Collins & Aikman assets sale sees Euro firms gear up for work

With the European assets of car parts manufacturer Collins & Aikman up for sale at a price said to be around $1bn (£560m), the City's corporate lawyers are no doubt courting potential purchasers for mandates. However, the company's restructuring has already provided months of work for a host of European law firms. Kirkland & Ellis, led by Lyndon Norley (pictured) and Richard East, and Denton Wilde Sapte, led by Mark Andrews and Neil Griffiths, acted for administrators Kroll, heading a group that included 10 law firms across Europe, including the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and Sweden. The multinational team of lawyers had to ensure Collins & Aikman's 24 companies in nine European countries were administered under UK law to ensure there could be a group-wide approach to the restructuring and subsequent sale. The businesses also needed to be in a position to keep trading, otherwise production at most of the European car manufacturers would have ground to a halt. Kirkland has also scooped a role on Collins & Aikman's Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US.