• July 21, 2011 |

    Five US firms land roles on record-setting $38bn plane purchase

    Five US firms are advising on the largest aircraft order in history after AMR Corporation, the owner of American Airlines, agreed to acquire a total of 460 planes from Airbus and Boeing in a transaction worth more than $38bn (£23.5bn), reports The Am Law Daily. American Airlines is being advised by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher corporate partner Robert Little in Dallas and Debevoise & Plimpton aviation chair John Curry in New York as co-counsel on the Airbus negotiations.

    1 minute read

  • July 13, 2011 |

    Simpson Thacher picks up role for EQT on €3.5bn fundraising

    Simpson Thacher & Bartlett's London office has picked up a first-time role for EQT Partners, advising on the formation of a €3.5bn (£3.1bn) fundraising. The deal saw partner Jason Glover – who was hired from Clifford Chance to launch Simpson Thacher's London funds team – instructed by the Swedish private equity group to advise on the creation of its sixth fund.

    1 minute read

  • July 13, 2011 |

    Simpson's London funds launch hauls in group of clients from key hire's old firm

    Simpson Thacher & Bartlett's London arm has picked up a number of private equity relationships from Clifford Chance (CC) in the wake of its hire of CC's former funds head Jason Glover. The New York law firm, which brought in Glover at the beginning of the year to launch its UK funds practice, has now worked with several of Glover's former CC clients.

    1 minute read

  • July 6, 2011 |

    Freshfields and Linklaters head up H1 deal rankings in Europe amid 'turgid' M&A market

    Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have topped Mergermarket's European deal rankings for the first half of 2011 – a six-month period in which deal volumes fell across every geographic region compared with the same period in 2010. Linklaters heads the value rankings in Europe with roles on 106 deals worth $141bn (£87.6bn), while Freshfields ranks first by volume in Europe, working on 108 deals worth $124.8bn (£77.7bn).

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  • July 1, 2011 |

    Elite US trio added to Barclays panel after review of bank's advisers

    Barclays has added three US firms to its general advisory panel, following a comprehensive panel review intended to increase value for money from the bank's regular advisers. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Shearman & Sterling and Sullivan & Cromwell have been added to the bank's main general advisory panel after Barclays decided to include the creation of a US sub-division for the first time.

    1 minute read

  • June 22, 2011 |

    Brand versus brawn – can CC get back in the funds game?

    While the initial response to Weil Gotshal & Manges' daring four-partner raid on Clifford Chance's (CC's) private equity funds team focused on what the move meant for Weil Gotshal's UK ambitions, as the dust settles the wider significance for the City market will be defined far more by what the loss ultimately means for CC. There is no doubt that the move punches a sizeable hole in one of the City firm's marquee practice areas. By its own admission, it doesn't currently have the partner ranks to service its existing funds clients once the departing partners – Ed Gander, Nigel Clark and Nick Benson and tax partner Jonathan Kandel – have left. Of course, this is before considering whether clients' patience will hold out – the team having already recently lost high-profile team head Jason Glover to Simpson Thacher & Barlett.

    1 minute read

  • June 17, 2011 |

    Freshfields loses Hong Kong head as Sullivan launches local law practice

    Sullivan & Cromwell has launched a Hong Kong law practice with recruits from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, writes The Asian Lawyer. Kay Ian Ng, formerly Hong Kong managing partner for Freshfields, will lead the new group for Sullivan, with counsel Gwen Wong is also coming aboard. Both focus on capital markets work.

    1 minute read

  • June 15, 2011 |

    Outriders - the US firms breaking away from the herd in the City

    A disparate band of US firms are breaking away from the herd to become a real competitive force in the City. Caroline Hill assesses how far they've come and the terrain ahead

    1 minute read

  • June 15, 2011 |

    CC hit as four-partner City funds team exits for Weil as US firms step up UK expansion

    US firms' aggressive European private equity drive continues as Weil Gotshal makes significant team hire from CC

    1 minute read

  • June 13, 2011 |

    CC hit by exit of four-partner City funds team to Weil Gotshal

    Clifford Chance (CC) is set to lose the bulk of its City funds practice, Legal Week can reveal, with a four-partner team exiting the firm to join Weil Gotshal & Manges in London. The team comprises funds partners Ed Gander, Nigel Clark and Nick Benson, as well as tax partner Jonathan Kandel, who works closely alongside the funds team.

    1 minute read