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  • February 28, 2007 |

    Top LBO trio tighten grip but primary market slows

    With the acquisition finance market slowing after a hectic 2006, leading finance partners are more eager than ever to position themselves with the select band of sponsors and arranging banks still getting deals to market. Recent months have seen established teams such as Clifford Chance (CC), Allen & Overy (A&O) and Ashurst tighten their grip on the market with the trio signing a string of a multibillion-pound deals (see table below), despite the recent struggle of sponsors to secure acquisitions in Europe.

    1 minute read

  • February 28, 2007 |

    Lovells calls in BLG to prepare case for the defence in JP Morgan court contest

    Lovells has instructed Barlow Lyde & Gilbert to defend it in a High Court battle against JP Morgan. The top 10 City firm is being sued by the investment bank in relation to advice it gave Finnish insurer Sampo on its £143m acquisition of Norwich Union's Polish life and pensions businesses in 2000.

    1 minute read

  • February 28, 2007 |

    Chadbourne boosts LA with Morgan Lewis duo

    US firm Chadbourne & Parke has bolstered its renewable energy practice with the hire of Morgan Lewis & Bockius partners Edward Zaelke and Adam Umanoff. Both have joined the firm's Los Angeles office and specialise in wind power and other alternative energy sources. Zaelke was the head of Morgan Lewis' renewable energy practice group and is the current president of the American Wind Energy Association.

    1 minute read

  • February 28, 2007 |

    Heller helps itself to Wilmer Cutler City duo

    Heller Ehrman has strengthened its fledgling London office after a second raid in as many months on US rival Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr. Tax partner Christopher Prout and corporate associate Scott Leonard-Morgan both join the West Coast tech leader as partners from Wilmer Cutler's City arm, along with three corporate associates.

    1 minute read

  • February 21, 2007 |

    Commentary: Losing AIM - three years of market boom has come to an end

    Barely into 2007 and already it seems a long time since the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) was somewhere everyone wanted to be. Yet only a few months back, London's junior market was booming, driven by high investor confidence and the queue of foreign companies waiting to list. As such, a sector once derided by bluechip advisers was being actively courted by the likes of Norton Rose and Ashurst, not to mention US players such as O'Melveny & Myers and Hunton & Williams.

    1 minute read

  • February 21, 2007 | International Edition

    Lovells sued for negligence by investment banking giant

    Lovells is facing a High Court battle against JP Morgan after the investment banking giant sued the firm for negligence. The top 10 City firm is being sued in relation to advice it gave Finnish insurer Sampo on its acquisition of some of Norwich Union's Polish businesses in 2000. JP Morgan was also involved in the transaction.

    1 minute read

  • February 21, 2007 |

    Lovells sued for negligence by investment banking giant

    Lovells is facing a High Court battle against JP Morgan after the investment banking giant sued the firm for negligence. The top 10 City firm is being sued in relation to advice it gave Finnish insurer Sampo on its acquisition of some of Norwich Union's Polish businesses in 2000. JP Morgan was also involved in the transaction.

    1 minute read

  • February 20, 2007 |

    The odd success of White & Case

    Is White & Case the strangest London outpost of a US firm?The practice seems to go through endless debates about governance, never reaching agreement…

    1 minute read

  • February 15, 2007 |

    Dewey private equity head hands over reins

    Dewey Ballantine's respected head of private equity, Sanford Morhouse, is to hand over the reins to his deputy, the New York firm announced today (15 February). Morhouse had chaired the firm's real estate and private equity groups for more than 20 years. New York -based private equity partner Joseph Smith will take over from Morhouse at the helm of the private equity practice, although it is not yet known who will replace him as real estate chief.

    1 minute read

  • February 14, 2007 |

    Richards Butler faces JP Morgan as Reed Smith calls time on bank claims

    Reed Smith Richards Butler is in the final stages of preparing for a claim against JP Morgan Chase Bank in what looks likely to be one of its final cases against a bank.

    1 minute read