Linklaters News, Analysis and Updates - Page 35 of 38

Comment: ‘2006 and all that – an oh-so-familiar mess at Linklaters

28 October 2013 14:53pm16 February 2018 15:46pm | Legal Business

Comment Linklaters US

The most hackneyed cliché of the pundit is history repeating itself, a claim that rarely holds up upon closer examination. But with the recent departure of Linklaters’ private equity co-heads Ian Bagshaw and Richard Youle for White & Case, well, sometimes you just can’t escape the past.

Personality clashes, a mid-market practice not gelling with Linklaters’ M&A business, finance supposedly not supporting sponsor clients, prolonged rumours over exit talks, and, finally, a dramatic exit to a big spending US rival; yes, it’s 2006 all over again when Graham White and Raymond McKeeve quit for Kirkland & Ellis.

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Linklaters private equity ambitions dealt a blow by departure of Bagshaw and Youle

17 October 2013 10:59am12 January 2018 15:36pm | David Stevenson

Strategic recruitment Linklaters White & Case Corporate

Linklaters‘ now decade-long effort to carve a credible position in the private equity market has been dealt a serious blow as co-heads Ian Bagshaw (pictured) and Richard Youle leave to join White & Case.

The high profile pair, long-term friends having started their careers together at Eversheds, had to build the Magic Circle firm’s private equity practice almost from scratch after the departure of Graham White and Raymond McKeeve in 2007, although it has been an enduring irony that their own reputations in private equity exceed that of the firm.

Youle, who joined the 2509-lawyer firm in 2001 from SJ Berwin (becoming a partner in 2006) and Bagshaw, who moved across from Clifford Chance in 2007, are credited with building a dedicated team of lawyers whose buyout expertise is supplemented by Linklaters’ strong banking, restructuring and high-yield capabilities. Newly promoted Alex Woodward, while still comparatively junior, shows significant promise.

But while the City buyout pair have undoubtedly pushed the private equity practice comfortably into the mid-market on the back of clients including HgCapital and Montagu Private Equity, many feel it has yet to make enough ground with leading sponsor clients.

News of Bagshaw and Youle’s departure will cause a stir in the private equity market but comes as no surprise, as the pair have been in talks with a number of US firms, including most recently Ropes & Gray and Fried Frank. It was these discussions with other firms that ultimately brought the pair’s future at Linklaters to a head, with two independent sources suggesting that it led to an internal ultimatum.

The move comes as White & Case’ London office pushes hard to raise its profile, having recently hired Kirkland & Ellis private equity star Ross Allardice. The top 15 Global 100 firm today (17 October) welcomed the duo, with head of global M&A John Reiss commenting: ‘As the European economy continues its recovery, private equity in Europe will see increasing opportunities. The addition of these talented individuals will allow us to capitalise on these opportunities.’

However, rivals have yet to be convinced of the business case, with one leading private equity partner commenting: ‘I’ve more money on Linklaters doing well in private equity than White & Case, and another adding: ‘Linklaters are still a world class firm.’

A statement from Linklaters said: ‘We thank Ian and Richard for their contribution to the firm and wish them all the best in their future careers.

‘Linklaters has considerable strength in depth in its global private equity team and dual strength in both private equity and banking. We remain committed to providing our clients with excellent service in this area.’

The private equity market has been particularly fluid this year, with David Walker having left Clifford Chance for Latham & Watkins while Raymond McKeeve recently joined Jones Day from Berwin Leighton Paisner.

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

For a more detailed look at Linklaters’ private equity practice see Back at the gate: US invaders raise fresh questions over private equity status of CC and Linklaters

Line up, line up: Twitter, Royal Mail and Foxtons go to market

13 September 2013 14:11pm12 February 2018 14:39pm | David Stevenson

Corporate Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Linklaters Slaughter and May

After a flurry of initial public offerings (IPOs) earlier in the year, with Esure, Countrywide and Partnership Assurance among the UK companies to go public, a new wave of IPOs are lining up to go to market, including Royal Mail, Foxtons and, most recently in the US, Twitter.

Twitter rather aptly tweeted its intentions to float on the stock market yesterday (12 September) with leading technology IPO specialists Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati tipped for the role.

The social media giant, estimated by the Wall Street Journal to be worth around $10bn, took advantage of a rule adopted last year by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which allows growth companies with under $1bn in revenues to keep their financial details confidential until closer to the float.

According to Reuters, Twitter’s lead adviser will be Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, famous in Silicon Valley for taking public big names such as Apple, Netscape and Google.

Yesterday also saw the UK government notify the London Stock Exchange that the long running Royal Mail IPO is imminent, with lead advisers Slaughter and May, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters now gearing up to do a deal that has been in the pipeline for over a year. Royal Mail is being advised by Slaughters, led by equity capital markets (ECM) partner John Papanichola alongside corporate finance partner William Underhill.

The past year has seen the Slaughters team assisting Royal Mail in its preparations for float, advising on numerous thorny issues including its employee share scheme, which will see the postal group’s employees take 10% of the shares and the remainder go to institutional investors and the public. ‘It is a slow process and is not expected to go to market before November,’ one ECM partner said of the IPO.

Freshfields is advising the government, with corporate partner Tim Jones leading for the Department for Business Innovation and Skills on the IPO, backed by a team including pensions partner Charles Magoffin. Linklaters are advising the underwriters, Goldman Sachs and UBS.

Meanwhile, Foxtons IPO, also a private equity exit in which Dickson Minto is representing long-term clients BC Partners, which bought Foxtons in 2007 for £360m with £300m of bank debt, is expected this September. The company was badly hit by the financial crisis and lenders Bank of America and Mizuho stepped in in 2010 in a debt-for-equity swap after BC Partners breached its bank covenants, however, the private equity house kept its minority stake and regained control last year.

More recent estimates place the value of Foxtons’ IPO above £700,000 and, given the success of earlier IPO’s, there is a renewed buzz in the market, underlined by cautious optimism. ‘It’s a general question of confidence, the backdrop of the last few years consisted of private equity exits performing badly at market. There was talk of the pricing mechanism breaking down. But with the success of Crest Nicholson earlier this year, there is a renewed appetite for IPOs,’ said one corporate partner at a US firm based in London.

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

Asia Round-up: Linklaters and Sidley Austin hire in Hong Kong and Singapore while DLA suffers another Singapore exit

12 September 2013 08:15am22 January 2018 17:27pm | David Stevenson

Asia DLA Piper Linklaters Sidley Austin Revolving doors

Magic circle lateral hires still happen comparatively infrequently but if they do happen, these days it’s quite often in Asia. The past week has seen Linklaters appoint David Kidd of his own eponymous firm as a partner to lead its pan-Asian restructuring and insolvency practice. He will join the firm in October and be based in Hong Kong. Linklaters has been involved in high profile insolvencies such as MF Global and Lehman Brothers and Stuart Salt, Linklaters regional managing partner for Asia, said: ‘David is one of the leading R&I lawyers in the region and we are excited about further developing this side of our business with him.’

In Singapore Sidley Austin continues its drive to forge a substantial funds practice as former colleagues of Han Ming Ho, co-head of the firm’s Asia investment funds practice, come across to the US firm from Clifford Chance. Ho is joined by Josephine Law, who will serve as counsel, senior associate, Joel Seow and associate Reina Chua, significantly boosting the firms fund capabilities.

‘Han Ming and his team are joining Sidley at an exciting time, as the interplay between the Singapore and Hong Kong markets continues to shape the funds industry in this region,’ said Thomas Albrecht, managing partner for Asia Pacific.

Elsewhere Duane Morris & Selvam has also expanded its Asian operations by opening an office in Myanmar, following Singapore heavyweight Rajah & Tann, which opened there in March. The firm will serve clients on a range of business and investment matters including tax, regulatory issues, reporting requirements and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act as well as UK Bribery Act issues. This marks the first launch in the country by a US law firm, albeit through its tie up with Singapore’s Selvam in 2010.

‘Myanmar presents significant opportunities for foreign businesses, and our new presence there will allow us to provide on the ground, high quality counsel to foreign and domestic businesses seeking to seize those opportunities while minimizing the inherent risks,’ said Duane Morris chairman and chief executive, John Soroko.

The office will be run by Duane Morris’ current managing director in Singapore, Krishna Ramachandra. Benjamin Kheng, an associate director of Duane Morris in Singapore, will be a partner in Myanmar. In total the office will have ten fee earners.

‘Our team has built a strong relationship with Myanmar and its government, as a result of working closely with the Attorney General’s office for many years. This is a natural next step for us,’ said Ramachandra.

However, DLA Piper’s Asia fall out continues, as Will Harrison, head of the firm’s insurance practice in Hong Kong, moves into legal consulting. Having joined from Clifford Chance as a senior associate in 2007, he built a strong practice focusing on financial lines and speciality insurance, including directors and officers liability, professional indemnity and acting as defence counsel for insurers and insured. One of the most high profile cases he worked on was the collapse of Barings Bank and the resulting audit negligence litigation in London.

DLA has suffered a number of senior partner departures in the region, including Matthew Glynn, former managing partner of the firm’s Singapore office and head of its Asia intellectual property and technology group, who gave in his notice earlier this month. This followed on from the departure of another former Singapore managing partner, Martin David, who left for Ince & Co just a few months previously, and Justin Jagger, former co-chair of the firm’s global arbitration group and leader of its South East Asia disputes, who left for local Singapore firm Stamford Law last August.

david.stevenson@legalese.co.uk

Revolving doors: Linklaters boosts Asia restructuring practice while SJ Berwin makes key disputes hire

4 September 2013 08:16am16 February 2018 12:45pm | Francesca Fanshawe

Strategic recruitment King & Wood Mallesons Linklaters Asia SJ Berwin

In the second recruit to its Hong Kong office in the last couple of weeks, Linklaters has hired former Allen & Overy (A&O) partner David Kidd to lead its restructuring & insolvency (R&I) practice as the Magic Circle firm strengthens its finance and litigation teams in the region.

Kidd, who has operated under his own banner for around a year since leaving A&O in 2012, will make the move to Linklaters next month, joining former Herbert Smith Freehills Asia disputes head Gavin Lewis, whose appointment as partner to Linklaters litigation team was announced in August.

Kidd joins the firm in direct response to client demand for additional expertise in the region, according to Linklaters’ global restructuring and insolvency head Tony Bugg. Kidd will join insolvency litigator Melvin Sng, who is currently the only restructuring partner in the firm’s 160-lawyer Hong Kong office.

Bugg said: ‘Up until now we’ve done restructuring work mainly out of our litigation practice and some out of the banking practice but the insolvency practice up until now has been just Melvin. We’ve done some restructuring work but we’ve not had a dedicated partner.

‘As the leading restructuring team in Europe, we work with the advisory community in the accountancy firms and deal with all the major institutions in Asia. We’ve been talking to a number of these clients for some time and they have recognised we had a gap in our offering. David’s objective will be to look after our finance and distressed investor clients as well as the financial advisory community for anything that’s up and coming in the market.’

As head of A&O’s R&I practice – a market leader in the region according to the Legal 500 – Kidd recently advised separate creditors’ committees on restructuring the $15bn debt of Dubai World, $10.5bn debt of Nakheel, and $3bn debt of Drydocks World, which collectively represent the world’s largest restructuring of government-related entities.

Kidd has practised in Asia since 1998 having moved to Hong Kong with Cameron McKenna before joining A&O in 2001.

Meanwhile, closer to home, SJ Berwin has boosted its London disputes practice with Dentons international arbitration partner Paul Stothard, who led legacy SNR Dentons’ dispute resolution practice in the Middle East between 2008 and 2012.

This new comes just a few weeks after arbitration partner and former Salans UK international arbitration head George Burn left Dentons for US firm Vinson & Elkins.

Also in the City, longstanding head of Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP)’s commercial and technology group, Adam Rose, is to join Mishcon de Reya after 23 years at the firm.

Rose, who spent 12 of those years as head of the information law unit, leaves BLP after a tough few months at the firm, which has seen numerous partner exits followed by disappointing financials, with revenue dropping 5% to £233m and profit per lawyer expected to be down 6% to £56,000 at the end of the 2012/13 financial year, although the firm has remained tight-lipped on profitability.

Rose, who joined BLP in 1990 before becoming partner in 1997, was also head of vice-chair of Lex Anglo-Brasil, being actively involved with Latin American chambers of commerce in the UK. His is the latest in a string of high-profile exits from the firm, most notably head of private equity Raymond McKeeve.

Elsewhere, as one partner joins Linklaters, another leaves, this time in Portugal where former Lisbon managing partner Jorge Bleck was appointed as head of M&A and corporate finance at Portuguese firm Vieira de Almeida & Associados.

Bleck, who helped to launch Linklaters’ Lisbon office in 2002, where he was also member of its European management committee before being elected to Linklaters highest management body – its international board – has played a key role in a number of key deals, including, recently privatisations undertaken under the terms of Portugal’s 2011 €78bn bailout.

Elsewhere, DAC Beachcroft welcomes new corporate partner James Reed from Baker & McKenzie, where he was a London partner and one of the three founding partners at the firm’s Abu Dhabi office, while Irish firm McCann FitzGerald has made a rare lateral hire from a ‘Big Five’ rival, boosting its corporate offering with former Arthur Cox corporate and M&A partner Conor O’Dwyer, who will join McCanns’ all-equity partnership later this year.

francesca.fanshawe@legalease.co.uk

Takeover potential – Linklaters & Simmons lead on Amec’s £700m bid for Kentz

22 August 2013 08:27am1 November 2017 12:22pm | David Stevenson

Corporate Linklaters Simmons & Simmons

Linklaters and
Simmons & Simmons‘ longstanding corporate relationships with Amec and Kentz have gifted them with a potentially lucrative takeover bid instruction as Kentz this week announced it had rejected a £700m offer from its larger engineering rival.

Linklaters corporate partners Shane Griffin and Aedamar Comiskey are leading the team for Amec, which it has advised on corporate matters for well over a decade. Simmons corporate partner Edward Baker is advising Kentz on the offer, which the FTSE 250 engineering company said it had rejected, together with an earlier offer in July from Germany’s M+W Group, on the basis that it undervalued the company.

Simmons previously advised Tipperary-based engineering contractor Kentz, which helps companies to develop oilfields, gasfields and mines, on its 2008 AIM listing and its move to the main market in 2011, on which Baker also led. Ogiers led by corporate partner Tim Morgan and William Fry is understood to have a secondary role on this latest deal.

While July and August typically represent a lull in corporate work, the bid by AMEC is the latest of a series of high profile bids for UK engineering companies during the summer months.

Earlier this month, British industrial manufacturer Edwards Group was bought out by Swedish engineering company Atlas Copco for $1.6m, with the London office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Davis Polk & Wardwell notably taking leading roles for Edwards. Last month, meanwhile, saw the £3.3bn takeover bid by France’s Schneider Electric for UK engineering firm Invensys. Magic Circle firms Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer are advising the respective companies on the deal.

Amec has until 16 September to make a formal bid for Kentz, said in the financial press to be holding out for a better offer.

Speaking earlier to Legal Business, Simmons international head of corporate, Mark Curtis, said that the end of July and August have seen more deals as the market gears up for autumn.

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

Revolving Doors: Linklaters hires former Herbert Smith Asia head as Clayton Utz and Norton Rose make key hires

19 August 2013 09:59am22 January 2018 16:19pm | David Stevenson

Strategic recruitment Clayton Utz Herbert Smith Freehills Linklaters Norton Rose Fulbright Revolving doors

Herbert Smith Freehills recent internal confidence that its run of post-merger exits had come to an end has been dashed after Friday (16 August) saw former Asia disputes head Gavin Lewis leave to join Linklaters.

A ‘solid and experienced litigator’, Lewis is ‘among the best in Hong Kong’ according to The Legal 500 and his departure is a blow to the firm in the wake of the exodus of other high profile litigators such as Ted Greeno to Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan earlier this year and Kevin Lloyd to Debevoise & Plimpton last year.

Lewis joined Herbert Smith in 1996 and after spending two years as managing director at UBS in Hong Kong, returned to the firm in 2008, becoming head of the firm’s first-tier Asia disputes practice in 2011.

His departure follows that of Hong Kong colleague and financial services regulatory partner Tim Mak, who left for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in April this year. Meanwhile, Lewis is Linklaters’ third raid on Herbert Smith in less than a year, after contentious financial regulation partners Martyn Hopper and Nikunj Kiri joined in September and January respectively.

A spokesman for Herbert Smith said: ‘We’re grateful for Gavin’s contribution and wish him all the best for the future.’

The fallout of largely legacy Herbert Smith partners have been attributed to a number of factors, all related to its merger with Australia’s Freehills, including the resistance of many of Herbert Smith’s more conservative partners to operating as a global merit driven business.

Elsewhere, the ink had only just dried on SJ Berwin’s market changing tie-up with Asia-Pacific firm King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) when Clayton Utz last week announced the hire of KWM Australia real estate partner Andrew Norman.

Norman had been with legacy Mallesons for 22 years and has been involved in projects including the leasing and development of National Australia Bank’s Commercial office headquarters in Docklands, Melbourne, and the sale of GE Real Estate’s Australian property portfolio to Mirvac, valued at over Aus$1.4bn.

Clayton Utz, one of the big six Australian firms which has made clear its strategy to remain independent, is looking to boost its property practice as the country suffers from a dip in transactional activity.

A spokesperson for the firm told Legal Business: ‘It’s a strategic lateral hire in an area where we’re anticipating strong future growth.’

Meanwhile, Norton Rose Fulbright has boosted its dispute resolution practice with the hire of Elisabeth Bremner from DLA Piper in London.

Bremner’s broad ranging practice includes investigating allegations of insider dealing, market abuse and trader mis-marking in the investment banking and hedge fund sectors.

‘Our litigation team continues to grow with the appointment of Elisabeth and recent hires including Kirsty Hick. In addition, through our recent combination we have expanded our global offering to include over 1000 dispute resolution lawyers,’ said Deirdre Walker, head of dispute resolution and litigation for Europe, Middle East and Asia.

Into the Breach: Investigations work on the rise as Linklaters takes on G4S tagging role

16 July 2013 09:18am13 October 2017 15:07pm | David Stevenson

Corporate Linklaters

Big ticket M&A may be in short supply but both defensive and regulator-instigated investigations into corporate behaviour is burgeoning, as Linklaters becomes the latest leading law firm to secure a high profile mandate, advising G4S on its recent tagging scandal.

The Magic Circle firm led by corporate partner Richard Godden and litigator Tom Lidstrom has been called in to advise the private security company, which recently returned to the public eye after the justice secretary Chris Grayling called for it and rival security firm Serco to be investigated for overcharging for the electronic tagging of offenders.

Chris Grayling has asked the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to consider investigating after telling MPs that the security outfits have been overcharging by millions of pounds for tracking the movements of offenders who have moved abroad, had their tags removed, or even died.

It is understood that Godden and Lidstrom have been assisting G4S for a few months and it was Godden who advised the beleaguered company when it was unable to comply with its obligations to provide the contracted level of security personnel for the London 2012 Olympics, leading to a national outcry and the resignation of G4S chief Nick Buckles.

A powerful combination of the criminalisation of corporate law and the continuing depressed economy means investigations continue to rise – a boon for litigation departments – as politicians and regulators demonstrate their willingness and speed to act against corporate crime, and corporates conduct their own investigations in order to get their houses in order and minimise negative publicity.

Firms including Allen & Overy, White & Case and Gibson Dunn have secured high profile mandates in relation to investigations on Libor rigging alone.

Antony Dutton, a litigation partner at Dechert and former partner at legacy Norton Rose, said: ‘Contentious practitioners are seeing a considerable increase in the volume of regulatory investigations being undertaken in the wake of the global financial crisis, with Libor being the most high profile. There are also more SFO probes.

‘This is now a very substantial area of work. The reality is that there is far more of an appetite amongst the regulatory community for investigations. This had led clients to be more proactive and to get their house in order in advance with associated opportunities to conduct audits.’

A statement from the SFO said: ‘The SFO is aware of [the G4S] matter and awaits the referral from the Ministry of Justice.’

Grayling has stated he has no evidence of dishonesty at this stage and both companies have promised to repay any money found to be due.

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

Freshfields and Linklaters take the lead on Schneider Electric’s £3.3bn Invensys bid

12 July 2013 09:50am20 February 2018 10:34am | David Stevenson

Corporate Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Linklaters

Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have landed the leading roles on a takeover bid by France’s Schneider Electric for UK engineering firm Invensys in an offer that values the company at £3.3bn.

Linklaters led by London corporate partner Nick Rees is lead adviser to the French power equipment company, while Freshfields led by corporate head Barry O’Brien and City M&A co-head Ben Spiers is advising longstanding client Invensys. The deal comes just under a year after O’Brien and Spiers led on the company’s £1.74bn sale of its rail division to Siemens.

Linklaters has acted for Schneider on a number of deals including its 2010 acquisition of Areva T&D, led by Paris corporate partner Marc Loy.

Invensys today confirmed that it has received a takeover offer after rumours first emerged earlier this week, and the Invensys board has advised that it is likely to accept Schneider’s offer of 505p per share, valuing the company at £3.3bn.

In it’s own statement today, Schneider confirmed it is in the early stages of talks regarding an offer, but said it was not making an announcement of a firm intention to make an offer under rule 2.7 of the Takeover Code and there can be no certainty that an offer will be made. Schneider, which is now required to make a formal offer by 8 August, said a deal would hep it develop its robotics business.

Invensys provides software, systems and controls to a wide range of clients from oil refineries to appliance manufacturers in order to help monitor, control and automate products and processes. Schneider specialises in medium and low-voltage electrical power equipment.

Earlier this year, Severn Trent Water received a takeover offer from a Canadian, Kuwaiti and UK consortium, reportedly valuing the target at £5bn, an offer rejected by the Severn Trent board.

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) led by City corporate partners Stephen Wilkinson and Robert Moore advised longstanding client Severn Trent, while Allen & Overy led by corporate partner Richard Evans advised the consortium, made up of Borealis Infrastructure Management, the Kuwait Investment Office and Universities Superannuation Scheme.

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

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Linklaters news, updates and analysis | Page 35 of 38

Comment: ‘2006 and all that – an oh-so-familiar mess at Linklaters

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More Paris moves as Linklaters announces triple partner hire

Linklaters private equity ambitions dealt a blow by departure of Bagshaw and Youle

Line up, line up: Twitter, Royal Mail and Foxtons go to market

Asia Round-up: Linklaters and Sidley Austin hire in Hong Kong and Singapore while DLA suffers another Singapore exit

Revolving doors: Linklaters boosts Asia restructuring practice while SJ Berwin makes key disputes hire

Takeover potential – Linklaters & Simmons lead on Amec’s £700m bid for Kentz

Revolving Doors: Linklaters hires former Herbert Smith Asia head as Clayton Utz and Norton Rose make key hires

Into the Breach: Investigations work on the rise as Linklaters takes on G4S tagging role

Freshfields and Linklaters take the lead on Schneider Electric’s £3.3bn Invensys bid