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  • October 28, 2009 |

    Freshfields and Slaughters take lead on plan to split up Northern Rock

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May are advising as Northern Rock moves towards a restructuring that will see the bank split into two parts, with half likely to be sold. Freshfields is advising Northern Rock in relation to the restructuring plans, with London structured finance chief Alan Newton and corporate finance chief Barry O'Brien taking the lead roles for the firm.

    1 minute read

  • October 28, 2009 |

    Slaughters and A&O lead on €1.75bn Abbey bond issuance

    Slaughter and May and Allen & Overy (A&O) are advising on the issuance of ‚Ǩ1.75bn (£1.58bn) worth of covered bonds for Abbey National. The deal is part of a €25bn (£22.6bn) covered bond programme for Abbey National Treasury Services. Slaughters is advising longstanding client Abbey on the deal, with a team led by London banking partner Guy O'Keefe.

    1 minute read

  • October 28, 2009 |

    Commentary: Capital markets lawyers cross fingers for return of public float

    Will they, won't they? And if they do, when? Initial public offerings (IPOs), still the bellwether for market confidence, have been all but absent in 2009. As such, for many lawyers, the real test of whether recovering markets can deliver deals will be if 2010 can make good on the predictions that the IPO market will reopen for business.

    1 minute read

  • October 27, 2009 |

    Freshfields and Slaughters lead on Barclays' £226m Standard Life buyout

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May have taken lead roles on Barclays' £226m acquisition of Standard Life. The sale of the UK mortgage and savings business of Standard Life will see 268 employees in Edinburgh move over to Barclays, with the Standard Life Bank name dropped altogether. The deal is expected to close in early 2010.

    1 minute read

  • October 27, 2009 |

    Freshfields heads up firms on ING restructuring and €7.5bn rights issue

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Sullivan & Cromwell and Stibbe have all landed roles on ING's restructuring, which includes a €7.5bn (£6.8bn) rights issue. Sullivan and Stibbe have been instructed to advise on the bank's rights issue, which was launched yesterday (26 October) as part of a wider restructuring that will see the Dutch banking giant split into two.

    1 minute read

  • October 21, 2009 |

    ECM lawyers gear up for IPO market revival

    Equity capital markets (ECM) partners are preparing for a wave of main market initial public offerings (IPOs) after seeing listings all but dry up in 2009. So far this calendar year there have been just three IPOs on the main market of the London Stock Exchange raising £416m, compared with 32 IPOs raising £6bn in 2008. London's Alternative Investment Market has also seen a dearth of activity, with just five IPOs in 2009 compared with 38 during 2008.

    1 minute read

  • October 21, 2009 |

    Slaughters hesitates over annual firmwide bonus payout

    Slaughter and May is still considering whether or not to pay out its annual firmwide bonus, due at the end of the year. The magic circle firm is in discussions about whether it will pay the bonus - due to both fee earners and support staff - at all, or whether to make changes to the system.

    1 minute read

  • October 21, 2009 |

    Major UK firms cut back profit payouts amid tough markets

    Major UK firms including Pinsent Masons and CMS Cameron McKenna are among the growing rank of firms either holding back or reducing partner profit distributions as a result of the recession. Top 15 firms Pinsents and DLA Piper have both withheld profit distributions in recent months. Pinsents has withheld its last two quarterly profit distributions, with the firm attributing the "profits distribution holiday" to a series of management responses to the recession. It is due to make its next quarterly payment as planned in December.

    1 minute read

  • October 21, 2009 |

    Magic circle trio check in for lead roles on BAA's £1.5bn Gatwick sale

    Allen & Overy (A&O), Slaughter and May and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have taken lead roles on airport operator BAA's £1.5bn sale of Gatwick airport to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). Slaughters took the lead for GIP, acting opposite Freshfields on the acquisition, which was agreed last night (20 October). The magic circle firm fielded a team led by corporate partner Mark Horton for the investment fund, which also owns London City Airport.

    1 minute read

  • October 20, 2009 |

    Editor's comment: Blue sky shrinking

    For a breed supposedly shy of all things management-related, law firms have become rapid converts to the joys of leadership training. Doubtless that has something to do with the fact that the courses are relatively short and usually give partners a chance to get away from the office (as any teacher can tell you, getting students in a receptive mood goes a long way towards successful schooling).

    1 minute read