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  • July 13, 2011 |

    Gov't refers News Corp-BSkyB bid to Competition Commission as Hackgate racks up legal roles

    Legal wrangling over News Corporation's controversial bid to take over BSkyB stepped up a gear this week as the proposed deal was referred to the Competition Commission. The referral by culture secretary Jeremy Hunt on Monday afternoon (11 July) was made in response to News Corp withdrawing from a proposed undertaking to spin off Sky News and came amid mounting public pressure for the tie-up to be halted as allegations continued to emerge in the ongoing phone-hacking scandal.

    1 minute read

  • July 11, 2011 |

    A&O faces Gordon Brown con trick scrutiny as hacking row grows

    Allen & Overy (A&O) has questioned aspects of allegations made by The Guardian that the law firm was 'conned' into handing over client files while acting for Gordon Brown, as claims continue to emerge in the phone-hacking scandal. An article published today (11 July) on the guardian.co.uk website alleged that the law firm was tricked into handing over details from the former Prime Minister's file by a conman working for a prominent newspaper, and also described A&O as Brown's "London lawyers", a claim which has since been amended.

    1 minute read

  • July 1, 2011 |

    Elite US trio added to Barclays panel after review of bank's advisers

    Barclays has added three US firms to its general advisory panel, following a comprehensive panel review intended to increase value for money from the bank's regular advisers. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Shearman & Sterling and Sullivan & Cromwell have been added to the bank's main general advisory panel after Barclays decided to include the creation of a US sub-division for the first time.

    1 minute read

  • July 1, 2011 |

    SNR Denton – careful what you didn't wish for

    It's an irony that as SNR Denton faces a tough post-merger period, a fair number of partners seeking to explain the firm's struggles have sought to pin the blame on Denton Wilde Sapte's previous management. The argument goes that the UK firm persistently ducked addressing difficult performance issues in the years preceding its US merger. You can make a solid case for that assertion, but long-time Dentons-watchers are also likely to ask how much the firm as a whole was ready to stomach that sort of medicine.

    1 minute read

  • June 30, 2011 |

    Hogan Lovells leads as News Corp cuts MySpace losses with $35m sell-off

    Hogan Lovells has advised News Corporation on its $35m (£22m) sale of MySpace, six years after the media giant purchased the social networking site for $580m (£362m), reports The Am Law Daily. The acquisition by targeted advertising company Specific Media will see most of MySpace's 400 employees dismissed following the change in ownership, according to an email sent out on Wednesday (29 June) by MySpace CEO Mike Jones which confirmed the deal.

    1 minute read

  • June 29, 2011 |

    Freshfields and White & Case secure roles on £300m Aston Martin bond

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and White & Case are among a raft of firms to have taken roles on a £304m high yield bond offering by iconic car brand Aston Martin. The offering, which closed last week, saw notes listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, as well as the creation of a £30m revolving credit facility.

    1 minute read

  • June 29, 2011 |

    SNR Denton takes tough line on exit terms as partners quit and UK PEP falls 36%

    SNR Denton has been hit by the resignation of two more key partners as it emerges that the firm may hold senior equity partners to a 12-month notice period. The latest partners to hand in their notice are regulatory head Chris Borg and senior banking partner Michael Black, who are set to join Reed Smith and Norton Rose respectively.

    1 minute read

  • June 29, 2011 |

    Senior banking partner quits SNR Denton to join Norton Rose

    SNR Denton London banking partner Michael Black is set to leave the firm to join Norton Rose. Black, who is co-head of SNR Denton's financial institutions and funds sector group, joined legacy Denton Wilde Sapte in 2003 from Theodore Goddard (now Addleshaw Goddard), where he had been the firm's head of banking. He originally qualified as a barrister and lawyer in New Zealand in 1992 and has been working in London since 1995.

    1 minute read

  • June 22, 2011 |

    Brown Rudnick bulks up in the City with two new partners

    Ashurst structured funds head Nick Terras is set to leave the firm to join Brown Rudnick's London office. Terras, who will become the US firm's 28th partner in the City, joined Ashurst last year from New York hedge fund specialist Schulte Roth & Zabel, when he was recruited as a consultant and handed a role to liaise between the UK firm's funds and derivates groups.

    1 minute read

  • June 22, 2011 |

    GTM and Skadden head up $1.8bn AstraZeneca sell-off

    Greenberg Traurig Maher (GTM) and Skadden Arps Meagher & Flom have taken lead roles on AstraZeneca's $1.8bn (£1.1bn) sale of its Swedish dental subsidiary Astra Tech to Dentsply International. GTM took the lead role for AstraZeneca on the sale, which came after a competitive auction process run by JP Morgan. London co-managing shareholders Paul Maher and Fiona Adams took the lead roles for the firm.

    1 minute read