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  • August 3, 2010 |

    Dealmaker: Mario Jacovides

    Allen & Overy's global head of structured and asset finance on koi carp and novelty Christmas toys...

    1 minute read

  • July 29, 2010 |

    UK trio strike lucky with roles on €2bn online gaming merger

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Clifford Chance (CC) and Bird & Bird are advising on the €2bn (£1.7bn) merger of two major online gambling sites which is set to create the world's largest listed online gaming business. Freshfields is advising PartyGaming on its tie-up with bwin Interactive Entertainment, fielding a team led by Chris Mort, the head of the firm's leisure sector group, alongside dispute resolution partner Geoff Nicholas, employment partners Simon Evans and Kathleen Healy and tax partner Michael Sedlaczek.

    1 minute read

  • July 28, 2010 |

    Links and CC win roles on £5bn GDF deal as M&A activity bursts into life

    Linklaters and Clifford Chance (CC) have lined up to advise on the £5bn reverse takeover of International Power by French utility business GDF Suez as the M&A market last week burst into life. CC is acting for longstanding client International Power, fielding a team under corporate partners David Pudge and Brendan Moylan and banking partner Andrew Grenville. Linklaters was brought on board for GDF Suez, with London-based corporate partner Matthew Middleditch advising. French leader Bredin Prat is acting as local counsel for the utility giant, with corporate partners Patrick Dziewolski and Matthieu Pouchepadass heading up the team.

    1 minute read

  • July 28, 2010 |

    SJ Berwin and Cleary act for buyout houses on $1.9bn frozen food sale

    SJ Berwin and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton have advised on private equity firm BC Partners' $1.9bn (£1.2bn) sell-off of its French frozen food business to Lion Capital, reports The Am Law Daily. SJ Berwin took the lead role for buyout house Lion Capital on its acquisition of Picard Surgeles, reportedly the largest leveraged buyout in France since 2008. Lion Capital, which was formed in April 2005 after splitting off from HM Capital Partners, specialises in acquiring consumer products companies such as Weetabix, lingerie retailer La Senza, restaurant chain Wagamama, and t-shirt retailer American Apparel.

    1 minute read

  • July 23, 2010 |

    Clydes posts 92% retention rate for September qualifying intake

    Clyde & Co has announced that it will keep on 92% of the qualifying trainees from the firm's September 2010 intake. Clydes offered roles to 23 qualifiers out of 26 due to qualify this September, with one of the 26 opting to exclude themselves from the process. These 92% retention rate marks an improvement of 4% on the September 2009 intake, when 22 of 25 qualifiers were offered roles at the firm.

    1 minute read

  • July 23, 2010 |

    Slaughters, CC act on €805m Unilever sell-off as M&A revival continues

    Slaughter and May and Clifford Chance (CC) have won lead roles on the €805m (£677m) sale of Unilever's Italian frozen food business. The deal, which was announced earlier this week (19 July), will see Birds Eye Iglo acquire the Findus Italy business from its current owner Unilever, with Slaughters acting for the seller and CC winning the buyer's instruction. Slaughters' Italian 'best friend' firm Bonelli Erede Pappalardo took the main local law role with the two firms advising the clients as an integrated team.

    1 minute read

  • July 19, 2010 |

    Orange and T-Mobile set to review adviser line-up in wake of merger

    Orange and T-Mobile have combined their legal teams and will kick off a panel review later this year in the wake of the telecoms companies' merger deal to create the UK's largest telecoms provider, Everything Everywhere. The new legal team contains 60 lawyers - 25 from T-Mobile, 35 from Orange - and is headed up by former T-Mobile legal chief James Blendis, who will take on both the general counsel and company secretary functions.

    1 minute read

  • July 16, 2010 |

    Insurer loses legal battle with Law Society

    A Court of Appeal judgment is set to have major implications for insurers seeking access to confidential documents from solicitors that could enable them to refuse indemnity, writes Post. In Quinn Direct Insurance v The Law Society, Quinn had appealed against an earlier High Court decision to refuse the company access to confidential documents relating to a firm of solicitors that was being investigated by the Law Society. In 2007 the Law Society took possession of files and documents relating to the firm as part of a large-scale fraud investigation. Quinn had provided the firm with professional indemnity insurance and was its primary insurer.

    1 minute read

  • July 14, 2010 |

    Bird & Bird leads the pack as fastest-growing UK firm as revenue jumps 150% over five years

    Bird & Bird has emerged as the fastest-growing UK top 50 law firm over the last five years, with turnover leaping by more than 150% since 2004-05. After posting rising revenues for each of the last five financial years, Bird & Bird's 2009-10 revenues of £201.8m mark a 151% growth on the law firm's 2004-05 performance, when turnover stood at just £80.4m.

    1 minute read

  • July 14, 2010 |

    UK law leaders see profits revival as revenues slide across the top 50

    The UK's top law firms have managed a major rebound in profitability this year despite the aftermath of the global recession handing the group its first collective fall in revenues in recent memory. Legal Week's 2009-10 results, the first comprehensive picture of the performance of the UK's top 50 law firms, shows revenues across the group fell by £461m, from £12.33bn in 2009 to £11.87bn.

    1 minute read