• October 4, 2012 |

    Freshfields takes global M&A crown but deal slump continues

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has overtaken Clifford Chance (CC) to lead global and Asia-Pacific corporate markets for the first three quarters of 2012, but the gloomy environment for dealmakers has seen M&A values slide 19% against 2011.

    1 minute read

  • October 1, 2012 |

    News Corp hires ex-WilmerHale and Davis Polk lawyers in compliance push

    News Corporation has appointed five group chief compliance officers (GCCOs) in a shake-up of its global compliance structure, including an ex-US federal prosecutor and a former lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The new compliance structure will be headed up by the recently installed group GC and chief compliance officer Gerson Zweifach, who was brought in this February to steer News Corp's efforts to shake up its governance following the phone-hacking scandal.

    1 minute read

  • September 20, 2012 |

    Honeymoon period for foreign firms in Hong Kong seems over as IPO slowdown prompts fee drop

    Slump in HK IPO market has seen pricing fall by as much as 40%, as Elizabeth Broomhall discovers

    1 minute read

  • September 10, 2012 |

    The Transfer Window: recent moves including Pinsents, DLA and FFW

    Pinsent Masons has recruited a new head of litigation in Manchester with the hire of Julian Diaz-Rainey from Hill Dickinson. Diaz-Rainey, whose practice has a particular focus on the sports sector, has acted for a number of big-name clients including Premier League giants Manchester United and Manchester City, while he has also been involved in high-profile public inquiries such as the Shipman Inquiry and Baha Mousa Inquiry.

    1 minute read

  • September 7, 2012 |

    In-depth: Middle East and Africa

    Hogan Lovells looks at how Saudi Arabia is introducing a more accessible approach to foreign investment, and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom argue why due diligence is important in African M&A transactions.

    1 minute read

  • September 6, 2012 |

    Broad horizons - why due diligence is key in African M&A transactions

    The opportunities to invest in Africa are plentiful. Yet with more than 50 legal systems, Doug Nordlinger and Sarah Wolpert underline the importance of due diligence on M&A transactions

    1 minute read

  • September 6, 2012 |

    Rethinking the firm/client relationship - a conversation with Axiom CEO Mark Harris

    If one party to an exchange is satisfied and one is miserable, somebody struck a terrific bargain. But if both parties are miserable, the exchange needs to be reconceived from the ground up. The law firm/client relationship was, he felt, firmly in the latter camp...

    1 minute read

  • August 31, 2012 |

    Skadden and Latham brush up legal advice for Carlyle's $4.9bn DuPont acquisition

    Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Latham & Watkins have taken top roles on the $4.9bn (£3.1bn) acquisition of DuPont's coatings business by US private equity house The Carlyle Group.

    1 minute read

  • August 31, 2012 |

    Addleshaws to miss out on success fee as Abramovich wins court battle

    Addleshaw Goddard is set to miss out on a significant payout after the High Court ruled against the firm's client, Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, in his high-profile $6bn (£3.8bn) dispute with Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich. The judgment, which was handed down this morning (31 August) by Mrs Justice Gloster in the High Court, will be seen as a significant setback for Addleshaws, which had been working with Berezovsky on a conditional fee basis.

    1 minute read

  • August 22, 2012 |

    Shearman and Akin Gump lead on Ardagh's $880m glass manufacturing acquisition

    Shearman & Sterling has advised on a deal which has seen European packaging business Ardagh Group complete the $880m (£557m) acquisition of US glass manufacturer Anchor Glass Container Company. Shearman's team, which also advised on the deal's financing, comprised partners in London, New York and Washington DC, headed up by New York partner Christa D'Alimonte.

    1 minute read