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  • October 13, 2010 |

    Slaughters advises media coalition on NewsCorp-Sky takeover opposition

    Slaughter and May has won a role advising a coalition of media organisations opposed to NewsCorp chief Rupert Murdoch's bid to secure a full takeover of BSkyB. Slaughters' competition team is advising eight media rivals - which include the BBC, Channel 4, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph - on NewsCorp's bid to acquire the remaining 60.1% of shares in satellite broadcaster BSkyB, a deal which values the company at more than £12bn.

    1 minute read

  • October 11, 2010 |

    Skadden fields team of London and Paris partners on €3bn Renault-Volvo share sale

    Skadden Arps Meagher & Flom has taken the lead role on Renault's €3bn (£2.6bn) sale of a majority stake in Volvo, in one of the largest Scandinavian equity deals of the past decade. In a move aimed at meeting its debt reduction goal, French car manufacturer Renault has sold all of its so-called 'B shares' in Sweden's Volvo, which represent approximately 14.9% of the share capital and 3.8% of the voting rights in the company.

    1 minute read

  • October 6, 2010 |

    Shearman and Skadden lead on €1.7bn sale of metal packaging co

    A duo of US law firms has taken lead roles on a €1.7bn (£1.5bn) deal that will form a new worldwide food packaging group. The deal, which was financed in the high-yield bond market, handed roles to both Shearman & Sterling and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. It saw Dublin-headquartered Ardagh Glass buy Dutch metal packaging company Impress Cooperative from private equity house Doughty Hanson. Under the terms of the deal, Ardagh will offer the €1.7bn (£1.5bn) in secured and unsecured notes in both euros and US dollars in order to fund the acquisition.

    1 minute read

  • October 6, 2010 |

    That certain frisson that still comes with a Debevoise hire...

    There is still something of a frisson - a sense of the unusual - about seeing the name Debevoise & Plimpton attached to a notable London appointment. The firm's recruitment last month of Travers Smith's David Innes was no exception. The reason is obvious. Despite a pukka Wall Street brand - backed by average partner profits currently in the $1.9m (£1.22m) region - for the last decade the firm has been content to haul in a strong but unflashy UK partner hire as pretty much a once-a-year event.

    1 minute read

  • October 6, 2010 |

    Chancery and commercial Bar: Stars at the Bar

    The future of the Bar always sparks a fiery debate, and never more so than now, with the Legal Services Act (LSA) opening up new opportunities set to reshape the future of the legal profession. The upcoming changes have split lawyers into two camps: there are those who see it as a dying profession, with barristers unable and unwilling to change, and others who see the Bar as a vital part of our legal system going forward, which is opening up to modern practices.

    1 minute read

  • September 24, 2010 |

    Skadden in front seat on Lotus motor racing alliance deal

    Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom has taken a lead role advising on Lotus Motorsport's alliance deal with French motor racing team ART Grand Prix. Skadden has advised both parties in connection with the tie-up, which will see Lotus provide technical and engineering support to ART Grand Prix. The US firm fielded a team led by Paris-based corporate partner Armand Grumberg, assisted by corporate associate Norman Sulliman.

    1 minute read

  • September 22, 2010 |

    Number of US lawyers applying to practice HK law quadruples in two years

    The number of US lawyers applying to practice local law in Hong Kong has quadrupled over the past two years as the region becomes a hot spot for companies listing on its stock exchange. Figures from the Hong Kong Law Society show that 64 US lawyers took the Hong Kong overseas lawyers qualification examination (QLQE) exam last year compared to 14 in 2008, and the trend looks set to continue with an estimated 65 having taken the exam so far in 2010.

    1 minute read

  • September 22, 2010 |

    Trio of firms lead on €350m first sale of Candover assets

    A trio of firms have taken key roles on the first sale in the Candover wind down as Doughty Hanson completes the purchase of Equity Trust for €350m (£291m). The deal, announced last week (10 September), saw the London offices of two US firms take the lead corporate roles, with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom acting for the buyer while Kirkland & Ellis advised Candover. The sale also handed a role to Simmons & Simmons, which advised the management of Equity Trust with a team led by London corporate partners Richard May and Alan Karter.

    1 minute read

  • September 22, 2010 |

    Latin America: Tomorrow's country today

    From the dark days of the 1980s, a newly-confident Brazil has emerged. Alex Aldridge reports on one of the most hotly-tipped emerging economies and the lawyers scrambling to keep up

    1 minute read

  • September 15, 2010 |

    Bank of America Merrill gets tough with first full-scale panel review

    Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoA Merrill) has embarked on its first full-scale panel review since becoming a merged entity, with a number of stringent conditions attached for firms wanting to pitch. The review, which was launched last month, will see the investment banking giant review its external legal counsel arrangements on a global and regional level.

    1 minute read