Innogy in-housers survive takeover

The in-house legal department at FSTE 100 utilities giant Innogy will remain intact following the takeover by German conglomerate RWE. The company's most senior lawyer Mike Bowden will also retain his place on the board.
Bowden, the company secretary and managing director of corporate services, was appointed to the board in February, just a month before the Innogy bid was announced. Unusually for a takeover, the composition of the board will remain virtually unchanged, with Brian Count continuing at the helm as chief executive officer. The legal department, which has 14 qualified lawyers, is also unaffected by the takeover.
The continuity is good news for Innogy's established legal team and in particular the main corporate adviser Linklaters. Innogy has used Linklaters since its demerger from National Power in 1999. The company also uses local firms in Reading and Bristol and niche shipping firm Curtis Davis Garrard.
Bowden told The Lawyer: "If Linklaters continue to perform as they have done, we'll have no earthly reason to change advisers. We're a complex organisation and any new firm would have a lot of work to do to get up to speed."
Linklaters is advising Innogy on the e8.4bn (£5.15bn) takeover by RWE, the largest deal of the year. Allen & Overy is advising RWE and it is believed that Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer missed out on the appointment because of a conflict - Freshfields is the main corporate adviser to Scottish Power, which is believed to have made a rival bid for Innogy.