Linklaters takes key China role on closely-watched Thames Water deal
Linklaters has taken the lead role for China Investment Corporation (CIC) on its acquisition of a 9% stake in Thames Water. The high-profile deal - which marks the Chinese sovereign wealth fund's first major UK share purchase - saw the magic circle firm field a team led by London corporate partner William Buckley and Hong Kong corporate partner Matthew Middleditch.
January 24, 2012 at 02:03 AM
2 minute read
Linklaters has taken the lead role for China Investment Corporation (CIC) on its acquisition of a 9% stake in Thames Water.
The high-profile deal – which marks the Chinese sovereign wealth fund's first major UK share purchase – saw the magic circle firm field a team led by London corporate partner William Buckley and Hong Kong corporate partner Matthew Middleditch.
Thames Water is owned by Kemble Water, a consortium of investors headed up by Australian bank Macquarie.
The consortium includes Santander, which was advised by Clifford Chance (CC), which fielded a team led by partners Jose Maria Fernandez-Daza and David Pudge.
The law firms advising the shareholders of Kemble Water and the banks on the deal have not been disclosed.
The latest investment for CIC comes after its acquisition last November of a €2.3bn (£1.9bn) stake in French utility company GDF Suez.
US firm Vinson & Elkins acted for CIC on that deal, while Linklaters took the lead role for GDF, fielding a team led by Paris corporate partner Marc Loy and City corporate partner Iain Wagstaff.
CIC was established in 2007 to make use of China's foreign exchange reserves, and has since made significant investments in targets including UK private equity house Apax Partners and Banco BTG, Brazil's largest independent investment bank. CC acted for CIC on the Banco BTG deal.
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has traditionally advised Thames Water in recent years after in 2010 entering into a £5m deal that saw the utility company transfer the bulk of its in-house legal team to the City law firm. However, BLP confirmed that it had not taken a role on this latest deal, with the acquisition run by Kemble Water.
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