By Richard Tyler
Slaughter and May is to gain a major FTSE-100 client when South Africa's largest life assurer Old Mutual makes its £4bn re-listing on the London stock exchange (LSE) this summer.
Corporate partners Tim Clark, Andrew Johnson and Glen James are leading the team advising the company on the move, with Howard Nowlan providing the tax advice.
Clark said that Old Mutual was "looking to flotation in mid-1999″ and that he would be busy on the deal up until that point.
The next stage in the process will be for Old Mutual to get approval for its demutualisation, first from its members and then from the High Court in South Africa.
Slaughters is working closely with Old Mutual's in-house team of Koos Staffen, Thys Oosthuizen and Pierre Pretorius and with a raft of other firms including Wall Street's Davis Polk Wardwell.
Old Mutual has instructed Jan Dryer of Johannesburg-based Hofmeyr Herbstein Gihwala & Cluver for South African law. Linklaters is acting for Merrill Lynch, Old Mutual's main financial advisers.
Old Mutual is following some of South Africa's largest companies seeking extra liquidity by re-listing on the LSE. Mining conglomerate Anglo American, advised by Linklaters, is set on a £6bn listing in June. Metals giant Billiton and South African Breweries are also set to re-list.
The South African finance ministry has reportedly ruled out further primary listings offshore in an attempt to restore business confidence in the fluidity of South Africa's own stock markets.