Clifford Chance (CC) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have landed lead roles on publishing giant Reed Elsevier's £824m equity raising.

CC has stepped in to advise the bookrunners JP Morgan Cazenove and UBS and joint lead manager RBS on the deal, with London capital markets partner Adrian Cartwright leading a team which included Amsterdam partner Hans Beerlage.

Meanwhile, Freshfields advised Reed Elsevier on the deal under London corporate partners Julian Long and Simon Witty. Freshfields is a longstanding adviser to Reed Elsevier and last year advised the publisher on its $4.1bn (£2.1bn) acquisition of data company ChoicePoint.

That deal also saw Long leading the team, with London competition partner David Aitman and finance partner Edward Evans assisting. New York firm Sullivan & Cromwell acted alongside Freshfields providing US advice.

Reed Elsevier's capital raising closed yesterday, with the deal coming shortly after the appointment of the company's new chief executive Ian Smith.

CC partner Cartwright commented: "The strength of our international network was a great advantage on the deal, given Reed Elsevier's dual-listed structure in the UK and the Netherlands."

Clifford Chance on the Legal Week Wiki

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer on the Legal Week Wiki