Allen & Overy, Linklaters win advisory spots as high-stakes beer battle brews
Allen & Overy, Linklaters and Jones Day are understood to have won advisory roles on the three-way battle for control of Europe's largest breweries.
September 16, 2014 at 07:35 PM
3 minute read
Allen & Overy and Linklaters are understood to have won advisory roles on the three-way battle for control of Europe's largest breweries.
London brewing giant SABMiller this week saw its takeover offer for rival Heineken rejected, with the Dutch company calling the approach "non-actionable" and insisting it wanted to maintain its independence.
Reports meanwhile suggest that SABMiller launched the takeover bid in order to safeguard itself against an approach from Anheuser-Busch (AB) InBev, the world's largest brewer.
AB InBev is thought to be searching for bank finance to fund a takeover of SABMiller, with a deal potentially worth up to £75bn.
Legal Week understands that A&O is advising Heineken, after the magic circle firm took a role for SABMiller when the brewer launched a successful AU$11.5 billion (£7.8 billion) takeover of Fosters three years ago.
Linklaters is thought to be advising SABMiller. The magic circle firm represented the brewer as recently as July on the sale of its stake in South African hotel and casino operator Tsogo Sun Holdings, valued at 11.7bn rand (£660m).
Hogan Lovells appears to have missed out on a mandate in what will come as a blow to the firm, which has counted SABMiller as a key client for a number of years.
A post-merger strategy review following the combination of legacy firms Lovells and Hogan & Hartson in 2010 placed SABMiller in the top tier of Hogan Lovells' new three-tier client programme, alongside its other closest relationship partners such as Ford.
Hogan Lovells went on to advise SABMiller on its takeover of Fosters in 2011, subsequently acting on a $7bn (£4.3bn) bond financing in January the next year to repay a substantial part of the debt incurred.
London corporate partner Andrew Pearson took over the running of Lovells' relationship with the brewer when former legacy Lovells partner John Davidson was made SABMiller general counsel in 2006, having previously advised on SABMiller's $7.8bn (£4.8bn) acquisition of Grupo Empresarial Bavaria in 2005, as well as on a joint venture with Molson Coors Brewing Company two years later.
A Hogan Lovells spokesperson said that the firm continues to have a strong relationship with SABMiller and continues to work closely with them.
Sullivan & Cromwell is regularly mandated on M&A work for AB InBev, though neither the firm nor client responded to requests for comment on recent deal activity.
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
© 2024 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
Gibson Dunn, Linklaters Advise on Talabat’s $2BN IPO in World’s Largest Tech IPO of 2024
2 minute read
Latham, Skadden Among Firms Acting on Mubadala's $3.4 B Acquisition of CI Financial
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Who Will Trump Pick as New Jersey's Next US Attorney?
- 2Labaton’s Eric Belfi on Running Case Investigation, Analysis and Delaware Presence
- 3Carrier Legal Chief Departs for GC Post at Defense Giant Lockheed Martin
- 445. Legal AI Can’t Do Lawyering or LPM
- 5Lawyer as Litigant as Late Fees Take Spotlight in Class Action
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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
