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  • February 8, 2013 |

    SJB and Olswang among top firms on Warner's £487m Parlophone purchase

    Olswang, SJ Berwin and Jones Day are among the firms landing key roles in the high-profile acquisition of record label Parlophone by Warner Music. The all-cash transaction, valued at £487m, was signed yesterday (7 January). Parlophone, home to the likes of Blur, Pink Floyd and Coldplay, was formerly a part of UK music company EMI. SJ Berwin was instructed by Universal, a unit of French media giant Vivendi, on the Parlophone deal with a team comprising corporate partners Will Holder and Mark Sanders, senior partner Stephen Kon and competition partner Philipp Girardet. Paris corporate partner Etienne Bouriscan led the team advising on France law matters, while Frankfurt corporate partner Michael Cziesla headed up the team providing German law counsel. Universal general counsel Richard Constant said: "This was an extremely complex transaction carried out under close regulatory supervision and Will Holder, Mark Sanders, Stephen Kon and Philipp Girardet at SJ Berwin and their teams were instrumental in delivering an extremely good result for us in a very constrained time frame. Their ability to deliver for their client is, in my view, incomparable." Shearman & Sterling advised Vivendi with a team comprising London M&A partner Jeremy Kutner, New York M&A partner Clare O'Brien, capital markets partner Robert Evans and finance partner Steven Sherman. Olswang acted for Warner Music, backed by parent company Access Industries, with a team led by London corporate partner Stephen Hermer. Jones Day Brussels advised on competition aspects with a team including Europe head of antitrust Bernard Amory. The £1.2bn acquisition of EMI by Universal Music was given the greenlight by the European Commission last September. Clifford Chance (CC) and SJ Berwin partners Kon and Girardet led on the deal. The competition watchdog approved the takeover bid on the condition that Universal sells around 60% of EMI's European assets, one of which was Parlophone. Universal is set to retain more than two thirds of EMI on a global basis, keeping artists such as the Beatles, Beach Boys and Katy Perry. CC advised EMI and owner Citigroup on the deal in a team comprising global corporate head Matthew Layton City, corporate partners Daniel Kossoff and Rob Crothers, and Brussels head and antitrust partner Tony Reeves. In November 2011 SJ Berwin and Clifford Chance were among a raft of firms winning roles on EMI's recording division and publishing business acquisitions, after it emerged that the company, which houses artists including The Beatles, was to be split in two. CC advised EMI and Citigroup on the sale of both its music division and its publishing business along with US firm Shearman & Sterling and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, while Universal and parent company Vivendi instructed SJ Berwin on the sale of its recording arm in a team led by firm managing partner Rob Day and city corporate partner William Holder. Now-defunct US firm Dewey & Leboeuf took the lead in advising a Sony-led consortium on its publishing takeover, acting alongside Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Weil Gotshal & Manges, Allen & Overy, and Baker & McKenzie.

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  • February 7, 2013 |

    US law firms grow City presence by 8% in face of tough market

    US law firms grew their London offices by an average of 8% last year, despite continued depression in the UK and European legal markets. Research by Legal Week into the activities of 47 US firms in London found that partner headcount increased from 1,205 at the start of 2012 to 1,300 by the first day of 2013, with non-lawyer headcount also rising by a similar proportion. The increase in partner numbers comprises internal promotions, relocations and external hires.

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  • February 7, 2013 |

    Govt unveils competition reforms in 'quantum leap' towards US-style class actions

    The Government has unveiled a new 'opt out' collective redress system, described as "a quantum leap towards US-style class actions", as part of a series of wide-ranging competition law reforms following a consultation last year. The measures, unveiled by business secretary Vince Cable last month, have received broad approval from senior lawyers, after initial proposals were put forward for consultation by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) in April last year.

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  • January 31, 2013 |

    Bakers, Norton Rose among advisers on £700m private equity hospitals deal

    Baker & McKenzie and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer are among a group of top firms leading on a £700m refinancing deal for Spire Healthcare Group, which has seen the sale and leaseback of 12 UK hospitals to a consortium of international investors. The consortium features Malaysian pension fund Employees Provident Fund (EPF) – which was last year part of a group of Malaysian investors that bought London's Battersea Power Station – alongside US hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management and private equity group Moor Park Capital Partners.

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  • January 31, 2013 |

    Down but not out – global firms still eye Japan success despite a tidal wave of economic strife

    When the Japanese Government allowed foreign law firms to open offices in the country in 1987 to provide international advice, UK and US advisers started piling onto the bustling streets of Tokyo, then lured by the presence of the world's biggest banks and insurance companies as well as its booming technology and automobile industries.

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  • January 29, 2013 |

    Norton Rose hires Bakers partner in Beijing

    Norton Rose has strengthened its Beijing office with the hire of corporate partner Barbara Li from the local arm of Baker & McKenzie. Li, who is dual qualified in the UK and China, is an M&A lawyer with particular expertise in mining, energy and infrastructure. Her hire takes the total number of partners in Norton Rose's Beijing office to eight and comes as part of a push by the firm into Chinese inbound and outbound investment work.

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  • January 29, 2013 |

    A&O, Bakers and Latham among legal line-up on $1bn Thai oil bond issue

    Allen & Overy (A&O), Baker & McKenzie and Latham & Watkins have all taken roles on a $1bn (£636m) bond issuance by Thai Oil, one of the largest petroleum refineries in Thailand. The publically-listed refining and petrochemical company, which is owned by Thailand's PTT Group, issued a dual tranche of senior unsecured fixed-rate notes to foreign institutional investors earlier this month.

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  • January 22, 2013 |

    Bakers appoints Rawlinson to succeed Senior in London MP role

    Baker & McKenzie has appointed intellectual property partner Paul Rawlinson to succeed outgoing London managing partner Gary Senior from 1 July 2013.

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  • January 17, 2013 |

    On the crest of a wave – rounding up the best legal briefings from the last quarter of 2012

    After summer 2012's relative lull, Legal Week Law saw an eventful three months as business activity across the legal and commercial sectors picked up. Indeed, following November's flurry of regulatory developments – including the publication of the Leveson report, the Chancellor's Autumn Statement and the release of new guidance on US anti-bribery laws – Legal Week Law witnessed the year's highest monthly download figures. As in previous quarters, popular briefings on contract law and employment law, as well as 'back-to-basics' legal guides, continue to resonate strongly with Legal Week Law's 18,000 users. However, more so than in previous reviews, this quarter's data highlights how law firms are beginning to think more creatively when it comes to making an impact.

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  • January 17, 2013 |

    DLA UK managing partner heads Down Under for new Australia role

    DLA Piper's UK managing partner Andrew Darwin is relocating to Australia to become managing partner of the firm's Australian arm. The new role, which Darwin will take up in March, will see him work alongside Asia-Pacific managing director Bob Charlton, freeing up the latter to concentrate on matters across Asia.

    1 minute read