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  • August 4, 2010 |

    Bird & Bird cuts associate pay bands as UK top 20 firms announce rates

    A number of UK top 20 law firms have announced their associate salary levels for the year ahead, with several opting not to increase their rates. Bird & Bird has reduced its pay bands for associates with between one and three years' post-qualification experience (PQE), while trainee and newly-qualified (NQ) salaries remain unchanged. The City firm has taken £2,000 off each pay band between one and three years' PQE with levels now standing at £58,000, £63,000 and £69,000

    1 minute read

  • August 4, 2010 |

    Linklaters and Slaughters take lead roles on £2bn RBS-Santander deal

    Magic circle duo Linklaters and Slaughter and May have taken lead roles on Santander's £2bn acquisition of 318 branches from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). Santander has instructed Slaughter and May, a longstanding adviser of the bank, with the firm fielding a team led by relationship partner Frances Murphy alongside corporate partners Andrew Jolly and Roland Turnill and finance partner Robert Byk.

    1 minute read

  • August 3, 2010 |

    BP clashes with Texas officials over GC's alleged negligence admission

    BP's US general counsel has been accused of citing "gross negligence" as a possible cause of the Gulf spill, prompting a dispute between the oil company and Texas officials seeking millions of dollars in cleanup funds, writes Corporate Counsel. The revelation came in a 22 July letter from Texas governor Rick Perry and attorney general Greg Abbott to BP. The officials mentioned a conference call in which BP's US general counsel John Lynch "acknowledged that gross negligence would be revealed as a cause of the explosion that led to the oil spill." The reference arose in a discussion about BP's reason for not invoking the $75m (£47m) liability cap provided under the Oil Pollution Act.

    1 minute read

  • July 28, 2010 |

    Links and CC win roles on £5bn GDF deal as M&A activity bursts into life

    Linklaters and Clifford Chance (CC) have lined up to advise on the £5bn reverse takeover of International Power by French utility business GDF Suez as the M&A market last week burst into life. CC is acting for longstanding client International Power, fielding a team under corporate partners David Pudge and Brendan Moylan and banking partner Andrew Grenville. Linklaters was brought on board for GDF Suez, with London-based corporate partner Matthew Middleditch advising. French leader Bredin Prat is acting as local counsel for the utility giant, with corporate partners Patrick Dziewolski and Matthieu Pouchepadass heading up the team.

    1 minute read

  • July 28, 2010 |

    SJ Berwin and Cleary act for buyout houses on $1.9bn frozen food sale

    SJ Berwin and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton have advised on private equity firm BC Partners' $1.9bn (£1.2bn) sell-off of its French frozen food business to Lion Capital, reports The Am Law Daily. SJ Berwin took the lead role for buyout house Lion Capital on its acquisition of Picard Surgeles, reportedly the largest leveraged buyout in France since 2008. Lion Capital, which was formed in April 2005 after splitting off from HM Capital Partners, specialises in acquiring consumer products companies such as Weetabix, lingerie retailer La Senza, restaurant chain Wagamama, and t-shirt retailer American Apparel.

    1 minute read

  • July 23, 2010 |

    Clydes posts 92% retention rate for September qualifying intake

    Clyde & Co has announced that it will keep on 92% of the qualifying trainees from the firm's September 2010 intake. Clydes offered roles to 23 qualifiers out of 26 due to qualify this September, with one of the 26 opting to exclude themselves from the process. These 92% retention rate marks an improvement of 4% on the September 2009 intake, when 22 of 25 qualifiers were offered roles at the firm.

    1 minute read

  • July 23, 2010 |

    Slaughters, CC act on €805m Unilever sell-off as M&A revival continues

    Slaughter and May and Clifford Chance (CC) have won lead roles on the €805m (£677m) sale of Unilever's Italian frozen food business. The deal, which was announced earlier this week (19 July), will see Birds Eye Iglo acquire the Findus Italy business from its current owner Unilever, with Slaughters acting for the seller and CC winning the buyer's instruction. Slaughters' Italian 'best friend' firm Bonelli Erede Pappalardo took the main local law role with the two firms advising the clients as an integrated team.

    1 minute read

  • July 21, 2010 |

    Magic circle trio line up on £2.5bn sale of Durex manufacturer

    Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy (A&O) and Clifford Chance (CC) have secured roles on the £2.5bn sale of Durex manufacturer SSL to cleaning products group Reckitt Benckiser. Slaughters advised Reckitt Benckiser with a team including corporate partner Jeffrey Twentyman and associates Anna Lee and Dan Won. The deal team included finance partners Andrew Balfour and Andrew McClean, competition partner Claire Jeffs and pensions and employment partner Eddie Codrington.

    1 minute read

  • July 21, 2010 |

    Magic circle duo head up £1bn Northern Irish energy M&A deal

    Magic circle firms Slaughter and May and Linklaters have acted on a £1bn energy M&A deal in Northern Ireland. The transaction, which was announced on 7 July, saw Government-owned electricity utility company ESB buy Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE), the Northern Irish electricity transmission and distribution business of the Viridian Group, as well as its associated electrical contracting businesses.

    1 minute read

  • July 19, 2010 |

    Magic circle duo lead on Canadian consortium's £2.9bn Tomkins bid

    Slaughter and May and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have taken lead roles on the £2.9bn takeover bid for British engineering company Tomkins by a Canadian consortium. The consortium, which comprises private equity group Onex Corporation and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), has made an offer of 325p per share for the company and due diligence is now at an "advanced stage", according to Tomkins. Slaughters is advising Tomkins with a team including corporate partners Nigel Boardman and Nilufer von Bismarck (pictured), pensions partner Eddie Codrington, competition partner Bertrand Louveaux and tax partner William Watson.

    1 minute read