Skadden and Slaughters land bumper CEMEX mandate

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom has teamed up with Slaughter and May to act on one of this year’s largest takeovers as Mexican cement maker CEMEX acquires the UK’s RMC for £2.3bn.

Skadden Arps New York-based corporate finance partner Bob Chilstrom and London M&A partner Scott Simpson led the deal for CEMEX as US counsel with Slaughter and May’s head of corporate Christopher Saul providing UK advice.

It is the first major corporate transaction Slaughter and May has acted on for the Mexican group, after in the past advising CEMEX on two smaller financing deals.

Though CEMEX’s billion pound acquisition of RMC is the first major acquisition the Mexcian business has launched in Europe, after focusing its attentions on buying up or merging with operations in North America and Latin America in recent years.

RMC turned to house law firm Linklaters on the deal, with the firm’s head of corporate David Cheyne leading.