Legal Business

US laterals arrive like buses for Linklaters as New York hires second partner in a week

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Strategic recruitment Linklaters
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Linklaters’ New York office is on a lateral hiring spree by its own standards, with the Magic Circle firm following up its first US lateral in two years with its second in a week.

Seven days after appointing Baker & McKenzie’s New York litigation head Douglas Tween as chief of its US cartel and government investigations practice, Linklaters has hired Margot Schonholtz from Willkie Farr & Gallagher to head its restructuring and insolvency practice in Manhattan.

With outgoing managing partner Simon Davies set to be succeeded by banking chief Gideon Moore and partner feedback putting the US at the top of its agenda, Schonholtz’s arrival signals a departure from a strategy that has sought to win work for Fortune 500 clients in Europe and Asia without depending on US mandates as well.

Schonholtz joins the firm’s restructuring and insolvency practice, specialising in representing leading institutional creditors, agents to syndicated lending groups on debt restructurings, complex loan workouts, asset sale transactions and insolvency matters.

She leaves Willkie Farr after five years at the firm, having spent the previous decade as a partner at Kaye Scholer and Clifford Chance.

Tony Bugg, global head of Linklaters’ restructuring and insolvency practice, said: ‘US bankruptcy law is increasingly becoming a key component to global restructurings. Margot’s credentials, experience and understanding of this space, across multiple jurisdictions, make her ideally suited to our client work in complex, high-value cross-border restructuring matters.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Linklaters ranked best adviser for second year in annual survey

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In-house Linklaters
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Sarah Downey reports on the clients’ verdict

Linklaters has again been awarded top marks as an external adviser in Legal Business‘ fourth annual in-house survey, emerging as the clear overall favourite for both quality of advice on high-profile, strategic matters, as well as ranking first overall for value for money.

Legal Business

Moore chosen as Linklaters’ next managing partner

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Leadership Linklaters
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Global head of banking Gideon Moore has been selected as the next managing partner of Linklaters, pipping dispute resolution head Michael Bennett and Asia managing partner Marc Harvey to the post.

The Linklaters’ partnership board has completed its consultation process and selected Moore as its recommended candidate. A vote to ratify the appointment will take place at the firm’s partners’ conference to be held in London on 17 November.

Moore emerged as the strongest candidate for the managing partner post after the elimination of finance and projects head Michael Kent, western Europe managing partner Pieter Riemer and co-head of operational intelligence Tom Shropshire from the managing partner race at the end of September.

Sheffield-born Moore has led Linklaters global banking group since 2011 and his tilt at the top job was boosted recently by his reappointment to the role, despite his candidacy for the managing partner post.

The oldest and the most experienced of the final candidates, Moore was the only partner on the final shortlist not to have been trained at Linklaters, having started his career as a barrister before stints at Magic Circle rival Clifford Chance and DLA Piper.

Having spent all of his Linklaters career at Silk Street, Moore has a large following in London and runs a banking group that accounts for almost 25% of the firm’s turnover. Before becoming banking chief, Moore spent 10 years as head of leveraged finance with partnership board member Nick Syson.

Robert Elliott, Linklaters chairman and senior partner, said: ‘The board’s recommendation of Gideon Moore as firmwide managing partner designate comes after an incredibly positive and constructive process involving all high-calibre candidates, who demonstrated clear and compelling visions. Having now reached a decision, we have every confidence that Gideon will prove an outstanding managing partner and look forward to our upcoming conference to bring together firm-wide support, upon which the next phase of the firm’s development will be built.’

One Linklaters partner told Legal Business: ‘We all got the email this morning at about 9am from Rob. Gideon will bring some changes. Of course he will have to work with people to make those changes but everyone is looking forward to having a fresh perspective. We’re a strong firm but we need to make some changes about how we work with each other and build the culture. Of course, everyone now turns to the senior partner election as the combination of those two people is important.’

As current managing partner Simon Davies is to step down a year early from his term to join Lloyds Bank as chief legal, people and strategy officer, a handover period will begin between now and the New Year.

Moore will take a four-year term as managing partner on 1 January if his appointment is confirmed by the partnership.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Read more on the Linklaters managing partner race here. 

Legal Business

Linklaters makes first US lateral hire in two years with Baker’s New York litigation chief

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Strategic recruitment Linklaters
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Linklaters has made a statement of intent in New York by hiring Baker & McKenzie’s Manhattan litigation head Douglas Tween, its first lateral hire in the US in almost two years.

Tween leaves his role as global head of Baker & McKenzie’s white-collar practice and New York head of litigation to join the Magic Circle firm as head of its US cartel and government investigations practice, taking the number of partners at Linklaters’ New York office to 22.

He leaves Baker & McKenzie after a decade at the firm, which followed a 15-year stint as a trial attorney in the antitrust unit at the US Department of Justice. He has held a string of senior positions related to the development of US antitrust law and its enforcement, including chairing the American Bar Association’s Cartel and Criminal Practice Committee.

Tween’s practice focuses on fraud, money laundering and cartel behaviour. He is also well known for defending packaging group IFCO Systems in the largest criminal immigration enforcement action in US history, after US authorities arrested more than 1,000 employees across 26 states following the hire of illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America.

He becomes Linklaters’ third competition partner in the US, alongside Thomas McGrath in New York and Jeff Schmidt in Washington. McGrath and the New York antitrust team have handled a number of major merger control matters in recent years, including advising Glencore on its acquisition of Xstrata; BP on the sale of its Southern California refinery and retail assets; and Siemens on its acquisition of Rolls-Royce’s aero-derivative gas turbine and compressor business.

Linklaters head of global competition, Jonas Koponen, said: ‘Doug is a high-quality, experienced cartel lawyer who will strengthen our US practice and further differentiate our global competition practice as one of the few that can genuinely provide top-level cartel advice in all major jurisdictions. His experience in FCPA and other white-collar investigations will prove invaluable to our clients.’

Linklaters was not the only Magic Circle firm to announce a key lateral hire today (28 October), with Clifford Chance landing M&A partner Anselm Raddatz from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Raddatz, who co-headed Freshfields’ global energy and natural resources group, will be stationed at Clifford Chance’s Düsseldorf office and becomes its German corporate co-head, alongside Thomas Krecek.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Linklaters and Eversheds fuel TDR Capital’s £1.3bn stake in Euro Garages

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Corporate Eversheds SutherlandLinklaters
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Eversheds and Linklaters have won key roles on TDR Capital’s £1.3bn investment in Euro Garages, one of the UK’s largest privately-owned forecourt operators.

Linklaters acted for TDR Capital, the London-based private equity house  that owns rival company European Forecourt Retail Group, while Eversheds advised Euro Garages, the Lancashire-based company owned by brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa which has 180 freehold-owned sites predominantly located across the North West, North East, Yorkshire, Midlands and Wales.

The deal was led on the Eversheds side by corporate partners Daniel Hall and Robin Skelton alongside partners Nick Swiss, Jason Wurzal and Phillip Tunney. Partner David Holdsworth led for Linklaters while Rothschild also acted as financial adviser to Euro Garages and the Issa family.

Hall, who has advised the Issa brothers for 20 years, said it underlined one of Britain’s biggest business successes in recent years, and had propelled Euro Garages to become one of Europe’s leading fuel retailers.

Mohsin Issa added: ‘We have been very impressed with the commitment and professionalism of the Eversheds team who worked on this deal. The team delivered quickly and efficiently, a testament to the firm’s effective leadership and a strong work ethic demonstrated by all.’

Euro Garages, which was founded in 2001, has grown rapidly in recent months, acquiring over 170 new sites as well as purchasing 48 forecourts from EXXON Mobil’s Esso unit last year. The company listed its turnover at the end of July 2013 as £439m, and currently employs over 1,800 members of staff.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Linklaters cashes in on Chinese bond sales with central bank’s international debut

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China Linklaters
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The capital markets team at Magic Circle firm Linklaters has secured four bond issue mandates from Chinese banks as China’s president, Xi Jinping, makes his first state visit to the UK.

With China looking to open up an offshore renminbi debt market, Linklaters was instructed by the People’s Bank of China on its debut international bond sale. Hong Kong partner William Liu combined with London partner Andrew Carmichael to advise China’s central bank on what is the first issuance of renminbi government bonds outside of China. The one-year bonds, set to produce a 3.1% yield, were in high demand and six times oversubscribed. 

Liu says the UK ‘was chosen ahead of possible launches in Europe and the US for the deal’ and that this ‘sends a strong signal about the attractiveness of London as a global financial centre’.

He added: ‘The purpose of the issue is to increase the supply of high quality bonds in the offshore Chinese Yuan Renminbi (CNY) market, increase the supply of high quality high grade collateral in the offshore CNY market and establish a benchmark interest rate for the CNY offshore market to facilitate bond issuance and trading in the offshore market.’

The instruction follows a string of advisory roles for capital markets deals being marked at London Stock Exchange listing ceremonies in London this week to coincide with President Xi Jinping’s first state visit to the UK. Liu and Carmichael were also picked to advise China Development Bank on its first issuance of offshore renminbi bonds in more than 10 years last week, and the country’s third-largest lender Agricultural Bank of China, on its sale of two currency bonds in London.

Linklaters was also the lead manager as China Construction Bank sold two-year offshore renminbi bonds, yielding 4.3%, in London. On this deal Carmichael teamed up with Hong Kong capital markets partner Hwang Hwa Sim.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Allen & Overy and Linklaters win key roles on £550m Quorn acquisition

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Corporate Allen & OveryLinklaters
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Allen & Overy and Linklaters secured advisory roles as the private equity owners of meat-substitute Quorn offloaded it to a Filipino noodle maker for £550m.

Yorkshire based Quorn, which is advertised by Olympic running great Mo Farah and generated in sales £150.3m in 2014, has been purchased by Filipino food group Monde Nissin as part of a play to develop a healthy foods stable.

The sale means that Quorn’s private equity owners Exponent Private Equity and Intermediate Capital Group (ICG), which purchased the company from Premier Foods in 2011 for £205m, has more than doubled their investment in five years.

Allen & Overy’s London-based private equity partner Gordon Milne was instructed by Exponent and ICG. Magic Circle rival Linklaters acted for Monde Nissin in the deal which is the third largest overseas acquisition by a Filipino company, as Asian firms seek out European brands in the food and drinks sector.

Linklaters’ head of corporate Matthew Middleditch, who is based in Hong Kong, led the legal advice for Monde Nissin, while in London M&A partner Owen Clay and private equity partner Stuart Boyd, handled the deal.

Milne said: ‘This is an exemplary private equity transaction; a non-core asset was acquired from a large corporate and Exponent then supported a superb management team over several years to transform the business into an attractive asset with strong growth prospects. It’s also another example of international corporates buying highly-performing, private equity-owned European assets and further evidence of the buoyancy of the exit environment for PE funds who have attractive assets to sell.’

Quorn Foods has around 620 employees on three UK sites and internationally. Outside of its main Yorkshire manufacturing base, it also has plants in Norfolk, Frankfurt and Chicago.

Monde Nissin chief executive, Henry Soesanto, said: ‘Monde Nissin have been investing in on-trend, better-for-you products internationally in line with our strategy to become a global diversified food company.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Linklaters takes lead role for SAB on proposed mega-merger

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Corporate Linklaters
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Freshfields and Hogan Lovells win roles on deal

Brewing giant SABMiller turned to Linklaters, alongside its regular adviser Hogan Lovells, as it became the focus of a takeover approach in September from Anheuser-Busch InBev (InBev), which has instructed Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer on a deal that would create a $275bn company.

Legal Business

Skadden hires new Paris tax head as Linklaters is served with another partner exit

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Strategic recruitment LinklatersSkadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is ramping up its Paris offering, having hired Linklaters tax partner Thomas Perrot to head its French tax practice.

The tax specialist will join Skadden in early November in the newly created role of tax head in Paris. The addition takes partner headcount at the Paris office to four. While the current three partners – which includes Paris head Armand Grumberg – focus on M&A, Perrot will lead the firm’s French tax practice that also includes counsel Philippe Derouin.

Perrot focuses on domestic and international M&A-related tax matters for listed and non-listed companies, as well as tax issues in connection with finance and financial instruments. Some of his recent deals at Linklaters included representing LBO France and Médi-Partenaires on its €385m high yield bonds and €60m revolving credit facility; and advising CVC Capital Partners on the acquisition of the Delachaux followed by a takeover bid for the shares held by the public.

He was made a partner at Linklaters in 2012 after joining the Magic Circle firm in 2007 as counsel.

Grumberg said: ‘We are delighted that Thomas is joining us. His in-depth knowledge and experience in complex tax matters is a perfect fit for our office and our different practices, and he will add great value for our clients.’

London-based James Anderson, who heads Skadden’s European tax practice, added: ‘Thomas is very highly regarded within the French and international markets, and is a superb addition to our European tax team at a time of great change in cross-border tax law.’

The hire follows Skadden’s appointment of French M&A and private equity lawyer Olivier Diaz in Paris earlier this year, from local firm Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier where he was co-managing partner.

While Skadden ramps up in Paris, Linklaters, on the other hand, is suffering a series of partner exits from a mix of jurisdictions. Kirkland & Ellis recently hired corporate partner Roger Johnson in what is its fourth partner hire this year from rival Linklaters.

Linklaters’ Asian offering also suffered a blow after Kirkland hired Hong Kong debt finance partner David Irvine earlier this month to boost its Asia business. This followed Linklaters losing finance and energy partner Thomas Ng in April and capital markets partner David Ludwick in March, who both joined rival firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Hong Kong, while Davis Polk & Wardwell also hired capital markets partner Jon Gray from the Hong Kong office.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Rapidly recruiting: Kirkland takes Linklaters’ corporate heavyweight Johnson

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Strategic recruitment Kirkland & EllisLinklaters
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Kirkland & Ellis has hired a fourth partner this year from Magic Circle rival Linklaters, as the head of private equity in the Nordic region and City corporate partner Roger Johnson is to depart. 

It is understood two associates will leave alongside Johnson to become salaried partners at Kirkland’s London office.

Johnson will join fellow teammates Paula Riedel, who was Linklaters’ former head of competition and antitrust who moved to Kirkland in May, and corporate partner and head of real estate M&A heavyweight Matthew Elliott, who departed Linklaters after more than 17 years in February. 

Linklaters’ Asian offering also suffered a blow after Kirkland hired Hong Kong debt finance partner David Irvine earlier this month to boost its Asia business. This followed Linklaters losing finance and energy partner Thomas Ng in April and capital markets partner David Ludwick in March, who both joined rival firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Hong Kong, while Davis Polk & Wardwell also hired capital markets partner Jon Gray from the Hong Kong office.

Another recent high-profile Kirkland-recruit included taking Freshfields finance partner and relationship partner for The Blackstone Group and Goldman Sachs Michael Steele in July as Kirkland develops its banking practice.

The exit of Johnson comes ahead of leadership changes at Linklaters as this week a final three-man shortlist was revealed to replace Simon Davies as the firm’s managing partner.

Johnson’s practice has solely focused on advising private equity houses and financial sponsor clients on leveraged M&A and portfolio assistance, including restructuring advice. Some of his key clients at Linklaters include EQT, Triton, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and 3i. Recommended by The Legal 500, Johnson is described as a ‘solution-driven and customer-oriented lawyer’ and lauded for his ability in large cap deals.

Kirkland has not been able to avoid losing talent either with several partners departing this year including high-yield heavyweight Ward McKimm who left to join Freshfields, and a trio of funds partners led by Mark Mifsud, as well as Graham White, who joined Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. Stephen Gillespie also quit Kirkland for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher late last year, while Proskauer Rose hired M&A partner James Howe in June, and in April, disputes partner Ulrich Payne departed for Ogier’s Cayman Islands office.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk