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  • October 19, 2011 |

    Eversheds sets sights on Brazil as UK firms continue to eye up BRIC benefits

    Eversheds is planning to join the growing rank of international firms launching in Brazil, with the firm becoming the latest to eye up opportunities in the BRIC economy. The top 10 UK law firm has confirmed that it is looking at opening in the country, joining a lengthening list of those either launching or considering doing so.

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  • October 18, 2011 |

    Weil Gotshal and Wachtell among US firms on $38bn pipeline takeover

    Weil Gotshal & Manges and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz are among a line-up of firms to have taken roles on US energy company Kinder Morgan's multibillion-dollar acquisition of El Paso Corporation, reports The Am Law Daily. Oil and gas pipeline company Kinder announced on Sunday (16 October) that it will pay $21.1bn (£13.4bn) to acquire its rival with an eye toward amassing the largest natural gas pipeline network in the US.

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  • October 17, 2011 |

    Slaughters and Herbert Smith head up £5.2bn facilities takeover

    Slaughter and May and Herbert Smith have won lead roles on one of this year's largest M&A deals - the £5.2bn purchase of Danish facilities outsourcing firm ISS by UK security group G4S. The acquisition is set to make the Crawley-based security services provider the world's largest combined security and facilities service provider, with revenues of around £15.9bn.

    1 minute read

  • October 13, 2011 |

    CC adds partner to London high yield practice with Latham hire

    Clifford Chance (CC) has added a high yield finance partner in London office with the hire of Latham & Watkins senior associate Fabio Diminich. Diminich, who began his career as an associate with Weil Gothsal & Manges in Washington DC, joined CC earlier this week (10 October).

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  • October 12, 2011 |

    Ambitious but pressured - the global market reaches a crunch point

    The international market is going through a period of flux, as forces that have been bubbling away for years gradually twist the industry into different shapes. Looking at the results from this year's Global 100 gives some indication of how this is playing out, but the patterns are still far from set. There is a growing push for firms outside the top tier to achieve real scale fast – as typified by international moves from Norton Rose, Ashurst and Hogan Lovells. Certainly, there is an increasing premium being placed on scale. Whether articulated or not, a common aspiration among many major firms in the UK is to secure a good position in the global top 50 by revenue.

    1 minute read

  • October 10, 2011 |

    Linklaters set to boost Asia presence with transfer of senior corporate trio

    Linklaters has moved to bulk up its partner ranks in Asia with corporate heavyweight Matthew Middleditch among a senior trio set to relocate to the region. Middleditch will join the firm's Hong Kong office in January next year, while Amsterdam partner Peter Goes is set to join the Beijing office in early 2012 and Madrid partner Miles Curley will transfer to Singapore next summer.

    1 minute read

  • October 4, 2011 |

    US firms head up $3.9bn private equity buyout

    A trio of top US firms have taken lead roles on the $3.9bn (£2.5bn) private equity takeover of contract drug researcher Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD), reports The Am Law Daily. The US-based organisation is being acquired by the Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman after fielding offers from rival bidders including Blackstone Group and KKR.

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  • September 28, 2011 |

    US quartet lead on $1.6bn Asia tech deal

    Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, Goodwin Procter, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Debevoise & Plimpton have advised on a deal which has seen a consortium of investors offer $1.6bn (£1bn) for a stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, writes The Asian Lawyer. The consortium includes Silicon Valley private equity firm Silver Lake Technology Management, Moscow-based venture capital group Digital Sky Technologies (DST) Global, Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings and Yunfeng Capital, an investment group led by Alibaba founder and chief executive officer Jack Ma. If the consortium's tender offer is fully subscribed, the consortium will acquire slightly less than 5% of the company, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

    1 minute read

  • September 28, 2011 |

    Cracking China – has Mandarin become de rigueur for modern Asian counsel?

    For would-be new hires at several international law firms in China and Hong Kong, speaking Mandarin has come to be a strict and unyielding prerequisite. "Certainly from our point of view, hiring someone in Hong Kong without Chinese language speaking skills is a waste of time," says Antony Dapiran, a fluent Mandarin speaker and capital markets partner with Davis Polk & Wardwell in Hong Kong. "I honestly do not see how they can function, especially if they are dealing with capital markets work."

    1 minute read

  • September 23, 2011 |

    Wachtell and Jones Day lead on $18.4bn aircraft manufacturing buyout

    Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Jones Day have taken lead roles on the $18.4bn (£11.9bn) acquisition of aircraft equipment maker Goodrich by United Techonologies Corporation (UTC), a deal that marks the conglomerate's largest-ever acquisition, reports The Am Law Daily. UTC is being advised by longstanding outside counsel Wachtell on the deal, which will see it pay $127.50 (£83) per Goodrich share in cash to acquire the target company and assume $1.9bn (£1.2bn) in debt.

    1 minute read