It was a busy week for UK and US deal counsel as Travers Smith and Ashurst acted on multibillion-pound deals north of the channel and White & Case and Ropes & Gray landed key mandates in continental Europe.
Again acting well above its traditional mid-market territory, Travers advised IT company Micro Focus on the $2.5bn sale of open source software business SUSE to EQT Partners. Continue reading “Deal Watch: Rich pickings for Travers and Ashurst as US giants get busy on the continent”
Continue reading “Dealwatch: PE deals continue to dominate agenda for City firms”
Magic Circle heavyweights Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy (A&O) and Clifford Chance (CC) have scored key roles on the £1.7bn sale of Virgin Money while the €7.1bn Adyen initial public offering (IPO) and £1.8bn Equitable Life disposal drummed up business for numerous City and US advisers.
CYBG, the owner of Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank, said yesterday (18 June) it had struck a deal to buy London Stock Exchange-listed Virgin Money in a £1.7bn acquisition that will create the UK’s sixth-largest bank. Continue reading “Deal watch: Magic Circle trio banks on Virgin Money sale as €7.1bn Adyen IPO and £1.8bn Equitable Life disposal keep raft of advisers busy”
Retail’s high street struggles are keeping advisers in the sector busy, as multiple firms took roles on the £18.5bn takeover of Westfield Corporation and DLA Piper took the lead on the administration of discount retailer Poundworld.
A host of firms across the globe advised as French property company, Unibail-Rodamco, completed its acquisition of shopping centre operator Westfield last week, in a deal first announced late last year. The combined $72bn entity owns and operates 102 shopping centres in 13 countries, the majority of which are in Europe and the US. Continue reading “Deal watch: Westfield GC exits for something ‘very different’ as takeover completes while DLA lands Poundworld administration role”
Slaughter and May has been drafted in by the Walt Disney Company on its Sky News bid while Linklaters and Ashurst took the lead as infrastructure investors scoop UK waste management business Cory Riverside Energy.
The latest twist in the multi-billion pound takeover of Sky has seen a team led by Slaughters corporate partner Richard Smith advising Disney on a bid for Sky News. This after a UK government decision last week (5 June) that Rupert Murdoch-owned 21st Century Fox could pursue its £18.5bn bid for the 61% of Sky it did not already own on the condition it sells Sky News. Continue reading “Deal watch: Slaughters tunes into Sky bidding war as Links and Ashurst waste no opportunity on Cory Riverside disposal”
Major transactions continue to flow after Ropes & Gray’s London arm acted on the largest-ever UK private equity software buyout while White & Case and Eversheds Sutherland also landed on sizable deals.
Private equity powerhouse Helen Croke (pictured) led a team from Ropes & Gray advising Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) on a £1.3bn joint partnership investment. The investment, alongside HG Saturn Fund, is in IRIS, a business-critical software provider for the UK accountancy, education and business market. Continue reading “Deal watch: Ropes & Gray advises on £1.3bn private equity deal as White & Case and Eversheds score major mandates”
Barely a City or US firm in London has gone without popping a Champagne cork in recent days as big-ticket deal activity remains frothy, while showing no signs of losing its fizz.
Recent big-ticket deals characterising the market include US tech private equity player Silver Lake’s proposed £2.2bn buyout of ZPG – the parent company of UK property site Zoopla – Cinven’s disposal of its Ufinet Spanish fibre-optic business and the $816m London listing of Avast, the Prague-headquartered cybersecurity heavyweight. Continue reading “Deal watch: trio of big-ticket deals highlight frothy market for US and City elite”
Slaughter and May and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have landed key roles on Vodafone’s €18.4bn buyout of Liberty Global European assets, as Vodafone expands its European services.
The transaction includes the acquisition of US cable giant Liberty’s Unitymedia business in Germany, as well as its UPC brand businesses across Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic, as Vodafone looks to accelerate consolidation in key markets. Continue reading “Deal watch: Magic Circle duo lead on Vodafone’s €18.4bn buyout of Liberty Global European Assets”
Slaughter and May, Linklaters, Davis Polk and Ashurst are among the firms to have won major mandates on Japanese pharmaceutical giant Takeda’s £46bn takeover of Irish drug-maker Shire, while CMS and Pinsent Masons led on the sale of the UK’s £2bn Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm.
Takeda’s recommended offer is the culmination of a drawn out takeover process which has seen Japan’s largest pharma company make multiple bids for London Stock Exchange-listed Shire over recent months. Continue reading “Deal watch: International firms find cure for Takeda’s £46bn pharma takeover as CMS and Pinsents tie up giant wind farm disposal”
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Davis Polk & Wardwell have landed pivotal roles as Comcast seeks to disrupt an existing bid from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox to buy out European satellite broadcaster Sky.
The London-based Freshfields team advising Comcast comprises M&A partners Julian Long and Alison Smith, City competition partners John Davies and Michele Davis, and London employment partner Alice Greenwell. Continue reading “Freshfields and Davis Polk win key roles as Comcast looks to thwart Murdoch’s Sky bid”
