earlier this month, also involved on the deal. Continue reading “Deal watch – Norton Rose Fulbright and Freshfields lead on BMO’s $1.2bn takeover of F&C”
Deal Watch: CC, Freshfields and A&O act on Liberty Global’s €6.9bn acquisition as Dentons and LG float Hurricane
Three Magic Circle firms have scored lead advisory roles on Liberty Global’s €6.9bn acquisition of Netherlands’ largest cable operator Ziggo, with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Clifford Chance (CC) and Allen & Overy (A&O) all acting on the deal.
A&O’s Amsterdam-based corporate partner Annelies van der Pauw led for Liberty Global and competition partner Paul Glazener worked on the antitrust aspects, as the joint entity will have around 90% of the regulated Dutch fixed line cable market, while CC’s finance partner Mark Huddlestone headed up the team to advising the lenders. Continue reading “Deal Watch: CC, Freshfields and A&O act on Liberty Global’s €6.9bn acquisition as Dentons and LG float Hurricane”
Deal watch: Taylor Wessing and Freshfields advise on HSBC Jordan bank deal
HSBC’s steps to streamline its business by disposing of non-core global assets has gifted Taylor Wessing and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer with a significant Middle East mandate, as Arab Jordan Investment Bank (AJIB) acquires the international retail bank’s local assets.
Taylor Wessing’s City-based corporate partner Ronald Graham advised AJIB on the deal, which constitutes one of the biggest banking agreements that Jordan has ever seen, with support from local firm Dajani & Associates. Continue reading “Deal watch: Taylor Wessing and Freshfields advise on HSBC Jordan bank deal”
Deal watch: Dentons advises Total on UK shale gas interest
As the unconventional method of extracting shale gas increasingly becomes a phenomenon in the UK, Dentons has taken the lead on advising French oil and gas corporation Total on its 40% interest in two shale gas exploration licences in the UK- the first major oil company to invest in UK shale.
The energy giant confirmed it would invest $48.1m (£29.3m) in the search for shale gas in the Gainsborough Trough area in the East Midlands region covering an area of 240 sq km.
The Dentons team was led by energy partner Danielle Beggs and environment partner Sam Boileau, alongside its energy and planning team including senior associates John Stockdale and Roy Pinnock.
Continue reading “Deal watch: Dentons advises Total on UK shale gas interest”
Dealwatch: HSF, Clifford Chance and Slaughters take the spotlight in Cineworld expansion
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has landed a role advising Barclays, JP Morgan and Investec on Cineworld Group‘s £107m rights issue and £504m acquisition of Warsaw-listed Cinema City International, a deal announced yesterday (09 January) that would create a cinema chain with almost 2,000 screens across Europe and Israel. Corporate partners Mike Flockhart and Chris Haynes are leading the team, with US securities advice from Steve Thierbach.
Slaughter and May is advising Cineworld, with corporate partners Mark Zerdin and David Johnson taking the lead. Continue reading “Dealwatch: HSF, Clifford Chance and Slaughters take the spotlight in Cineworld expansion”