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  • June 10, 2013 |

    Ashurst, A&O among advisers on Doughty's £935m Vue cinema sale

    Allen & Overy (A&O), Ashurst, Debevoise & Plimpton and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom have all taken roles on the £935m sale of cinema chain Vue Entertainment by private equity firm Doughty Hanson to two Canadian investor groups. The transaction, which is expected to close later this summer, has seen OMERS Private Equity and Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) buy the business, which operates 146 cinemas in the UK and Europe.

    1 minute read

  • June 6, 2013 |

    International firms in Hong Kong put high-yield dim sum bonds on the menu

    International law firms in Hong Kong are picking up growing numbers of advisory mandates on high-yield dim sum bonds, following a surge in investor appetite for the product over the last quarter. Firms such as Linklaters, Davis Polk & Wardwell, Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom are among the international players turning their attention to the market as a string of sub-investment grade Chinese companies consider new fundraising options. To date issuances of renminbi (RMB) denominated 'junk' bonds have been almost unheard of in the region, with the RMB bond market dominated by investment-grade issuers since the first dim sum bonds were issued by Chinese banks in Hong Kong in 2007.

    1 minute read

  • June 6, 2013 |

    Skadden promotes London trio to counsel in 33-strong global round

    Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom has made up a trio of London lawyers to its counsel ranks in a 33-strong global promotions round. All but seven of the promotions, which came into effect on 1 June, come in the firm's US offices, and come on the back of an eight-strong partner promotions round which took effect in April.

    1 minute read

  • May 30, 2013 |

    Five firms lead on landmark $7.1bn China takeover of US meat giant

    Five US firms have taken lead roles on a major M&A deal which is set to become the largest-ever Chinese takeover of a US company. China meat processing giant Shuanghui International Holdings has this week offered to buy the world's largest pork producer, Smithfield Foods, for a price of $7.1bn (£4.7bn).

    1 minute read

  • May 24, 2013 |

    Eight US firms close China's largest-ever leveraged buyout

    Seven US firms have come out on top this week after completing China's biggest ever management buyout - the $3.7bn (£2.2bn) take private of Chinese advertising display company Focus Media Holding. The deal, which finally closed last night, received shareholder approval in April for a buyer consortium to acquire the remaining shares in the Nasdaq-listed company for $27.50 per American Depositary Share.

    1 minute read

  • May 22, 2013 |

    Skadden and White & Case among elite line-up on vodka giant restructuring

    A host of firms including Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and White & Case have taken roles on the approval of a bankruptcy plan for Central European Distribution Corporation (CEDC), one of the world's largest vodka producers. The plan, which was approved by a US court earlier this month and comes into effect on 31 May, will see Russian billionaire Roustam Tariko receive all of CEDC's stock in return for a $277m (£183m) settlement with the Polish company's creditors.

    1 minute read

  • May 20, 2013 |

    Simpson Thacher takes high-profile Yahoo! role on $1.1bn Tumblr buyout

    Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian have taken lead roles on the $1.1bn (£723m) acquisition of blogging website Tumblr by Yahoo!. Yahoo! confirmed the deal in a statement today (20 May), including a promise "not to screw it up". The largely cash-based deal will see Tumblr retain its independence as a separately operated business, with founder and current CEO David Karp remaining in his post.

    1 minute read

  • May 16, 2013 |

    Dealmaker: Michal Berkner

    The Skadden London partner on not deviating from the plan and the pros of being the only woman at the table

    1 minute read

  • May 15, 2013 |

    Raft of US firms score roles on AsiaInfo-Linkage take private

    A raft of US law firms have acted on the take private of AsiaInfo-Linkage, the latest Chinese company to de-list from a US bourse through a management buyout. The Chinese telecom software provider this week said it had accepted an offer to be acquired by a private investor consortium led by CITIC Capital Partners and AsiaInfo-Linkage co-founder Edward Tian, which values the company at $890m and would see it removed from Nasdaq.

    1 minute read

  • May 9, 2013 |

    Berrymans IT director highlights need for greater investments by law firms

    Law firms need to invest in their IT systems in order to expand their business, according to the chair of Legal Week's forthcoming Strategic Technology Forum. Abby Ewen, IT director at Berrymans Lace Mawer, highlights the need for continued investment in IT in a video interview with Legal Week publishing director John Malpas, ahead of the conference next month.

    1 minute read