Deals

Metro Bank

Hogan Lovells and Pinsents lead as NatWest buys Metro Bank portfolio

Hogan Lovells and Pinsent Masons have scored roles on a deal that will see NatWest purchase nearly £2.5bn worth of Metro Bank’s residential mortgage portfolio. The two firms are the latest to get involved in recent transactional efforts made by Metro Bank to bolster its finances and manage potential risks to its clients and shareholders. […]

Cannes Lions

Clifford Chance and Slaughters win roles on Informa’s £1.2bn purchase

Clifford Chance and Slaughter and May are both cashing in on longstanding ties to PLC clients with Informa’s proposed acquisition of Ascential. Clifford Chance is leading for FTSE 100 company Informa, a UK heritage events business, on its acquisition of PLC rival Ascential – the operator of Cannes Lions and Money20/20. The deal is valued […]

CC

City talk: Clifford Chance’s corporate strategy still relies on its banking roots

For elite firms with ties to big banks, the first half of 2024 has been fruitful for corporate transactions. Sainsbury’s banking business was sold to NatWest Group last month, with Linklaters and A&O Shearman advising, while Addleshaw Goddard, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Paul Hastings led on Co-operative Bank’s sale to Coventry Building Society in an […]

London Stock Exchange

Simpson Thacher leads as Melrose founders list new business

The former bosses of Melrose Industries is listing a new company – Rosebank – on the alternative investment market (AIM), with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett advising on the float. Simpson Thacher partner Adam Signy has long advised Melrose in its acquisition deals and is at the helm of this listing along with partner Lucy Gillett. […]

Soft drinks

Bakers and Linklaters lead on £3.3bn Carlsberg purchase of Britvic

Baker McKenzie and Linklaters have sealed an agreement between brewing company Carlsberg and soft drinks producer Britvic, after the latter rejected two acquisition offers from its suitor. The £3.3bn takeover comes after Britvic rejected Carlsberg’s last offer of £3.1bn on 11 June as well as a first offer that was made on 6 June. Bakers […]

Skadden and Macfarlanes lead on Preqin’s £2.5bn sale

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom took the lead role for BlackRock on its acquisition of private markets data solutions provider Preqin for £2.55bn. The deal sees BlackRock acquire Preqin to expand Aladdin, the private equity giant’s portfolio management software. The deal will bring Preqin’s data and research tools together with Aladdin’s workflow capabilities to […]

Slaughters and Kirkland cash in on Royal Mail’s £25m takeover fees

Slaughter and May, Kirkland & Ellis and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison have together banked nearly £25m on EP Group’s (EP) takeover of Royal Mail’s parent company, IDS. EP, owned by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, announced its intention to acquire IDS just over a month ago in May. The bid valued the distribution company […]

music festivals

Kirkland and White & Case lead on KKR’s €1.3bn festival purchase

Kirkland & Ellis and White & Case have taken leading roles on KKR’s €1.3bn (£1.1bn) purchase of Superstruct Entertainment from Providence Equity Partners. The Kirkland team leading for KKR was steered by corporate partners Alvaro Membrillera and Pelin Demirdere Eski, with the support of associates Jef Dupont, Sophie Thomas and Bonian Wu. Debt finance aspects […]

wine glasses

Pinsents acts for Chapel Down on potential sale

Pinsent Masons is acting for England’s largest winemaker on a potential sale that could see the company de-list from the alternative investment market (AIM) less than a year after its float. Chapel Down Group, the official English sparkling wine sponsor of Ascot Racecourse, is conducting a strategic review of its funding options including a potential […]

Sainsbury's Bank

Linklaters and A&O Shearman lead on Sainsbury’s Bank sale

Linklaters and A&O Shearman have capitalised on longstanding client relationships, acting on a deal in which Sainsbury’s banking business is sold to NatWest Group. Linklaters is acting for Sainsbury’s Bank with the team led by corporate partner Charles Turner, TMT partner Richard Cumbley and corporate managing associate Matthew Halliday. A&O Shearman is acting for NatWest, […]

pushing back

City talk: Orrick’s VC strategy looks sensible, but defensive

Any City firm wanting to get serious in the transactional legal market has to be prepared to make considerable investments into its private equity practice, whether by attracting key hires or wooing big-ticket clients. But as firms compete for the attention of a Blackstone or EQT, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe is staying out of the […]