M&A – demanding problems, long hours, high stress…addictive how…?
In Europe at any rate. The firm ranked number 1 M&A adviser in Mergermarket’s pan-European year end league table of legal advisers by value in 2009…
Big names pick up this week’s big deals. Slaughter and May, Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have all been instructed on Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group’s restructuring and branch sell offs, deals expected to hit the region of £50bn plus. Meanwhile top US firms Cravath Swaine & Moore, Sullivan & Cromwell and Munger Tolles & Olson all worked on legendary investor Warren Buffett’s $44bn purchase of giant train set, BNSF.
On the UK banking deals, Slaughters is …
The Lehman fallout is keeping wheels of professional services very well oiled through the downturn…
Long intense nights in small stuffy offices can lead one to realms they probably never imagined. There are those who thrive off the cabin fever experience of mega-deals and others who suffer it. The consequences depend upon a number of colluding factors. Here to explain all is the Legal Tease at Sweet Hot Justice with what she cannily describes as Deal Goggles :
I should’ve seen this one coming, I know. I’ve had enough experience by now with sexual humiliation …
The lucrative legal education market has seen the law schools eager to sign exclsive course provision tie-ins with firms over the last 12 months or so. The College of Law just has signed three more firms up to its LPC programme including Ashurst, Harbottle & Lewis and Stevens & Bolton. The Ashurst contract is a three year deal which will see up to 60 trainees each year study the LPC at the college’s London Moorgate. The CoL will also …
As Gemany and France exit recession, UK law firms are nibbling on a few more deals…
The sale of Friends Reunited for £25m represents a significant loss to ITV having paid £175m for it but Macfarlanes and Lovells have benefited from the instruction. Macfarlanes’ partner, Nicola Richards, advised the buyer, Brightsolid and its owner, publishing company DC Thomson & Co. Lovells’ partner, Tom Whelan, advised the firm’s longstanding client ITV.
Recently Lovells has also been advising a syndicate of senior lenders …
Earlier this year, as the first quarter of 2009 crept to an end, we reported that the shrunken M&A market had a clear leader. Linklaters maintained its position from 2008 at the top of the deal pile. According to Mergermarket rankings, the firm held its position as the busiest legal adviser on European mergers and acquisitions despite M&A activity across Europe reaching the lowest level since 2001.
Well Linklaters have done it again, this time topping the Thomson Reuters European …
In the realms of M&A, this one has a touch more glamour than most. The tie-up between Porsche and Volkswagen has been occupying the fianancial press for some time now and it finally looks like the deal will go ahead.
Bloomberg reported yesterday that Porsche, the maker of the 911 sports car, agreed last week to combine with its larger peer Volkswagen, a company with which it has historic and family ties. Volkswagen and Porsche ended a fight for control …
Redundancies accompany results at Pinsents as their June consultation concludes. Despite a slight growth in revenues at Pinsents from £213m to £215m in 2008-09 a slim 1% change, the firm has seen a significant fall in PEP from £486,000 to £310,000, a drop of 36%.
The firm will see approximately 20 fee earners and support staff exit the firm as a result of its only redundancy round to date. Alongside the redundancy programme Pinsents has introduced flexi-working schemes including sabbaticals …
The £22m credit-crunch related bill handed to the Treasury by Slaughter and May has been heavily criticised by the Lib Dems. The figures were released following a parliamentary question and showed that Slaughters was paid £22,150,000 for ‘financial stability related’ advice during 2008/09.
Lord Oakeshott, the Lib Dem Treasury spokesman, said: ‘This payment is simply mind blowing. It comes to £175,000 for every single equity partner of the law firm.
‘How can the Treasury defend allowing the firm to run up …
Professional education provider BPP has agreed a 620p-per-share offer from Apollo Global , the US education investor. The all-cash offer by Apollo Global values BPP’s equity at £303.5m.
In late afternoon trading yesterday, BPP shares were up 50p at 617p, Friday’s closing price was around 567p. However, according to the FT , several shareholders gave only lukewarm approval to the bid – Andy Brough, a fund manager at Schroders who controls 17 per cent of BPP’s stock, said that he …
Following in the footsteps of Allen & Overy, trainee retention at US firm Shearman & Sterling will suffer this year. The firm will only retain 9 of its 14 London trainees when they reach the end of their training contracts. With the professional services sector still seeing significant headwinds, we expect to see trainee retention suffer accross the board as firms seek to keep headcount and costs as lean as possible until the economy improves.
That’s not to say there …
As another giant bankruptcy proceeding sets into motion in the US, the effects reverberate all over Europe. General Motors’ collapse and subsequent restructuring is no doubt a worry for factory workers in Luton and Ellesmere Port but a raft of lawyers across the US and Europe will be rubbing their hands together. The affair is likely to involve more than 15 law firms (that’s the tally so far) as the proceedings continue.
The roster of firms… In the US, Weil Gotshal …
We’ve seen a bundle of bankers go down for shady dealings in this crisis and one or two lawyers as well; here’s a trio of tales where lawyers have landed in hot water…
James Gansman, a lawyer and former Ernst & Young partner in New York, has been found guilty of insider trading after he passed information about proposed buyouts on to a friend. Gansman worked in E&Y’s transaction division and advised companies on human resources issues arising during …
Something’s got to keep the tanks full on those gin palaces this summer…
Linklaters has acted for Riva Gaming on a restructuring deal with lenders to write off £100m of its debt. The company agreed a debt-for-equity swap with banks and slod off part of the business to Âformer chief executive Simon Hannah who used Eversheds. CMS Cameron McKenna advised senior lenders, Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish. Travers Smith acted for Riva’s owner Hermes Private …
Proving that the UK legal scene is still alive and kicking, here is a bunch of deals that will have partners rubbing their hands and associates fearing for their weekends sighing with relief…
Given the state of the commercial property market, this transaction is notable for its size – SJ Berwin has advised British Land on the £115m sale of Abbey’s City headquarters to the bank’s parent company Grupo Santander.
Whilst the country best known for Borat has seen several firms …
At a time when many businesses are clinging on for survival, BPP’s shareholders could be about to see the true value of education. BPP Holdings, which owns BPP Law School, has announced that it has received a buyout-approach from US education provider Apollo Global. Many of you will already have experienced first hand the professional services training at BPP. Their legal education business is very highly regarded in the UK and they consistently compete with the College of Law …
As the first quarter of 2009 creeps to an end the shrunken M&A market has a clear leader. Linklaters maintains its position from 2008 at the top of the deal pile this quarter. According to Mergermarket it has held onto its position as the busiest legal adviser on European mergers and acquisitions; the firm advised on 39 deals worth a total value of $59.6 billion. Despite this, the firm showed a 60 per cent fall in M&A activity across …
The latest collapse in the financial industry is yet another boon for law firms. After Nationwide Building Society struck a deal with the government to take over the stricken lender, a veritable smorgasbord of firms were served up for a legal feast…
Allen & Overy will act for its longtime client Nationwide Building Society.
Freshfields is acting for the Bank of England with Scottish firm Tods Murray also providing advice.
Dunfermline instructed Scottish firm Shepherd & Wedderburn.
The Treasury will be represented by …
