Freshfields and CC win roles on multibillion BAE-EADS mega-merger
Clifford Chance (CC) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have both scored roles on the proposed merger of EADS and BAE Systems, which is set to create an aerospace and defence giant worth $45bn (£27bn). Freshfields is acting for BAE, led by senior partner Will Lawes, while French outfit Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier is leading for EADS, with CC providing UK advice. Darrois' team is led by founding partner Alain Maillot and M&A partner Bertrand Cardi, while the CC team is headed up by global corporate head Matthew Layton, alongside corporate partners Patrick Sarch and Lee Coney.
September 13, 2012 at 07:15 AM
2 minute read
Clifford Chance (CC) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have both scored roles on the proposed merger of EADS and BAE Systems, which is set to create an aerospace and defence giant worth $45bn (£27bn).
Freshfields is acting for BAE, led by senior partner Will Lawes, while French outfit Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier is leading for EADS, with CC providing UK advice.
Darrois' team is led by founding partner Alain Maillot and M&A partner Bertrand Cardi, while the CC team is headed up by global corporate head Matthew Layton, alongside corporate partners Patrick Sarch and Lee Coney.
Netherlands firm Nauta Dutilh is advising EADS on Dutch matters, with Amsterdam-based corporate partner Hein Hooghoudt leading the team, while Wall Street firm Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz has been instructed on US issues, fielding a team led by corporate partners Adam Emmerich and David Lam.
The two companies announced they were in merger talks yesterday (12 September) with a view to creating an aerospace, defence and security group that would rival US giant Boeing. It is estimated that potential sales of the combination would be worth about $100bn (£62bn). Both companies already share joint ventures in aircraft manufacturer Eurofighter and defence company MBDA.
Both magic circle firms have acted on a number of deals for the two companies in recent years. Freshfields advised on the merger of BAE's shipbuilding operations with VT Group in 2007 and subsequently secured a spot on the company's legal panel in 2010.
The review, which marked BAE's first major shake-up of its external legal advisers in the UK for more than a decade, also saw Allen & Overy, Linklaters, Slaughter and May, Addleshaw Goddard, Pinsent Masons and Blake Lapthorn appointed to the roster.
Meanwhile, CC acted for EADS in 2008 on proceedings brought against the company by the French Autorite des Marches Financiers for breaches of market information duties and insider trading rules. Two years earlier, the firm advised on EADS's €2.75bn (£2.18bn) acquisition of BAE's 20% stake in Airbus.
CC and Freshfields both declined to comment.
Related:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Hengeler, Noerr, Freshfields Steer Multi-Million Euro Deals for XXXLutz, Huf Group & More
3 minute read
Goodwin Enlisted for $1.15 Billion GSK Acquisition of US Biopharma Business
Freshfields Leads European M&A Rankings Again in 2024, as U.S. Firms Gain Market Share
5 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Bar Report - Jan. 20
- 2Saxton & Stump Lands Newly Retired Ex-Chief Judge From Middle District of Pa.
- 3Judicial Admissions and Medical Malpractice Defense
- 4South Florida Attorney Charged With Aggravated Battery After Incident in Prime Rib Line
- 5'A Death Sentence for TikTok'?: Litigators and Experts Weigh Impact of Potential Ban on Creators and Data Privacy
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
