Herbert Smith Freehills appoints new global M&A head as Wilkinson takes clients and sectors role
Stephen Wilkinson named managing partner of clients and sectors as long-serving corporate partner Gavin Davies steps up to top M&A role
January 05, 2018 at 09:07 AM
3 minute read
Herbert Smith Freehils (HSF) has appointed corporate partner Gavin Davies as its new global head of M&A.
He is taking over the role from Stephen Wilkinson, who has become managing partner of the firm's clients and sectors group. Wilkinson will continue in a fee-earning role. Recent mandates include advising Sky on its £11.7bn offer from 21st Century Fox.
Davies (pictured) joined legacy Herbert Smith in 1992 and made partner in 2000. Between 2006 and 2013, he headed up the firm's private equity and financial investors practice.
Last year, he advised the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the £2.3bn sale of the Green Investment Bank to Australia's Macquarie.
Other mandates he has acted on include advising on US technology company Arris Group's $2.1bn (£1.4bn) acquisition of UK TV set-top box maker Pace in 2015, and AOL's $850m (£421m) acquisition of social networking website Bebo in 2008.
The global head of M&A role is separate to the firm's global head of corporate post, which is held by City partner Scott Cochrane.
Cochrane said: "We are delighted that Gavin has agreed to take this on. He is a recognised heavyweight in the M&A market with a global client base. As someone with boundless passion and energy for client engagement, pursuing opportunities and executing deals, he is a natural choice."
Davies added: "I am looking forward to the role and to working with the outstanding group of talented partners and associates in our M&A network. We enjoyed a fantastic end to 2017 and I am positive on the outlook for 2018 and our continued success."
Former global M&A head Wilkinson, meanwhile, is succeeding Australia partner Geoff McClellan as managing partner of clients and sectors, a post that was also previously held by current CEO Mark Rigotti.
Rigotti has been HSF's sole CEO since May last year, when the firm phased out its joint leadership structure. He works in tandem with senior partner James Palmer, whose current leadership term is up for renewal this year.
HSF recently voted through changes to its remuneration system, which will extend the top of its lockstep in an effort to attract and retain top talent. The firm's star performers will now be able to move above the previous 100-point top of lockstep into an 'extension zone' reaching up to 130 points.
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
Skadden, White & Case Guide Citigroup Demerger in Mexico
Kirkland’s O’Shea Acts Alongside Former Outfit Simpson Thacher on KKR Deal
2 minute read
Big Law Sidelined as Asian IPOs in New York Dominated by Small Cap Listings
Quartet Of Firms Engaged As Adani Exits $2B Joint Venture With Singapore’s Wilmar
Trending Stories
- 1New York-Based Skadden Team Joins White & Case Group in Mexico City for Citigroup Demerger
- 2No Two Wildfires Alike: Lawyers Take Different Legal Strategies in California
- 3Poop-Themed Dog Toy OK as Parody, but Still Tarnished Jack Daniel’s Brand, Court Says
- 4Meet the New President of NY's Association of Trial Court Jurists
- 5Lawyers' Phones Are Ringing: What Should Employers Do If ICE Raids Their Business?
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
