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  • September 15, 2009 |

    The Bank of America Chronicles: pondering the bank's litigation strategy

    It didn't come as a complete surprise to us, but federal district court judge Jed Rakoff's fire-breathing rejection of Bank of America's $33m (£20m) settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was a stunner. His anger at BoA and the SEC radiated off the page. They didn't tell him what he wanted to know - namely, who was responsible for disclosure decisions about the $5.8bn (£3.5bn) approved for Merrill Lynch bonuses - and he wasn't buying either sides' arguments about why this settlement was reasonable.

    1 minute read

  • August 25, 2009 |

    Cleary advises on billion-dollar takeover of stricken US bank

    Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has taken the lead role on financial services company BBVA Compass's acquisition of Guaranty Financial Group, a Texas-based bank teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Last Friday (21 August) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took possession of Guaranty, before turning it over to BBVA, which gained $12bn (£7.3bn) in assets and $11.5bn (£7bn) in liabilities.

    1 minute read

  • August 24, 2009 |

    SEC blames law firms for BoA's failure to disclose Merrill bonuses

    Based on the briefs they submitted on Monday (24 August), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Bank of America (BoA) heard two different orders from Manhattan federal district court Judge Rakoff on 10 August, when he told both sides to supply additional details on the preparation of BoA's proxy and disclosure materials for its September 2008 merger with Merrill Lynch. The SEC's 38-page brief included some of those specifics. Bank of America's 30-page filing focused instead on arguing BoA's innocence.

    1 minute read

  • August 20, 2009 |

    CC and Slaughters take top roles on $15bn debt refinancing deal

    Clifford Chance (CC), Slaughter and May, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and are among a host of firms to advise on the $15bn (£9.1bn) refinancing of cement producer CEMEX's debt. The company, dual-listed in New York and Mexico, completed the debt restructuring last week (14 August), with the deal involving the agreement of all of the company's participating creditors on debt including syndicated loans, bilateral facilities and US private placement notes.

    1 minute read

  • August 4, 2009 |

    Bank of America to pay $33m to settle Merrill bonuses case

    Bank of America has agreed to pay $33m (£19.5m) for charges of allegedly misleading investors about billions in bonuses it agreed to pay Merrill Lynch executives when it was on the verge of acquiring Merrill for $50bn (£29.6bn) in a 2008 merger. The payment settles a civil suit filed in the Southern District of New York by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC charged that proxy materials sent to Bank of America shareholders on the proposed acquisition stated that Merrill Lynch had agreed not to pay performance bonuses and other compensation to executives prior to the closing of the merger when, in fact, Bank of America had already contractually authorized Merrill Lynch to pay up to $5.8bn (£3.4bn).

    1 minute read

  • August 4, 2009 |

    Cleary advises Tata Steel on LSE listing and $500m capital raising

    Wall Street leader Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton's London arm has scored a role as India's Tata Steel raised around $500m (£306m) through the sale of global depository receipts (GDR) and an associated listing on the London Stock Exchange. The deal is the biggest Indian GDR listing in London and the largest capital raising by a company outside its domestic market on any European exchange so far this calendar year.

    1 minute read

  • August 4, 2009 |

    Herbert Smith and Lovells win roles on RenCap panel

    Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital (RenCap) has finished its first formal legal panel review, with Herbert Smith and Lovells the only UK-based firms to win roles. The bank has appointed six law firms to its global roster with US-based Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, White & Case, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Latham & Watkins also selected.

    1 minute read

  • July 22, 2009 |

    Student legal news round up

    Reactions to the government's 'Panel on Fair Access to the Professions' report, Oxford University Press (OUP) and BPP National Mooting Competition result and more good news for Bristol legal sector. Sheffield Hallam University has struck a blow for non-red brick universities by winning this year's Oxford University Press (OUP) and BPP National Mooting Competition. The two victorious mooters, Charlotte Dowson and Christopher Wilkinson, received a certificate, trophy, £750 and a chance to gain experience with BPP's pro bono centre.

    1 minute read

  • July 21, 2009 |

    Cleary makes rare London hire as A&O partner joins as consultant

    Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has made a rare hire in the City, bringing in former Allen & Overy (A&O) intellectual property (IP) partner Colin Pearson as a consultant. The addition of Pearson, who will start his full-time role in September, represents the most senior IP hire the London office has made to date, having historically used associates to staff the practice area.

    1 minute read

  • July 13, 2009 |

    Dealmaker: Ashar Qureshi

    Cleary Gottlieb corporate partner Ashar Qureshi unleashes his penchant for untrammelled eloquence

    1 minute read