Dealwatch: Advisers get KKR infra play on the road as CC and MoFo energise $3.5bn renewables disposal

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As market activity continues to branch out into diverse sectors, some of the biggest deals have had an energy and infrastructure flavour recently, with KKR’s £2bn takeover of John Laing Group and SoftBank’s disposal of its renewables venture SB Energy India proving standouts.

US private equity investor KKR agreed to acquire listed infrastructure group John Laing in a deal which will also see investor Equitix jointly own John Laing’s existing asset portfolio. Continue reading “Dealwatch: Advisers get KKR infra play on the road as CC and MoFo energise $3.5bn renewables disposal”

Dealwatch: Elite firms drill into $7.1bn Valaris restructuring as eclectic deals epitomise market

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Dealwatch: Elite firms drill into $7.1bn Valaris restructuring as eclectic deals epitomise market

In what has been called an ‘extraordinary case’, Valaris’ $7bn financial restructuring made sizeable waves this week, as firms including Kirkland & Ellis, Slaughter and May and Akin Gump steered it to a successful conclusion.

The transaction sees offshore drilling service provider Valaris emerge from Chapter 11 after the company filed in August 2020, eliminating $7.1bn of debt and securing a $520m capital injection through the issue of $550m of new secured notes. Continue reading “Dealwatch: Elite firms drill into $7.1bn Valaris restructuring as eclectic deals epitomise market”

The Legal 500 View: Kind of a big deal: The top L500 firms for corporate/M&A

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The Legal 500 View: Kind of a big deal: The top L500 firms for corporate/M&A

Legal 500 editors Georgina Stanley and Ben Wheway break down the firms which fare best for corporate and M&A around the world

DLA Piper and Eversheds Sutherland have more top-tier corporate and M&A rankings in the UK Legal 500 than any other firms. Continue reading “The Legal 500 View: Kind of a big deal: The top L500 firms for corporate/M&A”

‘My race in big law has been run’: White & Case private equity veteran Bagshaw to depart this summer

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‘My race in big law has been run’: White & Case private equity veteran Bagshaw to depart this summer

White & Case’s high-profile private equity head Ian Bagshaw is set to leave the firm in June to pursue other opportunities outside of law.

The White & Case partnership was informed of Bagshaw’s departure in an internal announcement this morning (16 April). In a LinkedIn post published today, Bagshaw said: ‘After seven years at each of Eversheds, Clifford Chance, Linklaters and White & Case, I have decided that my race in big law has now been run. Continue reading “‘My race in big law has been run’: White & Case private equity veteran Bagshaw to depart this summer”

Dealwatch: Advisers secure Darktrace float and $12bn Aramco sale as Globalworth proves hot property

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Another blistering week of deal announcements has seen corporate advisers tasked with a diverse selection of mandates, from the much-anticipated £3bn initial public offering of Darktrace to a $12bn disposal by Aramco and an unusual joint offer for Globalworth Real Estate Investments valued at €1.6bn.

The proposed listing on the London Stock Exchange of British cybersecurity start-up Darktrace has elicited much market speculation, coming as it does after the IPO of food delivery company Deliveroo, which many have termed disastrous. Continue reading “Dealwatch: Advisers secure Darktrace float and $12bn Aramco sale as Globalworth proves hot property”

Dealwatch: Cazoo and Arrival fuel SPAC bonanza as Slaughters leads on Covid vaccine deal

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Dealwatch: Cazoo and Arrival fuel SPAC bonanza as Slaughters leads on Covid vaccine deal

The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) frenzy and coronavirus have continued to drive the market in recent days, with transatlantic corporate teams steering the multibillion-dollar Cazoo and Arrival deals, while an agreement for the acquisition of Covid-19 vaccines has proved a shot in the arm for Slaughter and May and Covington.

The Cazoo de-SPAC heralded key mandates for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Kirkland & Ellis, Slaughters and Cravath, Swaine & Moore. The deal will see the UK online car retailer and AJAX I, a publicly-traded SPAC, merge to form a company with an enterprise value of $7bn. The combined company will retain the Cazoo brand and will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Continue reading “Dealwatch: Cazoo and Arrival fuel SPAC bonanza as Slaughters leads on Covid vaccine deal”

Dealwatch: Transatlantic teams energise £8bn National Grid acquisition as Freshfields and Latham dine in on Deliveroo IPO

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Dealwatch: Transatlantic teams energise £8bn National Grid acquisition as Freshfields and Latham dine in on Deliveroo IPO

As the City marks the one-year anniversary of the first coronavirus lockdown, elite playmakers continue to do deals from their living rooms, with a sizeable National Grid acquisition and Deliveroo’s multibillion-pound initial public offering making headlines in recent days.

Last week (18 March) FTSE 100 utility National Grid emerged as the winner of a competitive auction to acquire Western Power Distribution (WPD), the UK’s largest electricity distribution business, from PPL Corporation for an equity value of £7.8bn. Continue reading “Dealwatch: Transatlantic teams energise £8bn National Grid acquisition as Freshfields and Latham dine in on Deliveroo IPO”

Comment: Hope floats for City listing overhaul but American audacity is vital

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Comment: Hope floats for City listing overhaul but American audacity is vital

City business has had cause to take heart in recent days with a clear display of political will behind an overhaul of UK listing rules that could see London shake off its Brexit and pandemic woes and reassert itself as global financial hub.

Proposals set out in the UK Listing Review, led by Lord Hill, will particularly pique the interest of anyone tracking the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) market. Indeed, the ubiquity of those deals has made them difficult to miss. There has been much talk of London jumping on the bandwagon in a fit of FOMO as other listing destinations, especially the US and Amsterdam, pile into that frothy market with gusto. However, to say that London has been lagging competitors in the US, Europe and Asia for too long is an understatement, and any shake-up to expedite parity with peers hasn’t come a moment too soon. Continue reading “Comment: Hope floats for City listing overhaul but American audacity is vital”

Dealwatch: Elite firms land $4.7bn Signature Aviation deal as Euro SPAC market expects to fly

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Dealwatch: Elite firms land $4.7bn Signature Aviation deal as Euro SPAC market expects to fly

Private equity heavyweights gained major mandates as the bidding war for Signature Aviation took a riveting twist, while the US-driven special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC) craze looks set to take off outside the States.

Kirkland & Ellis, Slaughter and May, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Linklaters acted on the proposed take-private of Signature Aviation by a consortium – Brown Bidco – including Blackstone, Cascade and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). Continue reading “Dealwatch: Elite firms land $4.7bn Signature Aviation deal as Euro SPAC market expects to fly”

Global 100 European M&A focus: Riding a black swan

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Global 100 European M&A focus: Riding a black swan

‘What has happened to us?’ An M&A veteran shakes his head incredulously, having uttered the now ubiquitous phrase: ‘stay safe’ to conclude a Zoom call with Legal Business.

This time last year, rainmakers could hardly have imagined being forced into a neverending merry-go-round of video conferencing, let alone ending each conversation with something reminiscent of a BBC Crimewatch catchphrase. Continue reading “Global 100 European M&A focus: Riding a black swan”