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International Edition

Simmons and Taylor Wessing head up HMV's £53m Waterstone's sale

Simmons & Simmons and Taylor Wessing have taken headline roles on the £53m sale of the Waterstone's book chain by struggling music retailer HMV. Simmons took the lead role for the seller, fielding a team led by City M&A partner Giles Dennison, while Taylor Wessing acted for buyer A&NN Capital Fund Management, led by London corporate finance partner Tim Stocks. The deal marks a first-time appointment for Taylor Wessing and comes on the back of a market recommendation, while Simmons is a longstanding adviser to HMV.
2 minute read

International Edition

Freshfields and Camerons lead on €9.6bn pharma acquisition

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and CMS Cameron McKenna have advised on the largest European private equity deal since before the global financial crisis, worth €9.6bn (£8.4bn). The two law firms have advised as Japanese pharma company Takeda makes a move into the European market with the debt-free purchase of Swiss-based drug-maker Nycomed from its private equity owners.
3 minute read

International Edition

Dealmaker: Simon Davis

Clifford Chance head of commercial litigation Simon Davis on padlock combinations and dark museums
4 minute read

International Edition

SJ Berwin joins firms to help resurrect AllSaints' fortunes

SJ Berwin has joined a number of law firms advising on the private equity rescue of troubled London fashion chain AllSaints Spitalfields. The top-20 City law firm secured the mandate to advise the buyers – Lion Capital and Goode Partners – on their acquisition of the retailer from failed Icelandic banks Kaupthing and Glitnir, which had put their stakes up for sale.
2 minute read

International Edition

Will the Hackgate scandal finally usher in exemplary damages?

It is a mark of the media frenzy over privacy injunctions that the topic has continued to hog the headlines even while a related issue of arguably far more significance has played out: the dramatic escalation of the phone-hacking scandal. True, the issue has dogged News International for years but it was only last month that the company issued an apology and moved to compensate victims – a measure that came a week after two senior News of the World (NoW) journalists were arrested on suspicion of unlawfully intercepting voicemail messages.
4 minute read

International Edition

SNR Denton sweats out deal for Virgin Active on Esporta takeover

SNR Denton has taken a lead role alongside a raft of City firms on Societe Generale's £78m disposal of Esporta to rival gym chain Virgin Active. The transatlantic firm advised Virgin Active, which is majority-owned by Sir Richard Branson, on the deal which sees Virgin acquire 55 Esporta gyms.
2 minute read

International Edition

Magic circle trio among firms acting on Volkswagen's $19bn MAN bid

Linklaters, Clifford Chance (CC) and Allen & Overy (A&O) have landed roles on Volkswagen's potential $19bn (£11.5bn) takeover of German truck and bus manufacturer MAN, reports The Am Law Daily. Volkswagen has increased its stake in MAN from 29.9% to 30.47%, and under German takeover law, this requires Volkswagen to make a mandatory offer for the remaining shares of MAN it does not already own.
2 minute read

International Edition

Five US law firms line up on Microsoft's $8.5bn Skype purchase

A raft of US law firms have won roles on Microsoft's $8.5bn (£5.2bn) acquisition of Skype Global, the internet voice and video chat service, reports The Am Law Daily. The all-cash deal - Microsoft's largest acquisition ever - will give the software giant a leading communications brand to partner with its other products such as Outlook, Lync, and Xbox LIVE.
2 minute read

International Edition

Links and Simmons lead on HMV but restructuring work remains subdued

Linklaters and Simmons & Simmons have picked up lead advisory roles on the high-profile restructuring of entertainment retailer HMV. The deal, which sees Simmons advising HMV and Linklaters advising the company's banks, including Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group, is one of a handful of high-profile restructuring mandates so far this year, as advisers concede that the flood of administrations predicted at the height of the financial crisis has yet to materialise.
4 minute read

International Edition

Dewey and Linklaters head up landmark Polish media M&A deal

Dewey & LeBouef has taken a lead role on the biggest-ever M&A deal in the Polish media sector. The firm was instructed in the summer of 2010 by longstanding client Cyfrowy Polsat, Poland's biggest satellite TV broadcaster, to advise on its £843.9m acquisition of Polish private TV broadcaster Telewizja Polsat.
2 minute read

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