Practice Areas

Freshfields instructed by Irish state on Aer Lingus flotation

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has scooped a mandate to advise the Irish government on the IPO of its flag carrier Aer Lingus. The magic circle firm won the high-profile mandate after participating in a beauty parade at the end of last year. Irish firms William Fry and Arthur Cox are acting as local counsel to the […]

Nabarros, SJ Berwin win Quintain-Hilton Wembley hotel agreement

Nabarro Nathanson and SJ Berwin scored roles advising on deals concerned with more than 700 hotel rooms next to the new Wembley Stadium. In two deals totalling £103m, the firms advised on both the purchase of the 306-bedroom Wembley Plaza Hotel, owned by Hilton International, and on the construction of a new 400-bedroom Hilton hotel […]

Cleary instructed by latest bidder in three-way battle for Inco

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has jumped into the bidding war for Canadian nickel producer Inco, advising Brazil’s Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) on its $17.6bn (£11.9bn) counter bid. Inco, advised by Sullivan & Cromwell‘s M&A head James Morphy, has found itself at the centre of a multibillion-dollar scramble following a boom in nickel […]

Addleshaws, Camerons bag £318m pub sell-off

Addleshaw Goddard and CMS Cameron McKenna have both scooped roles advising on Admiral Taverns’ purchase of 769 pubs from Enterprise Inns for £318m. Addleshaws advised Admiral Taverns on the deal, with property partner Andrew Shufflebotham leading the team. Camerons put together a three-partner team to advise Enterprise Inns. Corporate partner Sean Watson headed the team, which […]

Lovells takes on Standard Chartered’s bank venture

Lovells has advised Standard Chartered (Pakistan) on its acquisition of an 80.9 per cent stake in Union Bank for $413m (£218.73m), marking the biggest deal in the Pakistan banking sector to date. Lovells has advised Standard Chartered (Pakistan) on its acquisition of an 80.9 per cent stake in Union Bank for $413m (£218.73m), marking the biggest deal […]

Herbies, Kirkland scoop major roles on Caudwell Group buyout

Herbert Smith scooped the Barclays Capital and ING Bank acquisition finance mandate, while Kirkland & Ellis landed its first UK deal from Providence Equity Partners, with the £1.46bn acquisition of Phones 4U owner The Caudwell Group. On 4 August private equity firm Providence agreed to acquire Caudwell for £1.46bn. Providence then sold the distribution arm to Doughty […]

Merrill Lynch makes use of Ashurst’s CDO nous

Ashurst has advised Merrill Lynch on a collateralised debt obligation (CDO) involving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) issuing bonds as security for notes. The PULS CDO 2006-1 PLC was issued in five tranches of fixed and floating-rate notes and had a total value of £260m. It was the first deal for portfolio manager Capital Securities […]

Reed Smith guides Napo through first-ever US primary listing on LSE

Reed Smith guides Napo through first-ever US primary listing on LSE” />With a transatlantic merger with Richards Butler looming on the horizon, Reed Smith has bagged a lead role on the first-ever primary listing of a US company on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Partners Donald Reinke in San Francisco and Giles Beale in London […]

Lovells hangs on to Terra Firma with landmark securitisation

Lovells has maintained its relationship with private equity house Terra Firma to advise on a landmark securitisation, even though the firm lost the original partner on the deal to Clifford Chance. A Lovells team consisting of London and German lawyers acted for Terra Firma on a E5.4bn (£3.69bn) commercial mortgage-backed securitisation (CMBS), the biggest deal […]

Freshfields steers Wolseley through €1.5bn DT purchase

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised Wolseley on its €1.5bn (£1.03bn) acquisition of Nordic distribution business DT Group from private equity group CVC Capital Partners. Freshfields corporate partner Stephen Hewes led the advice to Wolseley, the world’s largest plumbing group. Copenhagen-based firm Bech-Brunn advised vendor CVC, led by corporate partner Mikkel Lerche. Hewes advised on an acquisition […]

Herbies lands deal for CLSA as Indonesia hots up

Herbert Smith has landed the underwriter role on the first major international IPO to originate out of Indonesia in three years. Herbert Smith’s Singapore office, together with associated Indonesian firm Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung (HBT), advised Credit Agricole’s Asian investment banking arm CLSA as coordinator, bookrunner and underwriter on the IPO of Indonesian construction company […]

DWS, SJ Berwin oversee first instances of ‘roof tax’ system

SJ Berwin oversee first instances of ‘roof tax’ system” />Denton Wilde Sapte’s (DWS) and SJ Berwin’s real estate departments have advised on the first commercial development to utilise a ‘roof tax’ system that could form a model for an alternative to the Government’s controversial planning gain supplement tax. The roof tax system, being trialled in […]