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  • April 9, 2013 |

    CC private equity chief leaves firm to join Latham in London

    Latham & Watkins' London office has sealed the hire of Clifford Chance (CC) private equity head David Walker, not long after the US firm announced it was taking on Herbert Smith Freehills litigation partner Simon Bushell. Walker, who has been a partner at CC firm since 2000, specialises in venture capital, fundraisings and M&A, and holds a number of key client relationships for CC, including the Carlyle Group and Equistone Partners.

    1 minute read

  • March 25, 2013 |

    Weil City revenue leaps 22% as global turnover stays static

    Weil Gotshal & Manges' City arm saw turnover shoot up by 22% during the 2012 financial year, with the increase in London coming as global revenues stayed static. The New York firm's UK office posted revenues of $110m (£72m), up on $90m (£59m) the previous calendar year.

    1 minute read

  • March 11, 2013 |

    Links and Davis Polk push through landmark $9bn Lehman settlement

    Linklaters and Davis Polk have advised on a settlement agreement in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy which will see $9bn (£6bn) of assets returned to the defunct bank's customers, in what administrator PwC has described as "a landmark moment" in long-running insolvency proceedings. The settlement and distribution plan concerns Lehman Brothers International (Europe)'s (LBIE) dealings with Lehman Brothers Inc (LBI), and the complex intercompany claims and liabilities between the parties.

    1 minute read

  • February 21, 2013 |

    As a wave of US mega-mergers boosts M&A hopes, will they inspire confidence in Europe?

    Three weeks into February, a spate of mega-mergers in the US – capped by Warren Buffett's $28bn (£18bn) acquisition of food giant Heinz – has bolstered hopes of resurgence in the regional M&A markets. Figures from mergermarket for the 2012 calendar year show that with a total value of $825.4bn (£535bn), 2012 was the best-performing year for US M&A activity since 2007. And February has raised aspirations for similar performance in 2013, with the month seeing more than $103bn (£66.7bn) in activity across five deals alone.

    1 minute read

  • February 15, 2013 |

    Latham and Weil among US firms checking in for $11bn US airline mega-merger

    Latham & Watkins and Weil Gotshal & Manges are among a long list of US firms advising on the $11bn (£7.1bn) merger of US Airways and American Airlines parent company AMR, a deal set to create the world's largest airline. The boards of both companies have approved the merger with the majority share of the new company set to be owned by American Airlines' bankruptcy creditors with a 72% shareholding.

    1 minute read

  • February 13, 2013 |

    Weil Gotshal and Davis Polk lead on latest multibillion-dollar media deal

    Davis Polk & Wardwell and Weil Gotshal & Manges are both advising on a $16.7bn (£10.7bn) deal that will see General Electric (GE) sell its 49% stake in US media and entertainment giant NBCUniversal (NBCU) to majority shareholder Comcast Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, US cable operator Comcast will pay NBCU $12bn (£7.7bn) in cash with $4bn (£2.6bn) in Comcast guaranteed debt and $700m (£450m) of preferred stock in acquiring full ownership of the film and television business.

    1 minute read

  • February 11, 2013 |

    DLA and SJ Berwin straighten out issues on Lion's ghd acquisition

    DLA Piper and SJ Berwin have landed roles on private equity firm Lion Capital's acquisition of hair-straightening brand ghd from Montagu Private Equity.

    1 minute read

  • February 8, 2013 |

    SJB and Olswang among top firms on Warner's £487m Parlophone purchase

    Olswang, SJ Berwin and Jones Day are among the firms landing key roles in the high-profile acquisition of record label Parlophone by Warner Music. The all-cash transaction, valued at £487m, was signed yesterday (7 January). Parlophone, home to the likes of Blur, Pink Floyd and Coldplay, was formerly a part of UK music company EMI. SJ Berwin was instructed by Universal, a unit of French media giant Vivendi, on the Parlophone deal with a team comprising corporate partners Will Holder and Mark Sanders, senior partner Stephen Kon and competition partner Philipp Girardet. Paris corporate partner Etienne Bouriscan led the team advising on France law matters, while Frankfurt corporate partner Michael Cziesla headed up the team providing German law counsel. Universal general counsel Richard Constant said: "This was an extremely complex transaction carried out under close regulatory supervision and Will Holder, Mark Sanders, Stephen Kon and Philipp Girardet at SJ Berwin and their teams were instrumental in delivering an extremely good result for us in a very constrained time frame. Their ability to deliver for their client is, in my view, incomparable." Shearman & Sterling advised Vivendi with a team comprising London M&A partner Jeremy Kutner, New York M&A partner Clare O'Brien, capital markets partner Robert Evans and finance partner Steven Sherman. Olswang acted for Warner Music, backed by parent company Access Industries, with a team led by London corporate partner Stephen Hermer. Jones Day Brussels advised on competition aspects with a team including Europe head of antitrust Bernard Amory. The £1.2bn acquisition of EMI by Universal Music was given the greenlight by the European Commission last September. Clifford Chance (CC) and SJ Berwin partners Kon and Girardet led on the deal. The competition watchdog approved the takeover bid on the condition that Universal sells around 60% of EMI's European assets, one of which was Parlophone. Universal is set to retain more than two thirds of EMI on a global basis, keeping artists such as the Beatles, Beach Boys and Katy Perry. CC advised EMI and owner Citigroup on the deal in a team comprising global corporate head Matthew Layton City, corporate partners Daniel Kossoff and Rob Crothers, and Brussels head and antitrust partner Tony Reeves. In November 2011 SJ Berwin and Clifford Chance were among a raft of firms winning roles on EMI's recording division and publishing business acquisitions, after it emerged that the company, which houses artists including The Beatles, was to be split in two. CC advised EMI and Citigroup on the sale of both its music division and its publishing business along with US firm Shearman & Sterling and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, while Universal and parent company Vivendi instructed SJ Berwin on the sale of its recording arm in a team led by firm managing partner Rob Day and city corporate partner William Holder. Now-defunct US firm Dewey & Leboeuf took the lead in advising a Sony-led consortium on its publishing takeover, acting alongside Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Weil Gotshal & Manges, Allen & Overy, and Baker & McKenzie.

    1 minute read

  • February 5, 2013 |

    Hogan Lovells, Weil and Debevoise among legal line-up on $24.4bn Dell LBO

    Debevoise & Plimpton, Hogan Lovells and Weil Gotshal & Manges are among a line-up of top law firms to have advised on the $24.4bn (£15.5bn) buyout of computer manufacturer Dell, in the largest leveraged buyout (LBO) since the financial crisis. Founder Michael Dell is buying back the PC group, together with private equity group Silver Lake, offering stockholders $13.65 (£8.69) in cash per share.

    1 minute read

  • February 4, 2013 |

    Slaughters and Orrick switch on for lead roles as ITV buys London HQ

    Slaughter and May and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe have advised on ITV's £56m acquisition of the freehold on London Television Centre, the company's South Bank headquarters and studios. Slaughters advised long-term client ITV on the deal, which saw the company acquire the site from Coal Pension Properties (CPP). The transaction frees ITV from a 56-year lease on the 22-storey tower and studio complex which was purpose built in the early 1970s for London Weekend Television.

    1 minute read