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  • January 14, 2014 |

    Vodafone-Verizon mega-deal fuels M&A hopes as Macfarlanes' international plans come good

    It was the moment when Macfarlanes' idiosyncratic international strategy paid off – and when Linklaters surprisingly lost out on a role on one of the biggest M&A deals of the decade. Vodafone's $130bn (£79bn) sale of its stake in Verizon – not only by far the biggest deal of the year but also the largest US-based corporate transaction since 2001 – was always likely to be a feeding frenzy for law firms. Accordingly, a number of the usual suspects landed roles on both sides of the Atlantic. Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Debevoise & Plimpton acted for Verizon in the US, while Simpson Thacher & Bartlett took the Vodafone mandate.

    1 minute read

  • January 13, 2014 |

    Cleary, Sidley act on Suntory's $16bn acquisition of Beam

    Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton is acting opposite Sidley Austin to advise Japanese drinks giant Suntory on its $16bn (£9.7bn) acquisition of US spirits maker Beam. Suntory announced this week it would acquire all of Beam's shares for $83.50 per share in cash, and assume all of the company's outstanding net debt.

    1 minute read

  • January 9, 2014 |

    Recovery in question as 2013 sees lowest UK M&A deal value for 12 years

    Despite the rise in mega-deals towards the tail end of 2013, last year yielded the lowest overall value for UK M&A activity since 2001.

    1 minute read

  • December 11, 2013 |

    A&O partners vote through hire of ex-Ashurst corporate head Lloyd

    Partners at Allen & Overy (A&O) have approved the hire of former Ashurst corporate head Stephen Lloyd. The vote, news of which was first revealed last week, was largely seen as a formality after the magic circle firm successfully courted the private equity star, despite interest from US outfits including Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.

    1 minute read

  • December 3, 2013 |

    A&O vote due on hire of ex-Ashurst corporate head Lloyd

    Former Ashurst global corporate head Stephen Lloyd is set to join Allen & Overy (A&O), in a major coup for the magic circle's transactional practice. Legal Week understands A&O partners are expected to vote later this week on Lloyd joining the partnership, with partners confident he will be elected.

    1 minute read

  • November 13, 2013 |

    Cleary and Paul Hastings tuck in to Chinese meat producer IPO

    Paul Hastings and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton are understood to have been appointed as lead advisers on the IPO of Chinese meat processing company Shuanghui International, estimated to be worth up to $6bn (£3.75bn). The planned listing would be the biggest in Hong Kong in four years, providing a welcome boost to the local IPO market, which has seen a dearth of high-value flotations since the middle of 2012. It follows Shuanghui's takeover of the world's largest pork producer – Virginia-based Smithfield Foods – earlier this year. That deal, valued at $7.1bn (£4.7bn), marked the largest ever acquisition of a US company by a Chinese business.

    1 minute read

  • November 12, 2013 |

    Virgin Group kicks off review of legal panel

    Virgin Group has launched a review its legal panel, which currently runs to eight firms, ahead of possible changes to the roster.

    1 minute read

  • October 24, 2013 |

    Simpson Thacher-Blackstone ties loosen as PE house shops around

    Simpson Thacher's role as the main adviser to major client Blackstone Group is being challenged in Europe, as the private equity house looks to widen the pool of firms it uses for important mandates. Legal Week has learnt that Blackstone is looking to several other US law firms to handle a growing pipeline of deals. Market speculation that private equity-headed buyouts and real estate transactions will pick up in the first half of 2014 has put several private equity lawyers on high alert in the City.

    1 minute read

  • October 24, 2013 |

    Exit of Links stars puts focus on magic circle's struggle to break into the private equity market

    The departure of Ian Bagshaw (pictured, left) and Richard Youle (pictured, right) from Linklaters may have been widely anticipated, but their decision to join White & Case has raised questions about the magic circle's ability to compete against US firms in the field of private equity. The duo's move is the latest in a long line of high-profile departures from City firms, including Raymond McKeeve's exit from Berwin Leighton Paisner to join Jones Day and the hire by Latham & Watkins of David Walker, Clifford Chance's erstwhile private equity chief. It is a fairly open secret that Bagshaw and Youle's CVs have been on the market for some time. In 2010 the pair looked set to join Ropes & Gray before Linklaters persuaded them to stay on with what a source has described as "a sweetheart package".

    1 minute read

  • October 23, 2013 |

    SJB, Kirkland and Simpson Thacher lead on €1bn KKR Serbian cable deal

    SJ Berwin, Kirkland & Ellis and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett have won roles advising on buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts' (KKR's) takeover of Serbia's largest cable company in a deal worth €1bn (£847m). The buyout firm has bought telecommunications company SBB/Telemach from private equity group Mid Europa Partners. The acquisition marks US-headquartered KKR's first investment in eastern Europe. It is expected to complete by the first quarter of 2014.

    1 minute read