A&O, Latham lead on £12bn ScottishPower bid

At least 10 firms, including Allen & Overy (A&O), Latham & Watkins and Linklaters, have scored key roles in Spanish power group Ibedrola’s £12bn offer for ScottishPower.

A&O, CMS Albiñana & Suárez de Lezo, Dickson Minto, Latham, Lovells, Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy and Uria Menendez are all representing Iberdrola’s bid. Linklaters, Garayar Asociados, Shepherd & Wedderburn and Sullivan & Cromwell are advising ScottishPower.

A&O and Latham are lead corporate advisers for Iberdrola, with A&O advising on UK aspects and Latham handling all US, competition and regulatory aspects.

Latham is fielding a three-office team for Iberdrola, with corporate partners Michael Immordino, Juan Manuel de Remedios and Jeff Lawlis in London, competition partner Javier Ruiz Calzado in Brussels and regulatory partner Michael Egge in Washington DC.

A&O London corporate partner Richard Browne and Madrid-based finance partner Inigo Gomez-Jordana are leading the firm's team.

Uria and CMS Albiñana are advising Iberdrola on Spanish aspects, and Dickson Minto on Scottish ones. It is understood that Milbank had early involvement in the deal.

Linklaters’ senior partner David Cheyne is leading corporate advice for ScottishPower, aided by corporate partner Dominic Welham. Sullivan & Cromwell, Garayar and Shepherd & Wedderburn are advising on the US, Spanish and Scottish aspects respectively.

Iberdrola’s offer, which was recommended by ScottishPower’s board today (28 November), will see ScottishPower shareholders receive 400 pence in cash and 0.1646 of a new Iberdrola share for every ScottishPower share. The acquisition will create the third largest European utility by market capitalisation at £43.2bn.

Iberdrola’s CEO Ignacio Galan said in a statement: “The proposed integration of ScottishPower with Iberdrola is fully in line with our respective strategies. It will create Europe's third largest utility; it will create value for both our companies; and it will be very positive for employees and consumers, who will benefit from the competitive advantages of the new group.”

Iberdrola said it would fund the deal with credit worth up to £7.96bn backed by ABN Amro, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland. A Lovells team headed by finance partners Gary Hamp and Joaquin Sales advised the banks.