DLA (David Raff, Tom Whelan) advised Gresham on its £6.6bn investment in 2escape2 Holdings (2e2) and 2e2 on its acquisition of six IT support companies from Telenor ASA. The deal also involved the onsale to GX Networks of two of the IT companies. Coudert Brothers (Mark Cranwell) advised Telenor Business Holdings UK, Nicholson Graham & […]
Dearbail Jordan looks at inducement fees – the latest evolutionary twist on the break fee When is an auction not an auction? When Deben-hams is selling itself, of course.Splashed all over the national press last week was the bizarre arrangement that Debenhams had dreamt up to offload itself to either CVC and Texas Pacific Group, […]
Dewey Ballantine is expanding its management committee in a move that will see the firm add a second European seat.The New York firm’s current management committee numbers 13, but it is expected that by August it will add two more seats for a Europe and a West Coast partner. The decision reflects the progress the firm has […]
A New York judge has upheld the constitutionality of a law that bans cameras from the state’s courts.Court TV had launched a suit against the State of New York, one of nine states that bans cameras at trial courts.David Boies, managing partner at Boies Schiller & Flexner, argued that the ban on cameras be lifted […]
Leading Canadian project finance partner Brian Kelsall has resigned from McCarthy Tétrault, Canada’s largest firm. He will join heavyweight rival Ogilvy Renault on 18 August with Ella Plotkin, who became a projects partner early this year.Kelsall, who will be based in Toronto, will focus on building the firm’s international practice and in particular its presence […]
Allen & Overy (A&O) is hoping to see off tensions in its Italian practice with its first pan-Italian managing partner and a new strategy to foster integration between its Milan, Rome and Turin offices.The management restructuring triggered a spate of rumours that high-profile partners were set to quit, but the firm has so far avoided […]
Irwin Mitchell has taken over niche international personal injury firm Lorenzo Zurbrugg, creating the largest foreign claims team in the UK.Partners Michael Zurbrugg and Jose De Lorenzo, along with the entire team of 17 fee-earners and 17 support staff will join Irwin Mitchell’s personal injury division, which operates within the firm’s international travel litigation group. […]
Transport for London has been left without a legal chief following the unexpected resignation of the agency’s general counsel Gareth Davies.Davies, who was formerly head of PFI at KLegal, joined Transport for London last autumn. It is understood that he has now left for personal reasons.A spokesperson for Trans-port for London confirmed Davies’ resignation and […]
Herbert Smith has picked up its first instruction from the Carlyle Group, advising on the first UK acquisition by the private equity firm’s European real estate fund.Herbert Smith advised on the £67m acquisition of 107 Cheapside from AXA Sun Life – a building that currently houses UniBank and some of Allen & Overy.Carlyle has previously […]
The Government is as keen as ever to pursue PFI, but as Caroline Carter and Logan Mair report, problems may arise when transferring employees to a private contractor The private finance initiative (PFI) was introduced just over a decade ago with the aim of attracting private sector finance to build and service public sector facilities. […]
The media ensures we are all made aware of Government IT project failures. But, argues Michael Chissick, behind the scenes there’s real potential for success The UK Government is the biggest single spender on IT services in the country and every major project, successful or not, is subjected to intense media scrutiny. But despite notable […]
US firm Arnold & Porter has hired rated Clifford Chance partner Marleen Van Kerckhove to set up a Brussels office.Although there was a spate of US firms opening in Brussels in 2000 and 2001, Arnold & Porter is the first major firm to make the leap since Howrey Simon opened there with Norton Rose partner […]