Reports of the death of CC’s sponsor practice prove exaggerated but surviving isn’t thriving

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Reports of the death of CC’s sponsor practice prove exaggerated but surviving isn’t thriving

Marco Cillario finds much more substance to CC’s PE business than the usual critique but stopping managed relative decline will only get harder

‘Look at the team they had in the mid-2000s: strong personalities, industry leaders, primary advisers to any significant private equity house. There has never been a team that strong in Europe. They failed to bring through any meaningful succession.’ Continue reading “Reports of the death of CC’s sponsor practice prove exaggerated but surviving isn’t thriving”

KPMG: Still not a law firm, still not being taken lightly

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KPMG: Still not a law firm, still not being taken lightly

KPMG’s global head of legal Jürg Birri (pictured) does not know how much it will cost to reach its target of doubling its legal services arm to 3,000 lawyers in the next three years.

He floats $50m and $100m, but for him it is beside the point. It is the appetite he is seeing from KPMG’s member firms – spread across 154 countries and territories – wanting to invest in setting up a legal services arm. Continue reading “KPMG: Still not a law firm, still not being taken lightly”

Covington continues European expansion with Frankfurt private equity launch

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Covington continues European expansion with Frankfurt private equity launch

Global 100 player Covington & Burling is taking a shot at the German private equity market, launching an office in Frankfurt after taking a six-partner team from Heymann & Partner, which has shut down after 12 years.

Focusing on private equity, tech and healthcare, the firm’s third European base opened on 3 April and counts eight partners and ten other lawyers, led by former Heymann corporate partner Henning Bloss, among its ranks. Continue reading “Covington continues European expansion with Frankfurt private equity launch”

Addleshaw Goddard recruits legacy BLP Asia head

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Addleshaw Goddard recruits legacy BLP Asia head

As the inevitable fallout from the $900m Bryan Cave/Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) tie-up continues, Addleshaw Goddard is following up on its Asia ambitions by announcing the hire of legacy BLP regional head Bob Charlton.

Based in Hong Kong, Charlton will lead Addleshaws’ Asia-Pacific operations, with firm-wide managing partner John Joyce telling Legal Business the firm is looking to triple the size of its regional capability. He added the firm would look to grow from four to at least 12 partners, spread across its Hong Kong and Singapore branches, and did not rule out adding further bases in the region. Continue reading “Addleshaw Goddard recruits legacy BLP Asia head”

Dentons gets even more polycentric with seven-way tie-up and Australia hires

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Dentons gets even more polycentric with seven-way tie-up and Australia hires

Dentons, the world’s largest globetrotting firm, has added 17 partners from an ailing Australian shop and announced a combination with seven firms across three continents over the past few weeks.

As 25-partner Australian firm DibbsBarker shut down, Dentons in May acquired ten of its partners in Sydney and two in Melbourne, while another five launched Dentons’ new office in Brisbane. They strengthened the firm’s financial services, real estate and corporate practices. Continue reading “Dentons gets even more polycentric with seven-way tie-up and Australia hires”

Magic Circle duo secure key mandates as Novartis sells its €13bn stake to GSK

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Magic Circle duo secure key mandates as Novartis sells its €13bn stake to GSK

Slaughter and May and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have landed pivotal roles on a $13bn deal which sees GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) acquire the remaining 36.5% stake in its consumer healthcare joint venture with fellow pharma giant Novartis.

Slaughters is advising GSK with a team comprising corporate partners Simon Nicholls and David Johnson, alongside tax specialist Dominic Robertson, competition partner Bertrand Louveaux, and finance partners Guy O’Keefe and Oliver Storey. Meanwhile Freshfields is advising Novartis, fielding a team led by corporate partners Julian Long and Jennifer Bethlehem, accompanied by tax partner Paul Davison and antitrust partner Rod Carlton. The in-house legal team at GSK was led by senior vice president and head of legal corporate functions Chip Cale, and associate general counsel Antony Braithwaite. Continue reading “Magic Circle duo secure key mandates as Novartis sells its €13bn stake to GSK”

Dealwatch: Transactional teams move into gear in strong spring showing

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Dealwatch: Transactional teams move into gear in strong spring showing
  • Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) (pictured) has secured a key corporate role for engineering company and long-term client The Weir Group on the $1.3bn acquisition of US mining equipment manufacturer ESCO Corporation. London corporate partner Mike Flockhart is heading the HSF team, alongside City competition partner Kim Dietzel. Sullivan & Cromwell is advising Weir on US law, led by corporate partners Matt Hurd and Scott Crofton. Meanwhile Oregon-based law firm Stoel Rives is advising ESCO on the deal.
  • Ropes & Gray has advised Nordic Capital on the transfer of its 2008 vintage fund’s remaining nine unlisted portfolio companies to a continuation vehicle in a €2.5bn transaction. The team was led by investment funds partner Matthew Judd in London. Meanwhile Kirkland & Ellis also advised the private equity investor with a team led by Theodore Cardos and Anand Damodaran. The team also included investment funds partners Michael Belsley, Richard Watkins and Christopher Braunack, regulatory partners Lisa Cawley and Adam Skinner, antitrust partners Ellen Jakovic, Mike Robert-Smith and Michael Thorpe, and employee benefits partner Elizabeth Dyer. Offshore law firm Carey Olsen’s funds partner Daniel O’Connor and corporate partner Guy Coltman also acted on the deal.

Continue reading “Dealwatch: Transactional teams move into gear in strong spring showing”

Kirkland and Baker McKenzie chart course for €950m sale of Danish shipping giant

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Kirkland and Baker McKenzie chart course for €950m sale of Danish shipping giant

Kirkland & Ellis and Baker McKenzie have secured key roles as Turkish freight shipping operator UN Ro-Ro launched its sale to Danish shipping and logistics company DFDS in a deal worth roughly €950m.

The Kirkland team, spearheaded by London corporate partner David Arnold, advised Actera Group and Esas Holdings, while the Bakers team was led by Charles Whitefoord (London) and Eren Kurşun (Istanbul). Continue reading “Kirkland and Baker McKenzie chart course for €950m sale of Danish shipping giant”