• August 29, 2007 |

    Finance lawyers under scrutiny as banking clients revisit deal terms

    Acquisition finance lawyers are braced for intense scrutiny of their work from key clients as banks pore over deal terms with a view to re-negotiating debt terms on a string of major buy-outs. Thanks to the impact of the August turmoil in global credit markets, leveraged buy-out (LBO) lawyers concede that banking clients are taking a critical look at deals terms after a string of 'pro-sponsor' deals that saw banks give favourable terms to private equity borrowers.

    1 minute read

  • August 29, 2007 |

    Asia: Three's the charm

    With bulging workloads and a dearth of suitable lawyers, why are law firms stretching themselves to have a presence in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong? Dominic Carman speaks to China's top lawyers about the three-office debate

    1 minute read

  • August 8, 2007 |

    Commentary: Finance lawyers all going on a summer holiday...

    A handful of desperately hopeful finance lawyers are still trotting out the line about market conditions being due to the usual August dip, but one partner rather more accurately sums up the collective mood by pointing out that "my banking clients are s***ing themselves".

    1 minute read

  • August 1, 2007 | International Edition

    Elite four lead on BA's £120m price-fixing charge

    Slaughter and May has taken a lead role on the high-profile BA price-fixing investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) opposite City rival Herbert Smith, with Sullivan & Cromwell and Simpson Thacher & Barlett also picking up advisory roles. Competition partner William Sibree is leading the Slaughters team acting for regular corporate client BA, which was today fined a record £121.5m by the OFT after admitting speaking to Virgin Atlantic about fixing prices for fuel surcharges on long-haul passenger flights.

    1 minute read

  • August 1, 2007 |

    Elite four lead on BA's £120m price-fixing charge

    Slaughter and May has taken a lead role on the high-profile BA price-fixing investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) opposite City rival Herbert Smith, with Sullivan & Cromwell and Simpson Thacher & Barlett also picking up advisory roles. Competition partner William Sibree is leading the Slaughters team acting for regular corporate client BA, which was today fined a record £121.5m by the OFT after admitting speaking to Virgin Atlantic about fixing prices for fuel surcharges on long-haul passenger flights.

    1 minute read

  • July 31, 2007 | International Edition

    Freshfields, Hengeler bag €11bn Siemens auto sale

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Hengeler Mueller have taken the lead roles on the €11.4bn (£7.7bn) sale of Siemens VDO Automotive in the latest major deal for the German industrial conglomerate. Freshfields is advising car parts supplier Continental on what represents its largest-ever acquisition, fielding a team under Hamburg corporate partners Christoph Seibt and Marius Berenbrok.

    1 minute read

  • July 31, 2007 |

    Freshfields, Hengeler bag €11bn Siemens auto sale

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Hengeler Mueller have taken the lead roles on the €11.4bn (£7.7bn) sale of Siemens VDO Automotive in the latest major deal for the German industrial conglomerate. Freshfields is advising car parts supplier Continental on what represents its largest-ever acquisition, fielding a team under Hamburg corporate partners Christoph Seibt and Marius Berenbrok.

    1 minute read

  • July 25, 2007 |

    Germany: The Freshfields effect

    Freshfields' partnership shake-up means more than a flurry of CVs for recruiters - the effects of the firm's restructuring are being felt throughout Germany's main legal centres. James Illman reports

    1 minute read

  • July 4, 2007 |

    Sullivan and Simpson secure $26bn Hilton buy-out

    Elite New York law firms Sullivan & Cromwell and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett have scooped lead roles of the latest private equity mega-deal in the US - Blackstone's $26bn (£12.9bn) takeover of Hilton Hotels. Sullivan is acting for the hotel group on the deal, which was announced yesterday (3 July), with Los Angeles-based corporate partners Alison Ressler and Patrick Brown spearheading the team.

    1 minute read

  • July 2, 2007 |

    Manhattan duo lead latest monster take-private

    Manhattan rivals Sullivan & Cromwell and Weil Gotshal & Manges have bagged lead roles on the latest mega buy-out as communications group Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) is taken private in a C$51.7bn (£24.2bn) deal. Weil Gotshal is advising the purchasing consortium, which is being led by Teachers Private Capital and includes Providence Equity Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners. Sullivan is acting for the target, with M&A partners James Morphy, George Sampas and Donald Crawshaw spearheading the team.

    1 minute read