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  • November 25, 2012 |

    Reed Smith, Macfarlanes and BLP lead on $142m Faberge takeover

    Reed Smith, Macfarlanes and Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) have won roles on the $142m (£89m) acquisition of iconic jewellery brand Faberge by gemstone company Gemfields. Faberge is majority owned by former BHP Billiton CEO Brian Gibertson's investment company Pallinghurst Resources, which acquired the company in 2007. Gibertson also jointly controls Gemfields with investor grouping Rox.

    1 minute read

  • November 22, 2012 | International Edition

    Rage against the machine – can Linklaters still do the vision thing?

    Lauded as a world-beater during the boom, Linklaters found itself in 2012 dogged by controversy and discord after its latest restructuring. Georgina Stanley asks if the City icon can still do the vision thing

    1 minute read

  • November 22, 2012 |

    Rage against the machine – can Linklaters still do the vision thing?

    Lauded as a world-beater during the boom, Linklaters found itself in 2012 dogged by controversy and discord after its latest restructuring. Georgina Stanley asks if the City icon can still do the vision thing

    1 minute read

  • November 21, 2012 |

    The Transfer Window: recent moves including White & Case, Stephenson Harwood and A&O

    US firm Goodwin Procter has added a fifth partner to its London office with the hire of Allen & Overy (A&O) tax counsel Ben Eaton. Eaton, whose tax practice focuses on investment funds and real estate transactions, also has broad tax experience of private equity, infrastructure and renewables, debt, hedge funds and real estate.

    1 minute read

  • November 21, 2012 |

    Korea leader Kim & Chang set to launch base in Hong Kong

    Kim & Chang is in the process of setting up a formal Hong Kong office after receiving a licence to become a foreign registered law firm in the city. The Korean outfit, which previously operated in Hong Kong through a liaison office, will soon become fully established in IFC 1 in Central in the hopes of better servicing its international clientbase. Leading the branch will be US attorney Alex Yang, who was previously a partner at Ernst & Young in Hong Kong and an in house tax specialist at Morgan Stanley. He will be joined by one or two associates as the office grows. "We're setting up the entity now. We've just got the licence from the law society," Yang said. "Our plan is to use this office more as a market intelligence gathering and client servicing base. It will help us service the clients, not just at the local level but at the regional level as well, as most global multinational corporations with operations in Korea have regional headquarters in Hong Kong, and to a certain extent Singapore." He added: "We're not trying to have a huge presence. We are still a Korean law firm servicing Korean clients, although a lot are going out of Korea these days, to China and various countries in the region, so there is a need to service them. There are also more inbound clients." Kim & Chang is currently the biggest law firm in Korea, with over 500 attorneys and a focus on the financial services sector. The firm, whilst still only providing Korean legal counsel, also has a number of US and Australian attorneys to help liaise with and manage its international clientbase. It is among a handful of local firms in Asia which has been able to compete with international law firms on a local level amid the liberalization of the region's legal markets; a trend which has sparked the likes of King & Wood in China to merge with Australia's legacy firm Mallesons. Yang said the firm has no plans to do a merger with an international law firm at this point, but would continue to service its global clients through its affiliations and relationships with outfits in other jurisdictions.

    1 minute read

  • November 19, 2012 |

    Cleary and A&O among firms advising on Korea cable TV IPO

    Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Allen & Overy (A&O) have taken lead roles on South Korean cable television operator CJ HelloVision's KRW293bn (£170m) initial public offering (IPO) - the Korea Exchange's largest listing in almost 18 months. Cleary acted for CJ HelloVision on the international tranche of the listing, with a team of four led by corporate partner Yong Lee in Seoul alongside associates in Hong Kong and New York.

    1 minute read

  • November 15, 2012 |

    Herbert Smith and Freshfields act on cancer trust's London IPO

    Herbert Smith Freehills and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have advised on the £200m London listing of an investment trust set up to support cancer charities. Freshfields acted for Battle Against Cancer Investment Trust (BACIT) with a team including London corporate partners Jonathan Baird, Guy Morton and Mark Watterson.

    1 minute read

  • November 12, 2012 |

    Davis Polk to strengthen UK practice with Herbert Smith corporate hire

    Davis Polk & Wardwell is set to boost its City corporate practice with the hire of Herbert Smith Freehills partner Will Pearce. Pearce, who focuses on M&A and capital markets work, is one of Herbert Smith's best known junior corporate partners.

    1 minute read

  • November 9, 2012 |

    Herbert Smith and Slaughters drink to Diageo's £1.2bn India deal

    Herbert Smith Freehills and Slaughter and May are advising on British beverage giant Diageo's £1.2bn purchase of a 53.4% stake in Indian drinks company United Spirits. Herbert Smith is acting for United Spirits and parent company United Breweries led by City corporate partners Alan Montgomery and Roddy Martin alongside India practice chairman Chris Parsons.

    1 minute read

  • November 8, 2012 |

    UK duo act as Japan pharma co takes GSK-Pfizer JV stake

    Allen & Overy (A&O) and Slaughter and May are among a line-up of top law firms advising on Japanese pharma group Shionogi's purchase of a 10% stake in Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) joint venture ViiV Healthcare.

    1 minute read