There is little space at the top among the elite M&A dealmakers, but as of October there is a vacancy for another heavyweight as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s Mark Rawlinson departed Fleet Street for investment bank Morgan Stanley.
After 34 years at Freshfields, Rawlinson ended his time with a run of headline deals ensuring that he went out on a high. It capped an ultra-exclusive standing for Rawlinson, established alongside Slaughter and May’s Nigel Boardman, as one of the City’s top deal advisers at an age when even the most driven partners are usually losing a yard.
As with most of the successful M&A partners of that vintage, Rawlinson is defined by a restless drive, a compulsion to get onto the next headline deal and a careful cultivation of personal reputation. While the mid-performing partners often rely on their law firm’s brand and institutional client base – the most competitive business winners are always looking to get their name out to chief executives that do not know them or looking for new opportunities.
The most recent mandates show the strength of the Rawlinson brand, acting for Anheuser-Busch InBev on its $108bn acquisition of SABMiller; the £35bn offer from Royal Dutch Shell for BG Group; and the negotiations between London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse.
But with Rawlinson last month stepping down to join Morgan Stanley as chair of UK investment banking, there have been questions about who, if anyone, will fill that role at Fleet Street.
Piers Prichard Jones is cited by some as the most likely to assume such a central role. ‘Piers reminds me of me 15 years ago. He’s a really successful operator,’ comments Rawlinson, who also strongly tips Bruce Embley and Andrew Hutchings.
Rawlinson cut his teeth at a time when Freshfields was going through a shake-up to reposition itself as a premier deal adviser and London was being reshaped during the 1980s by the Big Bang. The timing proved lucky as this generation of lawyers saw an escalating run of deals to refine their skills through the late 1980s and early 1990s. Recalls Rawlinson: ‘Many people won’t remember, but during the ‘80s Freshfields was the new kid on the block, Slaughters and Linklaters had previously dominated the corporate market. The Guinness deal in the ‘90s gave us some notoriety and showed people we could push the envelope.’
‘I phoned senior partner Guy Morton to say: “I’m so sorry.” He told me: “Don’t worry, we couldn’t buy publicity this good!”’
Mark Rawlinson, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
‘There will always be standouts,’ says Rawlinson. ‘When Anthony Salz and Gavin Darlington left I remember people saying: “Freshfields are alright but they haven’t got Nigel Boardman.” That was an ambition of mine and now others will take that opportunity and step up. The firm didn’t skip a beat when they retired and it won’t skip a beat when I leave.’
Career highlights for Rawlinson include work for P&O Princess Cruises on competing bids by Carnival and Royal Caribbean in 2001/02 and advising Manchester United on its takeover by the Glazer family in 2005 for $1.5bn.
Rawlinson – a sports fanatic who used to drive Salz to distraction during tense deals by disappearing to the gym – gained additional prominence as a key figure challenging the Glazer control of the club. In 2010 Rawlinson emerged alongside Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill as a member of the ‘Red Knights’ in their independent bid for the club.
‘I remember seeing it on the News at Ten: “We are right outside leading international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where today the mysterious group of Red Knights met to prepare a bid for Manchester United.”
‘My picture was in The Sun under a banner saying: “Who Are Ya?!” My mum was on the phone asking: “Why are you on the news? What have you done?!”
‘Afterwards I phoned [then senior partner] Guy Morton to say: “I’m so sorry.” He told me: “Don’t worry, we couldn’t buy publicity this good!”’
Rawlinson even puts some of his notable client wins down to the Red Knights saga: ‘After that BP phoned me up and said they want the man who did the Red Knights, then we won BG Group and more. It was a real turning point for me, it gave me a new profile.’
Called by BP general counsel Rupert Bondy amid concerns that the energy giant could be taken over in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon spill, Rawlinson was asked if he could fly back from a holiday in Ireland for the next day. At the chance to secure a flagship Linklaters client on a key mandate, Rawlinson swung for the fences, replying: ‘Rupert, for this one, I would swim back.’
Despite taking time to run the London office as managing partner from 2011-13, Rawlinson says he ultimately decided against making a move for senior partner. He comments: ‘There was a time when I was encouraged by some to stand for senior partner – but my wife said: “You have to ask yourself do you want the title or do you want the job?’” In contrast, his long-time friend Steve Cooke has just stepped up to become senior partner of Slaughters.
Looking forward, while the legal profession has changed massively in his career, not everything is so different: ‘It’s still Freshfields, Slaughters and Linklaters at the top.’
Rawlinson believes Freshfields will continue to thrive in a post-Brexit world: ‘As partners, you feel you hold the firm on trust for future generations, with a duty to deliver it in a better state than you found it.’ LB
madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk, matthew.field@legalease.co.uk
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