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”

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”

Deal watch: DLA Piper and Addleshaws advise on Carillion fire sale as US and UK firms pick up major mandates

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Deal watch: DLA Piper and Addleshaws advise on Carillion fire sale as US and UK firms pick up major mandates

DLA Piper and Addleshaw Goddard have won roles advising on the sale of part of recently-collapsed Carillion’s business while Watson Farley & Williams (WFW), Allen & Overy (A&O), Weil, Gotshal & Manges, Paul Hastings and Kirkland & Ellis all picked up major deals this week.

Addleshaw Goddard advised engineering and construction company J Murphy & Sons on its acquisition of Carillion’s UK power framework business for an undisclosed sum. The deal sees Murphy take Carillion’s position on National Grid’s electricity overhead lines, substation and underground cable framework contracts, supporting replacement and refurbishment schemes on transmission networks across England and Wales. Continue reading “Deal watch: DLA Piper and Addleshaws advise on Carillion fire sale as US and UK firms pick up major mandates”

Mouse grabs a Fox: Global 100 firms take centre stage as Murdoch sells empire to Disney for $52.4bn

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Mouse grabs a Fox: Global 100 firms take centre stage as Murdoch sells empire to Disney for $52.4bn

A raft of transatlantic firms have won roles advising on The Walt Disney Company’s $52.4bn acquisition of 21st Century Fox, including Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Allen & Overy and Hogan Lovells.

The deal includes the Twentieth Century Fox Film and Television studios, as well as the company’s cable and international TV businesses, in addition to its 39% stake in satellite broadcaster Sky. Disney will also add 21st Century Fox’s entertainment properties such as X-Men, Avatar and The Simpsons to its portfolio. Continue reading “Mouse grabs a Fox: Global 100 firms take centre stage as Murdoch sells empire to Disney for $52.4bn”

Deal watch: US giants line up on European rail mega-merger and largest-ever Asia PE deal

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Deal watch: US giants line up on European rail mega-merger and largest-ever Asia PE deal

After the Magic Circle, this week it was time for the US players to kick off the autumn deal season, as Global 100 firms acted on two headline-grabbing deals in Europe and Asia.

Latham & Watkins and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton advised on the €15bn (£13.1bn) Franco-German merger between Siemens’ and Alstom’s railway operations, while Ropes & Gray and Morrison & Foerster led on the $18bn (£13.4bn) sale of Toshiba’s chip business, reportedly the largest-ever private equity deal in Asia. From the Magic Circle, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer had roles in both deals. Continue reading “Deal watch: US giants line up on European rail mega-merger and largest-ever Asia PE deal”

Deal watch: Magic Circle firms in busy start to autumn as Freshfields and CC take leading roles in global buyouts

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Global 100 firms have taken the lead on a trio of multibillion-dollar deals announced this week as the autumn deal season kicks off in earnest.

London’s big four international firms have featured large opposite Wall street rivals, with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer acting on Hellman & Friedman’s $5.3bn acquisition of Nets and Clifford Chance (CC) on Unilever’s $2.7bn buyout of Carver Korea. Continue reading “Deal watch: Magic Circle firms in busy start to autumn as Freshfields and CC take leading roles in global buyouts”

Deal watch: Corporate activity in May 2017

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Deal watch: Corporate activity in May 2017

MAGIC CIRCLE ADVISE ON VODAFONE’S INDIA MERGER

Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy (A&O) and local advisers S&R Associates, Vaish Associates Advocates and Bharucha & Partners all gained mandates as Vodafone struck a deal to acquire Indian rival Idea Cellular. The merger will create India’s largest communications business by revenue, valued at more than $23bn. Slaughters and S&R represented Vodafone and Vodafone India, while A&O, Vaish and Bharucha advised Idea.

Continue reading “Deal watch: Corporate activity in May 2017”

Slaughters dials in on latest Vodafone deal as telco moves to create India’s largest communications operator

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Slaughters dials in on latest Vodafone deal as telco moves to create India’s largest communications operator

Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy (A&O), S&R Associates, Vaish Associates Advocates and Bharucha & Partners all gained mandates as the Vodafone Group is to acquire rival Idea Cellular in a bid to create India’s largest communications business by revenue. Continue reading “Slaughters dials in on latest Vodafone deal as telco moves to create India’s largest communications operator”

Kirkland and Cravath pick up Misys mandate for C$4.8bn Canadian merger

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Kirkland and Cravath pick up Misys mandate for C$4.8bn Canadian merger

Having backed out of its proposed London float late last year, UK headquartered software company Misys has merged with Canadian fintech DH Corp through its private equity backers with Kirkland & Ellis and Cravath, Swaine & Moore winning lead roles on the deal. Continue reading “Kirkland and Cravath pick up Misys mandate for C$4.8bn Canadian merger”