NEXT

Sofia Lind

Sofia Lind

February 25, 2011 | International Edition

Freshfields acts for Deutsche mortgage arm on £840,000 FSA fine

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised Deutsche Bank's mortgage division on its £840,000 fine from the Financial Services Authority (FSA). City partner Andrew Hart - who has co-led the magic circle firm's financial institutions group since November last year - advised DB Mortgages, which has agreed to pay the £840,000 penalty for irresponsible lending practices and unfair treatment of customers in arrears.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

February 23, 2011 | International Edition

CC and Bonelli advise as Prada gears up for Hong Kong listing

Clifford Chance (CC) and Italian leader Bonelli Erede Pappalardo have won advisory roles as Italian fashion group Prada eyes up a float on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Prada has instructed Bonelli on the deal, which could see the label valued at as much as $8.2bn (£5.1bn). The firm is fielding a team led by Milan corporate partner Carlo Montagna, who is working alongside Sergio Erede. Stefano Simontacchi is advising on tax aspects of the transaction.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

February 22, 2011 | International Edition

Linklaters and Cleary lead on Lafarge and Anglo American UK joint venture

Linklaters and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton are advising on a joint venture (JV) between Anglo American and French industrial giant Lafarge which is set to create a UK building materials businesses with total sales of £1.8bn. The proposed deal is a 50:50 JV combining the companies' UK cement, aggregates, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt and contracting businesses. The parties said that the tie-up had been sparked due to complementary geographical distribution of operations.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

February 22, 2011 | International Edition

A&O and Skadden take top roles on Shell's $1bn Africa shareholding sale

Allen & Overy (A&O) and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom have won the lead mandates on Shell's $1bn (£617m) sale of parts of its African business. The deal, which comes as Shell moves to sell off non-core operations, will see oil trader Vitol and private equity firm Helios Investment Partners acquire the majority of Shell's shareholdings in its downstream businesses in Africa.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

February 22, 2011 | International Edition

Reed Smith launches new London incentives practice with Stephenson Harwood hire

Reed Smith is set to launch a standalone incentives and benefits practice in London with the hire of Stephenson Harwood's employee incentives team head Jeremy Glover. Glover is currently a partner in the corporate department of Stephenson Harwood where he is one of two lawyers specialising in employee incentives. He is due to leave the firm on 30 April to join Reed Smith.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

February 21, 2011 | International Edition

A&O's £2.5m Belfast offshoring grant under scrutiny in NI political debate

Allen & Overy (A&O) has become embroiled in a political debate in Northern Ireland following the news that it will receive a £2.5m grant from Invest Northern for launching its 300-staff offshoring centre in Belfast. The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) has criticised the regional development agency for promising A&O the grant, after the firm said it intends to pass on as much as possible of the benefit to employees willing to transfer from London to Belfast, rather than taking redundancy.

By Sofia Lind

3 minute read

February 21, 2011 | International Edition

Linklaters and A&O head up BP's $7.2bn India investment deal

Magic circle duo Linklaters and Allen & Overy (A&O) have won lead roles as BP enters into a joint venture (JV) deal representing one of the largest-ever foreign direct investments into India. Linklaters is advising regular client BP on the $7.2bn (£4.4bn) JV that sees it tie up with Indian energy giant Reliance Industries, which was advised by A&O. A&O's team was led by high-profile energy partners John Geraghty and Paul Griffin - who joined the magic circle firm from Herbert Smith last year - and also included antitrust partner Mark Friend.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

February 16, 2011 | International Edition

Deutsche and JP Morgan push firms on costs and outsourcing

Deutsche Bank is putting pressure on its legal advisers to increase their use of legal process outsourcing (LPO) as the bank nears the final stages of the first formal review of its external law firm relationships. Deutsche has told law firms that above all else they must be "innovative" about how they provide a cost-efficient service to the bank - in particular, the bank wants to see firms using LPOs wherever possible.

By Sofia Lind

3 minute read

February 15, 2011 | International Edition

SRA restructuring set to see total staff numbers cut by 13%

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has announced an organisational restructuring which will see total staff numbers cut by 13%. Under the proposals, the SRA will have around 560 staff in post by the end of the year, compared with the current workforce of 640, with staff informed of the news at briefings given by the regulator's senior management team yesterday (14 February). The numbers refer to full-time equivalent roles. The body said the overhaul comes in preparation for the introduction of outcomes-focused regulation and the licensing of Alternative Business Structures, due to come into effect from 6 October this year.

By Sofia Lind

3 minute read

February 15, 2011 | International Edition

Trio of firms lead on drinks giant's sale of UK and Australian arms to private equity buyer

A trio of City firms have picked up advisory roles as drinks company Constellation Brands sold off its UK and Australian businesses to Champ Private Equity for around £183m. Clifford Chance (CC), Norton Rose and Herbert Smith advised alongside several Australian firms on the deal, which saw Champ take ownership of brands such as Hardys, Kumala and Echo Falls.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read