Herbert Smith and Stibbe displace Linklaters for work on Getronics sale

Herbert Smith and Stibbe have completed their second deal for Getronics after the IT giant instructed the alliance partners in favour of longstanding adviser Linklaters.

The Dutch and London teams advised on the sale of €235m (£156.7m) worth of shares. The amount raised in the offering will pay off the bulk of a bond redemption scheme, which was not due for full repayment until 2008. The deal was completed particularly quickly – in three rather than the usual six weeks – in order to avoid an instalment payment in March.

Herbert Smith and Stibbe first acted for Geltronics in October 2003 (The Lawyer, 20 October 2003) on a €100m (£66.7m) convertible bond issue. Derk Lemstra, the Stibbe partner who worked with Herbert Smith partner Charles Howarth on the latest deal, said: “[Before the October deal] Stibbe and Herbert Smith were asked by Getronics to take part in an informal pitch. We took the opportunity to talk about our capabilities in international capital markets.”

Linklaters has a strong relationship with Getronics in structured finance, but after falling out of merger talks with former Dutch alliance firm De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek two years ago, the magic circle firm now has only a very small Amsterdam presence.