An Allen & Overy (A&O)-advised consortium has emerged victorious in the £4.2bn auction for Southern Water. Veteran corporate partner Alan Paul led the team for A&O after financial advisers Maquarie recommended the firm. Paul steered Macquarie to victory in the £8bn auction for Thames Water last October. Corporate finance partner Susan Howard co-led the team […]
The joint head of 5 Raymond Buildings Desmond Browne QC has been appointed the Bar Council’s chair-elect for 2009, it was announced today (9 October). The joint head of 5 Raymond Buildings, Desmond Browne QC, has been appointed the Bar Council’s chair-elect for 2009, it was announced today (9 October). Browne, a media law specialist […]
White & Case strengthened its relationship with Goldman Sachs last week, in particular in relation to Latin American projects, with the closure of Mexico’s largest-ever infrastructure financing. The record deal, one of the largest ever in the Americas, is a 30-year public-private partnership (PPP) financing of a package of toll roads totalling a distance of […]
A raft of top firms have managed to land a £3.4bn cross-border friendly takeover, despite the financial markets’ jitters. Allen & Overy (A&O), Bredin Prat and Jones Day are advising German-headquartered business software provider SAP on its €4.8bn (£3.4bn) approach for French rival Business Objects. A&O is advising its longstanding client on German and US […]
Davenport Lyons and Denton Wilde Sapte (DWS) have acted on Macmillan Publishers’ successful acquisition of Kingfisher Books. Davenport Lyons corporate partner Alon Domb led the team acting for Macmillan, while DWS corporate partner Richard Barham led the Kingfisher team. Kingfisher publishes fiction and non-fiction for children of all ages, and the deal strengthens Macmillan’s presence […]
SJ Berwin’s real estate division advised British Land on its pre-letting agreement with Reed Smith Richards Butler for space in the 35-storey Broadgate Tower development. Reed Smith has agreed to occupy 39 per cent of the building when it is complete, signing a 15-and-a-half-year lease. It will pay initial rent of £62.50 per sq ft […]
City lawyers are flying to Beijing in an attempt to convince Chinese regulators to relax obstacles it is feared will stop Chinese companies listing on AIM. A delegation of high-level City lawyers is flying to Beijing in an attempt to convince Chinese regulators to relax recently laid obstacles it is feared will stop Chinese companies […]
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was dumped by its oldest client the Bank of England after it chose to advise beleaguered mortgage lender Northern Rock. The magic circle firm has been advising Northern Rock as a potential target, but was also advising the Bank of England on its dealings with the mortgage lender as recently as 18 […]
Hammonds’ chief of international projects and finance William Abraham has resigned in a last-ditch attempt to get the firm to refocus its global strategy. The firm is holding emergency talks with Abraham next week to address his concerns. “The firm wasn’t addressing Abraham’s concerns that his international practice had been sidelined following its strategy review […]
Quadrant Chambers has raided 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square for a trio of barristers as it ramps up its banking and financial services practice for the expected influx of work following the credit crunch. The set has recruited derivatives specialist Tom O’Riordan, who, before joining 4-5 Gray’s Inn, worked as external counsel for Cadwalader Wickersham & […]
Linklaters has axed its Cologne office, the birthplace of German legacy firm Oppenhoff & Rädler, which Linklaters merged with in 2001. Only around 10 of Linklaters’ 26 Cologne partners and counsel have agreed to set sail 25 miles upriver for the city of Düsseldorf to launch a new office for their firm. The rest are […]
US firm Howrey is shaking up its London office, as the firm seeks to raise its profile in the City. The firm is ramping up its London antitrust practice, transferring key partners from Brussels to its UK base as part of a wider restructuring. European antitrust head and co-managing partner for Brussels Trevor Soames said: […]