Cravath Swaine & Moore and Canadian firms Stikeman Elliott and Ogilvy Renault have scooped lead roles on Royal Dutch Shell’s acquisition of Shell Canada’s minority interests that it didn’t already own for CAD7.7bn (£3.64bn).
London-based corporate partner William Rogers, with employment partner Patricia Geoghegan and litigation partner Rory Millson led the team at Cravath, a panel firm of Royal Dutch Shell. The Wall Street firm is advising the oil giant on US aspects of the deal.
On the Canadian aspects, Royal Dutch Shell instructed Toronto stalwart Stikeman Elliott. Corporate head Will Braithwaite and Calgary-based energy partner Glenn Cameron led Stikeman’s team.
Ogilvy Renault scored instruction from Shell Canada’s independent special committee, despite the firm not being known for its work in the energy sector. In April, former diplomat and Shell Canada’s lead board director, Derek Burney, joined Ogilvy as a senior strategic adviser.
Shell Canada passed over firms it has historically worked with, such as energy specialist Bennett Jones. When Shell Canada acquired BlackRock for $2.5bn (£1.18bn) earlier this year, it instructed Toronto-based firm Osler Hoskin & Harcourt, which had just taken Bennett Jones’ star energy partner Bob Desbarats.
