Legal Business

Addleshaws, Freshfields and Linklaters line up on Lloyds and Metro Bank £1.9bn and £596.7m acquisitions

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Corporate Addleshaw GoddardFreshfields Bruckhaus DeringerLinklaters

Addleshaw Goddard has scored roles advising both Lloyds Banking Group and Metro Bank on two distinct acquisitions worth £1.9bn and £596.7m respectively, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters on the other side.

Addleshaws’ M&A partner Nick Pearey and financial regulation partner Rosanna Bryant acted for Lloyds on the £1.9bn buyout of credit card provider MBNA from Bank of America. The deal is the bank’s largest acquisition since the 2008 financial crisis.

Freshfields advised Bank of America on the transaction, with corporate partner Sundeep Kapila leading for the firm.

Addleshaws also acted for Metro Bank on its £596.7m takeover of private equity firm Cerberus European Residential Holdings. Addleshaws fielded M&A partner Hugh Lauritsen, alongside Bryant, on the deal. Linklaters acted for Cerberus on the deal.

Legacy HBJ Gateley partners Alan Shanks and Addi Shamash also acted for Addleshaws, who finalised their merger with HBJ this week.

This week, Addleshaws finally secured a long-awaited Scottish presence when the firm’s merger with HBJ Gateley went live yesterday (1 June).

The tie-up, which will integrate HBJ’s entire Scottish office into Addleshaws, has already resulted in new mandates for the firm. Addleshaws will be appointed as pharmaceutical company Celesio’s preferred law firm on all Scottish real estate matters, as Legal Business reported.

Following last year’s failed merger talks with Scottish Independent Maclay Murray & Spens, Addleshaws and HBJ first confirmed plans to merge back in November.  It is expected that the combined firm will have a turnover of £224m, with £214m in UK revenue and more than 240 partners.

The firm is on both Lloyds Bank and Metro Bank’s panels.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Simpson Thacher acts for CVC on record-breaking €16bn new fund

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US firms Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerWeil, Gotshal & Manges

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s London office has advised CVC Capital Partners on its record-breaking €16bn fundraising. 

The fund, which is CVC’s seventh, will be used for private equity investments in Europe and North America. It is the largest fundraising for a European buyout house.

London-based private investment funds partner Gareth Earl led the team advising CVC on the fundraising. Earl joined the US firm in 2010 from British private equity house Doughty Hanson, making partner in 2012. His clients include CVC, Cinven, Apax, Bridgepoint, Charterhouse, EQT, BC Partners, Actis and Coller Capital.

Offshore law firm Mourant Ozannes acted as Jersey legal counsel.

Simpson Thacher’s London managing partner Gregory Conway stepped down from his role at the end of March after 10 years of leading the practice, and remains a partner at the firm. Private funds partner Jason Glover, who replaced him in the role, is the first non-US managing partner of the London office.

Simpson Thacher made a rare London hire at the end of last year, taking on Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Ben Spiers to boost its M&A practice. Widely-tipped as a potential successor to heavyweight Adam Signy, Spiers’ practice focuses on the TMT sector.

Spiers was Simpson’s first London lateral appointment since the firm took on high-yield star Gil Strauss from Weil, Gotshal & Manges in 2014.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

 

Legal Business

Freshfields patent litigation duo exit for WilmerHale

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Strategic recruitment Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerWilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr is set to pick up Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer patent litigation partner Justin Watts.  

Freshfields senior associate Matthew Shade will join the US firm with Watts, whose clients have included Rolls-Royce, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Schlumberger.

Watts’ practice covers disputes concerning pharmaceuticals, medical devices, biotech, communications and computers, often involving the interaction between standards, competition law and patents.

According to the Legal 500, Watts is singled out for his ‘vast experience in patent litigation’ while Shade combines ‘acute nous, commercial instinct, grasp of detail, and strategic insight’.

Watts joined Freshfields from Bristows in 2003, having previously worked as an engineer for BT. Shade began his career as a trainee solicitor at Baker & McKenzie before joining the Magic Circle firm in 2007.

Watts and Shade are the first lateral hires the firm has made since launching its London IP litigation practice in 2014, taking on Dentons’ UK patent head Anthony Trenton.

In 2015, WilmerHale wound down its 10-lawyer transactional outpost in the City, with the US law firm refocusing its London practice heavily around its arbitration team. The firm had operated with two London offices since legacy Hale and Dorr merged with Cutler & Pickering in 2004.

In April, Freshfields hired the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) joint-head of bribery and corruption, Ben Morgan, to its corporate crime and global investigations practice.

Morgan is Freshfields’ fifth London partner with particular experience and expertise in corporate crime matters acting for corporates and financial institutions, an area in which the firm is looking to grow.

Madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Freshfields and Skadden win roles on LSE’s $685m buyout of Citi yield book

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Corporate Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerSkadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom have won places advising on the London Stock Exchange (LSE)’s $685m buy-out of Citi’s yield book and fixed-income indices.

The purchase, which includes the World Government Bond Index, is anticipated to close in the second half of 2017 subject to regulatory clearance.

The yield book’s analytics platform serves 350 institutions globally including investment management firms, banks, central banks, insurance companies, pension funds, broker-dealers, hedge funds and investment management firms.

Freshfields advises LSE on the transactions, with US regional managing partner Peter Lyons and London based IP partner Giles Pratt leading on the deal.

Skadden’s New York based partners Jeffrey Brill, Stuart Finkelstein, Erica Schohn and Kenneth Schwartz advised Citi.

Freshfields previously advised LSE on its failed merger with Deutsche Börse. The Magic Circle firm advised alongside Linklaters on the deal – which was the third attempt at a tie-up.

Former Freshfields M&A veteran Mark Rawlinson advised alongside partners Andrew Hutchings and London M&A co-head Piers Prichard Jones, LSE while Linklaters corporate partner Roger Barron acted for Deutsche Börse, along with Simon Branigan in London and Ralph Wollburg and Staffan Illert in Germany.

Last week Skadden announced it had picked up global and EMEA PE co-head Richard Youle, along with recently promoted PE partner Katja Butler.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

 

Legal Business

‘It’s not surprising’: Six finance partners leave Freshfields in practice shake-up

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Finance Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Changes follow on from 2016 strategic review

Six finance partners left Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer at the end of April, with two more losing equity status as the Magic Circle law firm implemented a restructure of its finance practice.

Legal Business

The quality of life report: Pursuits – Edward Braham, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

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Profile Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

‘What makes a photograph is the light – you’ve got to get everything else there, but if the light isn’t right it will never work.’

Freshfields senior partner Edward Braham has taken photographs all his life. The walls of his office are covered with photographs from his trips to South Africa, Paris, Kyoto and Tanzania. For this respected City corporate lawyer, photography is the hobby that ‘clears the brain’ when he takes time out.

Legal Business

Freshfields and White & Case line up on Alfa’s £800m IPO in biggest UK tech listing in two years

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Dealwatch Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerWhite & Case

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and White & Case have won places advising on Alfa Financial Software’s planned float on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), which is expected to value the company at more than £800m.

The float, which specialises in software for the asset finance industry, will be the largest UK tech listing in the past two years. Alfa’s clients include Bank of America, Barclays and Mercedes-Benz.

Alfa enlisted White & Case with advice from recent hire Jonathan Parry, alongside partners Inigo Esteve and Laura Sizemore.

Freshfields is advising the underwriters Barclays and Numis with a team including partners Mark Austin and Doug Smith.

It has been a subdued 12 months for listings in the London market although in November last year it emerged Freshfields and Linklaters were advising on medical products company ConvaTec’s $1.8bn initial public offering (IPO). The global medical products and technologies company raised around £1.5bn, marking the largest European healthcare IPO for more than 20 years.

Freshfields corporate partner Chris Mort led for ConvaTec, which announced its intention to float on the LSE by early November.

Linklaters acted for the banks on the deal, with corporate partners James Wootton, Dan Schuster-Woldan and Mike Bienenfeld leading the team. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and UBS Investment Bank are the global co-ordinators on the IPO, while Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan Cazenove are joint bookrunners.

Herbert Smith Freehills is advising Telefónica on the planned IPO of its UK business O2, with the Spanish telecoms giant aiming to sell off between 25% and 49% of the business. An estimated £500m IPO for financial software company Misys is still underway, with Freshfields leading for the company on the float.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Freshfields plans to cut German partnership by up to 20% by 2020

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Europe Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Almost two decades after its flagship three way merger, Legal Business can reveal Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is planning to cut its 103 strong German partnership by up to 20 partners by 2020.

Following an ongoing process, a paper called ‘Germany 2020’ was produced in 2016. The document outlined the firm’s plans to reduce the country’s partnership numbers with a German partnership conference of the same name was held in spring that year to relay the message. The firm aims to have the country’s partnership sitting between 80 and 90.

Partners Legal Business spoke with said the plan was to establish more international practices and step away from local work.

One former partner said: ‘It’s been an ongoing thing since the merger with Bruckhaus. Bruckhaus is just so huge relative to what was actually needed. There’s always been a bit of tension there.’

Another former partner added: ‘It’s a more significant number because there are going to be promotions in there too. It isn’t just a net subtraction of partners, it’s a higher number because you can’t stop promotions – that would kill the whole business.

‘There has been push back lately because Germany has become more profitable and Brexit uncertainty suggests you might want a bigger presence on the continent. There are factions in the firm. It’s a fairly hot topic right now.’

Helmut Bergmann, DACEE (Germany, Austria, central and eastern Europe) regional managing partner said: ‘Our German business is performing well and we have every confidence that this will continue. Its integration and engagement with the broader firm is both pleasing and as anticipated.

Bergmann (pictured) added: ‘As with any firm, changes naturally occur in our partnership through retirements and promotions; we have an outstanding pool of talented lawyers that will cement our partnership group over the coming years and collectively add value for our clients in Germany and globally.’

In 2015 it emerged Freshfields planned to close its Cologne office, with the bulk of its staff transferring to the firm’s existing Düsseldorf outpost. The transition began last year, with the firm planning to find a new location in Düsseldorf by 2018, allowing two-years for the initial transition phase.

The firm promoted four German based partners in this year’s round and three in 2016. Freshfields also promoted Düsseldorf based disputes lawyer Thomas Helck to counsel.

In the past 18 months exits from the German practice include Berlin based Pascal Friton, Anna Huttenlauch, Max Class and Roland Stein who spun-off to establish boutique law firm Blomstein. Munich-based corporate partner Ferdinand Fromholzer left for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Cologne based M&A partner Oliver von Rosenberg left for GÖRG Lawyers and Hamburg based regulatory partner Michael Schäfer left for Chatham partners.

Cologne partner Hartmut Nitschke, Hamburg based real estate partner Christian Reichmuth and competition partner Burkhard Richter in Dusseldorf have also left the firm.

Last week it emerged Allen & Overy (A&O) had opted not to make changes to its German lockstep after the Magic Circle firm began consultations last September to discuss potential amendments. It was proposed A&O would introduce an informal 40-point top of the lockstep, halting progress to the firm’s global 50 cap.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Fieldfisher makes major structured finance play with Freshfields hire

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Strategic recruitment FieldfisherFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Fieldfisher has picked up Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer‘s former Paris finance head Dougall Molson. The appointment follows the Magic Circle firm’s rejig of its finance practice, which will see six finance partners leave at the end of the month.

The structured finance partner specialises in complex structured finance, commodity finance and derivatives. His clients have included Talk Talk Telecommunications Group, and a variety of investment banks. He moved to the Magic Circle firm’s London office from Paris in 2015 and will join Fieldfisher’s London office on 1 May.

For Fieldfisher, the move follows its stated strategy to invest in technology, energy & natural resources and finance & financial services as the firm’s three ‘accelerated’ focuses.

His appointment follows last year’s hire of Mayer Brown securities partner Richard Todd to Fieldfisher’s derivatives and structured finance group.

Fieldfisher’s head of derivatives and structured finance Guy Usher (pictured) said: ‘Dougall has got a good solid structured finance practice, he’s worked alongside Richard so they know each other. In addition, he’s been doing quite a lot of structured commodity finance in recent years which is quite valuable to us. His normal deal is probably at the higher end of our normal flow, so he’s bringing in more complex commodity financing.’

Earlier this month Legal Business revealed six finance partners will leave Freshfields at the end of this month, with two more to leave the equity while the Magic Circle law firm implements a restructure of its finance practice.

Legal Business chose not to name the five City partners and one New York partner who will leave the firm at the end of April, including three London partners whose exits come as result of the recent rejig of the Magic Circle firm’s practice. Finance has about 34 partners in London and more than 70 globally.

Two others – one in New York and another in London – are to give up equity partner status in April but it is understood they will remain with the firm in other roles.

In addition to the eight which leave the partnership this financial year, two partner exits from the London practice are expected for April 2018. Another finance partner in Asia, who has already left the firm, was also affected by the recalibration.

tom.baker@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Freshfields makes major New York play with three-partner bankruptcy hire from US firm

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Finance Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has announced the appointment of a three-partner bankruptcy team from Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, with the team joining the firm’s New York office.

Among the new recruits, who have worked together for over a decade, is Mark Liscio (pictured centre), co-chair of the US firm’s restructuring group. Alongside him are fellow partners Madlyn Primoff and Scott Talmadge. The trio will join Freshfields on 26 April 2017.

The group are well-experienced in the US market in advising institutional lenders, funds and investors, acting on some of the most high-profile bankruptcy cases. Recent cases the team have worked on involve Paragon Offshore Drilling and Arch Coal.

Freshfields global head of restructuring Ken Baird commented: ‘About three years ago we as a business thought, given where the world and the markets are going, this is something that really came on our radar. This process has taken around six months.

‘This team had been at Clifford Chance for five years, built a successful business and worked with people that we know in the London market. They really enjoyed the international work and enjoyed the culture of a lockstep firm. That was something that opened the door for them.’

Freshfields US managing partner Peter Lyons added: ‘The notable expertise that Mark, Madlyn and Scott bring to Freshfields will significantly strengthen and expand the global reach of the firm’s market-leading restructuring practice. This established and highly respected team also strategically enhances our US offering, especially as we look to advise clients involved in increasingly sophisticated and complex restructurings and insolvencies.’

In the US, the firm lost securities and commercial litigation partner Marshall Fishman in January 2017. Fishman left for Goodwin Procter to head its commercial and financial litigation practice.

The move follows news six finance partners will leave Freshfields at the end of this month, with two more to leave the equity as the Magic Circle law firm implements a restructure of its finance practice.

Legal Business has chosen not to name the five City partners and one New York partner who will leave the firm at the end of April, including three London partners whose exits come as result of the recent rejig of the Magic Circle firm’s practice. Finance has about 34 partners in London and more than 70 globally.

Two others – one in New York and another in London – are to give up equity partner status in April but it is understood they will remain with the firm in other roles.

tom.baker@legalease.co.uk

Read more: ‘Recasting finance at Freshfields: high ambition married with gently lowered expectations’