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  • March 14, 2007 |

    CC bags KKR mandate on Alliance Boots bid

    Clifford Chance (CC) has bagged a key mandate opposite magic circle rival Slaughter and May to advise on the £9.7bn takeover bid for Alliance Boots by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. CC joined Simpson Thacher & Bartlett to advise the US private equity giant on its offer for regular Slaughters client Alliance Boots, which rejected the bid earlier this week (12 March).

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  • March 12, 2007 |

    A&O raids Freshfields Tokyo for local law launch

    Allen & Overy (A&O) has hired launched a Japanese-law practice in Tokyo after hiring a partner from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Nobuo Nakata, who specialises in corporate, M&A and structured finance work, joins the City giant's local arm and will co-head its Japanese law practice alongside another new arrival, Osamu Ito.

    1 minute read

  • March 12, 2007 |

    Talkback special: A&O chief hits out at PEP benchmark

    Allen & Overy senior partner Guy Beringer has hit out at profits per equity partner as a measure of law firm performance, calling for a focus on client satisfaction, staff morale and corporate social responsibility. He launched the broadside in an article posted on the firm's website last week (7 March).

    1 minute read

  • March 12, 2007 |

    A&O Amsterdam lands €11bn pharma deal

    Allen & Overy (A&O) has landed a lead role advised US pharmaceuticals group Schering Plough on its €11bn (£7.5bn) acquisition of the medicines business of Dutch chemicals group Akzo Nobel. The A&O team was led by Amsterdam corporate partner Sietze Hepkema alongside banking partner Andrew Thomas and tax partner Olaf van der Donk. US advice was provided by banking partner Thomas Abbondante, capital markets partner Cathleen McLaughlin and senior banking counsel Julian Weldon.Leading Dutch independent De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek advised Akzo Nobel on the deal, with Sullivan & Cromwell advising on US aspects.The deal follows the sale last year by Akzo Nobel of former subsidiary Organon BioSciences, including human and animal medicines and a fledgling vaccines business.The latest deal is the second-largest M&A transaction in Dutch history, following the tie-up between Netherlands-based utility giants Essent and Nuon in a €24bn (£16bn) deal. A&O advised Nuon on the merger, with magic circle rival Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer acting on behalf of Essent.

    1 minute read

  • March 8, 2007 |

    Beringer's broadside needs a PEP

    Is Guy Beringer’s broadside against profits per equity partner (PEP) as a measure of law firm performance a case of the lady – or in this case the…

    1 minute read

  • March 8, 2007 |

    Insolvency legend Miller rejoins Weil Gotshal

    Weil Gotshal & Manges has re-hired the high-profile former head of its global finance and restructuring practice, Harvey Miller, it was announced yesterday (7 March). Miller, who has spent the last four years at merchant banking firm Greenhill & Co, where he served as managing director and vice chairman, will join the US giant's Manhattan hub as a partner 12 March.

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  • March 7, 2007 |

    Editor's Comment: Question time

    A multi-millionaire is on his death bed in hospital. When his son visits, the man's wife thanks him for coming but says his father is too ill to see them both. Later, when the man asks why his son hasn't turned up, his wife tells him he couldn't be bothered. Scenarios such as this one peppered the Legal Week Trust & Estates Litigation Forum, which took place in Provence last week (1-3 March). If there was one thing the delegates agreed on, it is that truth is indeed stranger than fiction when it comes to their line of work.

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  • March 7, 2007 |

    A&O advises JP Morgan in Lovells action

    Allen & Overy has bagged the lead role advising JP Morgan in its High Court battle against Lovells. Investment bank JP Morgan is suing the City firm in relation to advice it gave Finnish insurer Sampo on its £143m acquisition of Norwich Union's Polish life and pensions businesses in 2000. The bank is singling out the actions of Lovells' Warsaw office and the German operation of consultancy Towers Perrin. The case is expected to be held in the commercial court next year.

    1 minute read

  • March 7, 2007 |

    Allen & Overy earns key role with Northrop Grumman

    Allen & Overy (A&O) has scooped a plum role as a key adviser on international defence giant Northrop Grumman's European roster. The magic circle firm last month won a tender to handle all of Northrop Grumman's benefits work across the Continent, with London employment, pensions and incentives partner Sylvie Watts heading the team. It is the first time the company has held a tender for this sort of work in Europe.

    1 minute read

  • March 5, 2007 |

    Blackstone backs Ashurst on £1bn Tussauds deal

    Ashurst has bagged a lead role advising on the £1bn acquisition of the Tussauds Group by private equity giant Blackstone. The City giant is advising Blackstone and its leisure parks business, Merlin Entertainments, on its £1.03bn purchase of the Tussauds Group from Dubai International Capital (DIC) Corporate partner Charlie Geffen is leading the Ashurst team, alongside associates Mark Sperotto, Gavin Gordon and David Arnold.

    1 minute read