Allen & Overy (A&O) has strengthened its Amsterdam corporate capabilities with the hire of Stibbe partner Charles Honee.

Honee – who spent 15 years with Stibbe, the Benelux ally of Herbert Smith – focuses on M&A, capital markets and private equity transactions.

Notable deals on which Honee has advised include Blackstone's £1.6bn acquisition of United Biscuits from Cinven and MidOcean Partners as well as the €2.6bn (£1.8bn) acquisition of Essent Kabelcom by Cinven and Warburg Pincus.

Honee becomes the second partner this week to confirm his departure from Stibbe's Amsterdam office for a magic circle firm. Yesterday (25 June) Linklaters announced the hire of senior Stibbe tax partner Stef van Weeghel, who will set up a local tax practice for the City giant.

The appointment of Honee is a boost to A&O's Amsterdam corporate team, which is already regarded as one of the leading transactional outfits in the jurisdiction.

Headline mandates the office has bagged in recent times include advising US pharmaceuticals giant Schering Plough on its €11bn (£7.5bn) acquisition of the medicines business of Dutch chemicals group Akzo Nobel.