A&O, Freshfields and Uría act on Qatar Holding's €2.1bn Iberdrola acquisition
Magic circle pair Allen & Overy (A&O) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have been joined by Spanish giant Uría Menéndez to guide Qatar Holding’s purchase of a €2.1bn stake in Iberdrola.
Bruce Embley
Freshfields acted for Qatar Holding on its latest Spanish investment, with corporate partners Sarah Murphy and Bruce Embley leading in London alongside tax partner Jonathan Cooklin. In Madrid, corporate partner Armando Albarran led for Freshfields in a team featuring competition partner Alavaro Iza and tax partner Miguel Loran.
A&O and Uría acted for the Spanish construction giant, with London corporate chief Richard Browne leading for A&O and Madrid M&A partner Javier Tortuero taking the lead for Uría.
The deal will also see Qatar Holding, the direct investment arm of sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), and Iberdrola enter into a strategic partnership that will see the two cooperate on developing new business opportunities, particularly in emerging markets.
Last year, Qatar Holding made a €2.7bn investment in Spanish bank Santander’s Brazilian operation. Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira and White & Case acted for the investor on the November deal (1 November 2010).
