Booming pharma sector delivers work to US firms’ City offices

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M&A work in the pharmaceutical industry continued apace last month, with White & Case’s London office winning its first mandate from CVC Capital Partners, as the private equity firm led a club of investors in buying a controlling stake in Simpson Thacher & Bartlett-client Alvogen.

Although White & Case has a historic relationship with CVC stateside, the deal for the $2bn pharma company is the first to be led out of London for the European private equity fund, which has previously turned to a raft of firms for its corporate work, including Clifford Chance and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Private equity heavyweight Ian Bagshaw in London, alongside Oliver Brahmst from New York, led the firm’s team, which included New York partner Brian Smarsh and London partners Justin Wagstaff and Marcus Booth.

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US firms step up in the City with new practices

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Goodwin Procter and Ropes & Gray launch in PE and ComLit

International firms in the City maintained their expansive form in April with three US-bred advisers unveiling UK law practice launches. The moves saw Boston’s Goodwin Procter launch a UK practice in private equity, New York’s Cahill Gordon & Reindel hire its first English-qualified partner and Ropes & Gray move into UK disputes work.

Goodwin Procter set up shop in London seven years ago looking to emulate the success of the firm’s property team in the States. But the firm recently announced its intention to compete in London’s private equity space, with the hire of King & Wood Mallesons co-head of corporate Richard Lever.

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Heavyweight US trio advises on €15.6bn Alcatel takeover

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Three US law firms – Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Latham & Watkins and Sullivan & Cromwell – leveraged long-term relationships with key corporate clients last month, seeing them land lead roles on Nokia’s bid to take over Alcatel-Lucent.

Skadden is advising longstanding client Nokia on the tie-up that values its French rival at €15.6bn and will create a technology giant worth more than €40bn. The team is led by London-based global transactions co-head Scott Simpson; Paris-based Armand Grumberg, who heads the firm’s European M&A practice; and London corporate partner Michal Berkner.

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Comment: A new model, a new game as US firms secure a decisive victory

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‘We’re not a corporate firm, we’re an investors’ firm.’ That simple statement by one partner stood out more than any other during a recent meeting with Ropes & Gray. The point being made was that the firm – and its rapid progress in the City – had not been built on the back of large corporate or investment banking clients – it was focused on a range of sponsors and funds, in particular in private equity and leveraged finance.

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Revolving doors: Specialists and US firms build up in the City

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Last week saw specialist and US firms strengthen their presence in the City and Europe as Kingsley Napley strengthened its disputes offering, Lee & Thompson hired a head of sports, Greenberg Traurig Maher brought in a corporate partner to its London office and McDermott Will & Emery hired a team of private equity lawyers in Paris.

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Game Over – Global London firms make winning moves as US players secure their breakthrough

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2014 found US firms in London gaining even more ground. Legal Business’ 13th annual Global London survey charts the key players and winning moves as leading firms make their breakthrough.

A line of taxis wait patiently along Old Broad Street as White & Case’s partners exit the office one after the other apologising for the delay. In January 2015, the firm ran up a £12,000 waiting charge from Addison Lee because partners failed to come out on time as they were overrun with work, mainly M&A deals. There’s no doubt it has been a dynamic start to the year for many global firms in London. And following a strong 2014, many firms expect this level of activity to continue.

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A new model, a new game as US firms secure a decisive victory

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‘We’re not a corporate firm, we’re an investors’ firm.’ That simple statement by one partner stood out more than any other during a recent meeting with Ropes & Gray. The point being made was that the firm – and its rapid progress in the City – had not been built on the back of large corporate or investment banking clients – it was focused on a range of sponsors and funds, in particular in private equity and leveraged finance. The same partner stressed the cultural impact on Ropes of being bred in Boston, a major hub for investors and funds, not banks.

As we note in our analysis, ‘The third wave’ as part of our annual Global London report, this approach is driving a new breed of US firms in the City who have proved able to move at unprecedented speed. The second wave of US expansion in London in the late 1990s and early 2000s focused on generalism and targeting corporate and mainstream banking work… and largely ran into a brick wall as such clients remained wedded to their established local advisers.

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Winston & Strawn pulls in corporate and finance teams

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Mass hire from Pillsbury sees 15 partners defect.

Winston & Strawn, which had been looking to bolster its finance and corporate teams, pulled it off in a single move last month by hiring 15 Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman partners across five offices. The bulk of the hires were senior figures, including global finance chief Mats Carlston and London-based co-head of energy, infrastructure and projects, James Simpson.

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US revenues 2014: Kirkland’s partner profits top $3.5m as Squires reveals first post-merger results

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US firm revenues continue to come through with Kirkland & Ellis posting a 6.6% increase in global revenues to $2.15bn in 2014, an increase from the previous year when turnover rose 4% to $2.02bn. Meanwhile, Squire Patton Boggs posted its first post-merger global revenues, coming in at $870.5m with $163m of this generated in the UK.

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