Corporate partner Jesse Watson receives the award from awards host, broadcaster Leanne Manas (left), and Natalie Hill, Legal Week
Finalists: AB & David; Afriwise; Baker & McKenzie; Bowmans; Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr; Hogan Lovells; Orrick/Olaniwun Ajayi; TTA – Sociedade de Advogados (PLMJ Network); White & Case
Webber Wentzel's role as lead African legal adviser to AB InBev on the beermaker's mega-merger with SABMiller helped crown it the M&A Team of the Year. Led by senior partner Christo Els, the deal raised a number of challenges that showcased the firm's M&A expertise. One example was its work on the secondary listing of AB InBev's ordinary shares on the Johannesburg stock exchange under the JSE's fast-track listing process, which will see the listing replaced by new shares once the merger is complete.
The firm is also playing a role in shaping a proposal to continue and enhance a black economic empowerment scheme, initially set up by SABMiller in 2010.
The M&A team is responsible for project managing the entire process by coordinating with the client, the client's advisory teams (both local and international), other lawyers within the firm (to advise on tax, exchange control, competition and other aspects of the deal), local counsel elsewhere in Africa and with SABMiller and its advisers, ensuring matters are addressed appropriately and swiftly. The team has played a key role in resolving a number of regulatory issues and in securing exchange control approval as a precondition of the merger.
- Click here for more coverage of the African Legal Awards, including full details of all the winners and insight into the judging panel's thinking
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Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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