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  • April 10, 2008 |

    Simmons wins surprise UK role on Bear Stearns fire sale

    Simmons & Simmons has won a surprise role on the fire sale of Bear Stearns - advising the stricken Wall Street giant on the UK aspects of its sale to JP Morgan last month. Simmons' role on the high-profile sale will be seen as a coup for the top 10 City firm's corporate and finance practices, with the partners Jeremy Hoyland (financial markets) and Alan Karter (corporate) brought on board when it became apparent that the bank was in trouble.

    1 minute read

  • April 10, 2008 |

    Big-ticket mining bids drive McCarthy to top spot in Q1 global M&A rankings

    McCarthy Tetrault has topped the value table for global M&A deals for the first quarter of 2008, knocking Sullivan & Cromwell and Linklaters into second and third place respectively. Mergermarket's global rankings for Q1 show the Canadian firm advised on 17 deals over the period with a value of $319.2bn (£160.4bn) including roles on the two largest deals of the quarter - BHP Billiton's $211bn (£105.7bn) bid for Rio Tinto and Altria's $106.9bn (£53.7bn) bid for Philip Morris. The Canadian firm also topped the value list for Q1 in 2007 but ended the year ranked 20th, with Sullivan heading the tables.

    1 minute read

  • April 9, 2008 |

    NY trio lead $7bn Washington Mutual fundraising

    A trio of leading New York firms have gained advisory roles on a $7bn (£3.51bn) capital-raising for US lender Washington Mutual. The bank announced yesterday (8 April) that it has secured additional capital totaling $7bn through the sale of equity securities to investors including buy-out house TPG Capital.

    1 minute read

  • April 3, 2008 |

    Boardman hits AmLaw's deal partner list as sole UK lawyer

    Slaughter and May corporate heavyweight Nigel Boardman has become the only UK partner to feature in a ranking of leading deal lawyers compiled by Legal Week's US sister title The American Lawyer. The magazine's annual Dealmakers of the Year list shows Boardman, who has been a partner with Slaughters since 1982 after joining the firm in 1973, to be the sole UK face among a group of high-profile US partners.

    1 minute read

  • March 28, 2008 |

    US Briefing: Summer associate hiring wilts in '08

    Summer associate ranks look thinner for the upcoming season as many of the nation's law firms have pulled back from the record-breaking hiring of 2007. A sampling of summer associate programs at several top firms shows a decrease in the number of students that they plan for this year. With last year's summer associate tallies representing all-time highs at some of those firms, they appeared more guarded at recruiting time last fall. And as the economy has taken a dramatic downturn since on-campus interviews that began in August 2007, some law firms could find a mismatch in the supply of summer associates and their demands for full-time starters.

    1 minute read

  • March 26, 2008 |

    Bear Stearns general counsel cashes in

    Three months before the stock price of Bear Stearns plunged below $3, general counsel Michael Solender unloaded 2,087 stock options at $89 per share, writes The American Lawyer. The sale meant Solender pocketed $186,000 (£93,840) on 21 December, according to a form filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).

    1 minute read

  • March 20, 2008 |

    Advisers scramble as credit turmoil claims Carlyle fund and Bear Stearns

    Finance lawyers are scrambling to position themselves globally after renewed turmoil in credit markets led to the collapse of two hedge funds in Europe and the fire-sale of Wall Street giant Bear Stearns.First to secure lead roles were Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Linklaters as Carlyle Capital Corporation announced its liquidation after defaulting on debts of $16bn (£7.8bn).

    1 minute read

  • March 19, 2008 |

    US Briefing: Opportunities and threats

    Ryan Rettmann left Thacher Proffitt & Wood in the nick of time. Last March, not long before the subprime crash paralysed the debt markets, the first-year structured finance associate moved to Chicago's Kirkland & Ellis. At Thacher Proffitt, he had been working on securities backed by home mortgages, a niche that was dead in the water by the end of summer. At Kirkland, he took a job working on auto-loan securitisations, a considerably healthier asset class. Rettmann was not prescient, just in love. He and his new wife had decided to leave New York and settle in Chicago, where he lined up the Kirkland interview after one phone call.

    1 minute read

  • March 18, 2008 |

    JP Morgan sets aside $6bn to combat Bear Stearns claims as Wachtell secures trophy mandate

    JP Morgan Chase is setting aside $6bn (£2.9bn) to cover potential litigation as it agrees to buy stricken Wall Street giant Bear Stearns for just $240m (£119m). Following the announcement on 16 March that it is buying the bank for a fraction of its previous value, JP Morgan said it is estimating the cost of the transaction at around $6bn - taking into account the potential of litigation stemming from the drop in Bear Stearn's stock value and severance costs.

    1 minute read

  • March 14, 2008 |

    Reed Smith, Herbies in as AOL buys $850m Bebo

    The City arm of Reed Smith Richards Butler has picked up a profile-raising mandate on the $850m (£420.6m) acquisition of social networking website Bebo by AOL. The firm's London arm advised longstanding client Bebo on UK aspects of the deal, with senior associate Gregor Pryor leading a team that also included associates Krista James and Daniel Barnett.

    1 minute read