Legal Business

Baker & McKenzie acts for Bain and Brakes Group again as food distributor sells to US firm in $3.1bn deal

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Baker & McKenzie and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have picked up roles as US company Sysco Corp moves to buy London food distributor Brakes Group from Bain Capital.

Magic Circle firm Freshfields is advising Sysco, the largest food distributor in the US, on a $3.1bn deal to buy the European food distributor and expand its presence to the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Sweden, Spain, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Freshfields’ cross-border mergers and acquisitions specialist Piers Prichard Jones advised Sysco Corp from London, with assistance from Freshfields’ US head of corporate Matthew Herman.

Brakes Group and Bain Capital has engaged Baker & McKenzie to act on the deal. The firm’s head of private equity David Allen is leading a team on the transaction.

Baker & McKenzie has previously advised Bain Capital and Brakes Group on a number of transactions, including the merger of Fresh Direct with the M&J Seafood, Pauleys and Wild Harvest divisions of Brakes. The firm also advised Bain Capital and Brakes Group’s acquisition of Davigel from Nestlé.

The deal, subject to regulatory review by European Union competition authorities, is expected to be completed before the end of Sysco’s fiscal year in July 2016.

The combined companies are expected to generate annualised sales of approximately $55bn, with Sysco agreeing to take on the repayment of approximately $2.3bn of Brakes Group’s financial debt.

Freshfields had a bumper year in M&A last year, with Dealogic’s 2015 league tables recording the firm secured 190 deals worth $587.6bn. Freshfields also retained its title as top firm in the European attorney rankings, advising on $418.4bn worth of deals.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Disputes drive: Baker & McKenzie hires Hogan Lovells litigator Lyons

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Baker & McKenzie‘s push in the UK disputes arena has continued into the new year with the hire of Hogan Lovells stalwart Hugh Lyons.

Lyons, who leaves Hogan Lovells after more than 20 years at the firm, becomes the latest litigator to join Baker & McKenzie’s London office following the hire of Andy Moody from Eversheds, Barclays managing director of litigation and investigations Jonathan Peddie and BBC head of litigation Nadia Banno in the past 18 months. Lyons, who specialises in commercial litigation arising out of insolvency, fraud and financial misconduct, had been a partner for over 10 years.

While Baker & McKenzie’s litigation practice in the City received a blow at the end last year with the exit of global litigation head Tom Cassels to Linklaters, growth in disputes remains a key focus of London managing partner Paul Rawlinson’s strategy.

The firm has also hired transfer pricing specialist Jukka Karjalainen from Deloitte to lead its push in the tax space. Joining as tax leader of the firm’s UK business transformation practice, Karjalainen will advise clients on the design, implementation and defence of complex cross-border restructurings.

His arrival comes eight months after the arrival of Kate Alexander from fellow Big Four firm EY. Baker & McKenzie’s tax practice, made up of lawyers, economists and accountants, has grown to over 50 people during Rawlinson’s time at the helm.

Rawlinson said: ‘Our London growth strategy is firmly focused on building on our existing capabilities across a number of key practice areas including disputes and corporate tax. Hugh adds significant bench-strength to our litigation practice with his unique banking litigation experience while Jukka’s transfer pricing expertise will considerably enhance our offering to large UK and multinational clients.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Bakers loses second star litigator to Linklaters in a week as Cassels heads for Silk St

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Baker & McKenzie global litigation head Tom Cassels has become the second senior litigator to leave the firm for Linklaters in a matter of days.

The loss of Cassels, who was last year promoted to global litigation chief overseeing 700 lawyers, is a reverse for Bakers and follows the departure of its New York litigation head Douglas Tween to Linklaters last week.

Cassels, one of Bakers’ highest billers in London, joins a partner in the firm’s dispute resolution practice.

The move is a highly unusual London lateral hire for Linklaters but comes at a period in which the City giant has been intent on bolstering its historically under-weight contentious practice to compete with dispute leaders such as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Herbert Smith Freehills.

Cassels follows several prominent litigators moving to the Magic Circle firm in recent years. Banking litigator Christa Band left Herbert Smith in 2009 for Linklaters and has become a senior figure at the firm, having been part of an 12-strong partnership board that this month selected Gideon Moore as the firm’s next managing partner. HSF arbitration partner Matthew Weiniger QC made the same switch in July this year.

Cassels is known for his work advising the BBC Trust on the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal and the broadcaster’s investigation into sex abuse allegations against radio presenter Stuart Hall. Other clients include energy major Shell, mobile operator Three and Formula 1 racing team McLaren Mercedes. He leaves Bakers after 21 years.

He is the third lateral hire by Linklaters in the past week, with Tween’s arrival in New York followed with the arrival of Margot Schonholtz from Willkie Farr & Gallagher to head its restructuring and insolvency practice in Manhattan.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Ince & Co Singapore exits continue as energy head departs for Bakers

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Ince & Co’s departures continue in Singapore with energy head Martin David being the latest to leave the firm, joining Baker & McKenzie as a partner in its Singapore energy practice.

The news comes as Ince’s Singapore managing partner Richard Lovell, and the head of its local alliance firm Mohan Subbaraman departed the firm to join Reed Smith – a move that left Ince’s own Singapore law alliance at risk, with further exits expected from the alliance.

The firm’s London-based global head of shipping Faz Peermohamed has also resigned from the firm after 20 years to become the chief executive of Ince’s long-standing shipping client Norwegian Hull Club in January 2016.

David has a particular focus on projects and project finance in the onshore energy and infrastructure sectors, while Ince’s offering focuses particularly on the offshore energy sector.

A qualified engineer, David has over 20 years’ experience advising on private and public construction and infrastructure projects, including major PPPs with knowledge of the power industry in Asia.

He leaves Ince 18 months after joining in May 2013, and was managing director at DLA Piper Singapore for almost three years. Before this, David served at Linklaters for nearly 13 years, where he made partner.  

‘We can confirm that Martin David has resigned from the Ince partnership and wish him the very best for the future,’ said a spokesperson for the firm.

The firm, which recently made plans to reduce its London office space by almost half, is now considering an ABS structure to offer its clients other services.

A spokesman said: ‘Consistent with our agreed strategy of growing our transactional capability in our chosen industry sectors in order to complement our reputation in dispute resolution, we are considering additional product lines that we could offer to our clients under an ABS. While our discussions are ongoing, the additional services that we are considering would utilise our depth of market expertise and contacts to enhance our offering to our clients.’

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Revolving doors: DAC Beachcroft, Osborne Clarke, Baker & McKenzie among those announcing new recruits

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A number of firms including Osborne Clarke, Baker & McKenzie, CMS and Simmons & Simmons made key hires last week. 

Osborne Clarke has hired Jeremy Summers as a partner in its litigation team, joining from Slater and Gordon where he headed the business crime and regulation team. The firm’s UK managing partner Ray Berg said the hire would allow the firm to offer further white collar crime expertise, and Summers’ experience in Hong Kong would add to the formal association Osborne Clarke has with Koh Vass & Co.

Going the other way, James Mullock is leaving Osborne Clarke after almost 20 years to join Bird & Bird as partner in its international privacy and protection group. The firm’s of its co-head international data protection group Ruth Boardman said Mullock’s sector-specific expertise, particularly in advising on complex technology, media and telecoms transactions, will help the firm proactively develop data protection opportunities clients as the practice grows internationally.

Baker & McKenzie is also upping its data protection practice by hiring GE Capital’s global senior privacy counsel Dyann Heward-Mills as partner, in a move which brings the number of IT and commercial lawyers it has in London to more than 30. The firm’s London head of IT law Harry Small said Heward-Mills brings to the team a wealth of privacy and data protection insights together with a deep understanding of the regulatory pressures currently faced by clients in a number of sectors.

Meanwhile, CMS Belgium has picked up former Allen & Overy counsel Tom De Cordier to join as a TMC/data protection/life sciences partner. CMS Belgium managing partner Tom Heremans said ‘CMS has a strong focus on technology and life sciences both internationally and here in Belgium. And this strategy is paying off: more and more clients turn to us for assistance in this rapidly developing area.’

Still in Europe, Simmons & Simmons’ German office is expanding its life sciences sector group with the hire of Boris Handorn who joins as partner. In Düsseldorf Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe has hired Andre Zimmerman from the Frankfurt office of King & Wood Mallesons to head up Orrick’s German employment law practice. Orrick has also hired Annalisa Dentoni-Litta as partner in its structured finance team in Rome.

Back in Britain, Gide has expanded its London real estate practice by shifting Hugues Moreau, who had headed Gide Warsaw’s real estate practice, back to London.

Meanwhile, DAC Beachcroft has expanded in Manchester, adding Paul Ellaby as a corporate partner. Ellaby joins from Ward Hadaway where he was a partner in the Manchester corporate practice. Also in Manchester, Browne Jacobson has boosted its Manchester health team by appointing Rebecca Fitzpatrick from Hill Dicksinson, and appointing former Berrymans Lace Mawer lawyer and deputy district judge Claire Batchelor as a consultant.

Simmons & Simmons has hired James Coleman as corporate partner in its Dubai office, from Allen & Overy in Doha where he was counsel. In Asia, Ashurst has strengthened its debt capital markets team with the appointment of Jini Lee as a partner in its Hong Kong based securities and derivatives group. Lee joins from Linklaters where she had worked in the Hong Kong and London offices. 

victoria.young@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

News in brief – September 2015

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BAKERS’ 2014/15 FINANCIALS SEE FIRM SLIP BEHIND DLA

Baker & McKenzie revealed it generated $2.43bn in the year to 30 June 2015, a 4% fall on last year’s $2.54bn. The firm said a strengthening dollar had hit its top-line and also helped push profit per equity partner down to $1.14m from $1.29m. The firm said it had invested in a new financial and management system and hired 51 lateral partners over the year.

Legal Business

‘We are not where we wanted to be’: Bakers falls behind DLA as revenue drops $100m and PEP dives 12%

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Baker & McKenzie has fallen behind rival firm DLA Piper in the stakes to be the biggest global law firm after its worldwide revenues dropped 4% to $2.43bn in the fiscal year ending 30 June 2015.

The firm said the results, which are down on last year’s record $2.54bn, highlighted ‘the exceptional appreciation of the US dollar against most other currencies in the period’, which resulted in a ‘modest decline’, and that, on a like-for-like exchange rate, the firm’s total global revenues would have been up 2% compared to the previous financial year.

But profit per equity partner at the firm would still have been down, though instead of dropping the steep 12% to $1.14m from $1.29m the previous year, it would have only marginally shifted to $1.25m.

‘We are not where we wanted to be,’ said Bakers’ chairman Eduardo Leite (pictured). ‘We were affected, like anyone else that has a very global footprint and deals with 35 or more currencies by the devaluation of many currencies when we convert into the dollar. We also had a one-time impact of the change to a new system for financial and management purposes – SAP system – so there is an adaptation period, and this to some extent affected our billing cycle.’

In the last 12 months the firm has continued its international investment with the launch of two new offices in Brisbane and Jeddah, a joint venture in Shanghai which allows the firm to practice both international and Chinese law, as well as a new global services centre in Belfast.

Leite particularly cited standout performance in its antitrust, competition and tax practices, which managed to grow in dollar terms. The firm’s transactional practices in banking and finance, capital markets, M&A, private equity and real estate were also active, as well as the firm’s less established areas such as compliance and cybersecurity, which also saw a rise in activity.

The firm hired 51 lateral partners in the past year, and increased its full-time equivalent fee-earner headcount by 34% to 5,685 while total staff headcount was 11,336. Total billable hours at the firm grew by 5% to 7.8 million while productivity increased 2% on average.

Some key work at firm in the last year included advising the financial advisors and lead managers on the $6bn floatation of The National Commercial Bank, Saudi Arabia’s largest lender; representing Merck on the international aspects of its $14.2bn consumer care business sale to Bayer; and acting for CSR Corporation Limited on its $26bn merger with China CNR Corporation.

The results are considerably apart from last year when the firm overtook rivals and became the world’s largest law firm with a turnover of $2.54bn. In Legal Business’ Global 100, the top spot is currently occupied by Latham & Watkins, which set a high bar for the global elite after its 2014 revenues surged 14% to $2.61bn.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Dealwatch: A&O wins place alongside Latham, Ropes and Sidley on Carlyle’s $8bn tech buyout

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A raft of firms, including Allen & Overy (A&O), have landed roles on Carlyle Group’s $8bn purchase of software-storage company Veritas in what is the largest US technology leveraged buyout this year.

An investor group led by Carlyle, including Singapore’s GIC and others, will buy Veritas from owner Symantec. The $8bn cash deal is expected to net Symantec around $6.3bn and has been unanimously approved by its board of directors.

Carlyle used four law firms on the deal with A&O representing the private equity firm on matters outside of the US including closing the transaction in around 40 jurisdictions. The Magic Circle firm’s team was led by corporate partners Gillian Holgate and Karan Dinamani, who joined the firm last year from Ashurst following the defection of the City stalwart’s former global head of corporate, commercial and competition Stephen Lloyd. Other partners included Chris Harrison in tax, Mark Mansell in employment, Neil Bowden in pensions, Adam Cleal in real estate, Jim Ford for transitional services and commercial operations, and Bernardine Lam for Hong Kong/China-related advice.

A&O had previously worked for Carlyle on its $5bn disposal of its stake in China Pacific Insurance Group in 2013.

Partners Mark Plotkin and David Fagan at Covington & Burling advised on the buyout’s regulatory issues for Carlyle while a team at Latham & Watkins‘ Washington DC office also worked on deal that is expected to close by the end of the year. Latham’s team included corporate partners Patrick Shannon and Jason Licht, finance partners Jeffrey Chenard and Scott Forchheimer while antitrust was handled by partner Marc Williamson and tax by Cheryl Coe. Alston & Bird represented Carlyle on other aspects.

Co-investor GIC turned to a team from Ropes & Gray including private equity partner Anthony Norris and finance partner Stefanie Birkmann out of New York for M&A advice. Sidley Austin represented the sovereign wealth fund on US regulatory matters with Washington DC-based team inlcuding partners James Mendhenhall and Howard Stanislawski.

Baker & McKenzie and Fenwick & West acted for the seller, Symantec, while JP Morgan acted as financial adviser. On the other side, BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS Investment Bank were financial advisors to Carlyle and GIC.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Baker & McKenzie bolsters disputes with ex-Barclays financial crime chief Jonathan Peddie

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Jonathan Peddie, charged with handling Barclays’ raft of litigation and government investigations work in the aftermath of the financial crisis, has been hired by Baker & McKenzie in London as a partner.

Peddie, who resigned from Barclays this January after nine years at the banking giant, will link up with Bakers’ corporate investigations group in September. He has spent the past year as head of Barclays financial crime unit, handling its bribery and corruption, money laundering and international sanctions at a time when regulators are increasing pressure on banks to prevent financial crimes. Peddie previously served as managing director of litigation and investigations for two years until May 2013 after having handled that function for the retail and commercial banking arm of the UK bank.

Prior to joining Barclays in 2005, Peddie spent nine years at Magic Circle firm Clifford Chance, including three years as deputy general counsel.

One of a string of senior lawyers to quit Barclays since it overhauled its legal function last year to create practice based pools servicing the entire bank, Peddie will join up with an 800-strong global disputes practice. Erica Handling, EMEA general counsel for Barclays’ investment bank arm, departed for funds manager BlackRock earlier this year and law firms are circling the bank for senior hires following its legal restructuring. Indeed, deputy group general counsel Michael Shaw announced his departure in June after six years in the role.

Bakers’ global head of dispute resolution, Tom Cassels, said: ‘Having someone of Jonathan’s calibre in the team is a huge plus for us and our clients. Advice on cross border investigations is increasingly at the heart of what our clients need from our global disputes practice and Jonathan brings a track record and international experience that is second to none.’

While returns to private practice from in-house roles and government agencies are common in the US, such moves have become increasingly prevalent in the City in recent years. Bakers has been one of the more active law firms in recruiting senior lawyers from the corporate world, recruiting Standard Chartered Bank’s former head of legal David Brimacombe as a consultant in its financial institutions group and the BBC’s head of litigation Nadia Banno in the past 18 months. This shift in hiring patterns rests on the investigations experience built up by in-house lawyers following the financial crisis and client demand for those with that knowledge.

Jonathan Peddie said: ‘As is well known, the banking industry has been through a period of significant regulatory and public scrutiny. Similar pressures are now growing in many other industry sectors. All major businesses need to have a sound process for corporate internal investigations that public authorities, investors and consumers will regard as adequately objective. I’m delighted to be joining and having the opportunity to offer the strategic experience gained at Barclays to Baker & McKenzie’s international client base.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

News in brief – July 2015

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FRESHFIELDS BREAKS CITY LOCKSTEP TO BRING IN KIRKLAND’S McKIMM

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s hire of Kirkland & Ellis high-yield heavyweight Ward McKimm made waves in the City in June. Joining as co-head of European leveraged finance, McKimm’s salary is understood to be well above the firm’s City top of equity.