A&O, Slaughters cash in on House of fraser

Allen & Overy (A&O) and Slaughter and May acted on the £351.4m sale of House of Fraser. The company agreed to be taken over by a consortium led by Baugur, marking the conclusion of a lengthy takeover war. The deal consolidates A&O's relationship with Baugur, which it reclaimed in December 2004 after losing it to Heatons in November 2003. The sale follows the collapse of an earlier bid by private equity house Apax Partners in March 2006, represented by Weil Gotshal & Manges. The A&O team was led by corporate partners Chris Thornes and Alan Paul. Slaughters acted for House of Fraser, led by partner Roland Turnill. DLA Piper advised the lenders Bank of Scotland and Glitnir Banki, led by partner Simon Woolley.