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International Edition

Private equity outlook - rays of hope for 2011

During the boom years, private equity investors capitalised on unprecedented liquidity in the leveraged loans market and the application of innovative management techniques to achieve high rates of return. After the uncertainty of the financial crisis which saw activity fall to levels last seen in the mid-1990s, we have seen some signs of recovery over the last 12 months and reports indicate that both the value and volume of European buyouts are starting to increase. The question is whether this apparent recovery is sustainable in the face of continuing economic uncertainty and constraints on capital.
4 minute read

International Edition

Back at the gate - the challenges ahead for private equity

A few weeks ago news got out that Bain Capital, one of the world's leading private equity firms, was holding interviews for junior investment professionals a month earlier than usual. Bain's competitors, which include Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) and The Blackstone Group, moved quickly, bringing forward their pre-scheduled cocktail party recruiting events. This was not a surprising development. Five years ago private equity houses often did their entry-level hiring in September. During the boom, such intakes kept drifting earlier into the year as rivals jostled to secure the best aspiring deal-doers.
23 minute read

International Edition

DLA signs up Reed Smith's Dubai office founder for Middle East role

DLA Piper has recruited the founder of Reed Smith's Dubai office to head its Middle East finance and projects team. Sean Angle is set to join DLA Piper's Dubai office as a partner in mid-April after around five years with Reed Smith and legacy merger partner Richards Butler.
2 minute read

International Edition

Tiers for jeers - the mid-tier gets an unfairly bad press

What is it with the mid-tier, that much-maligned but ill-defined group of law firms that always gets it in the neck from consultants, pundits and journalists? Written off whatever the conditions of the day, observers of the legal industry will usually be told this breed will soon be history as an over-supplied and fragmented market is carved up between industry leaders and nimble boutiques. While there is a grain of truth here - which we'll get to later - it's usually stretched to the point of woolly nonsense delivered with shaky reference to the facts. For a start, who is this group supposed to be? Taken literally you could make a solid case that any firm south of Slaughter and May is mid-tier, though that isn't usually what is meant. Smaller than Ashurst, maybe? Consensus starts to break down. Outside the top 50? Take your pick. There are a bewilderingly large number of mid-tiers out there. In an industry obsessed by relative status, groups are defined as much by what you're not - so the mid-tier is, for many a firm, someone else.
3 minute read

International Edition

Slaughters and Wachtell take lead on Colgate-Unilever double deal

Slaughter and May and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz have taken lead roles on a multimillion-pound two-part deal involving Unilever and Colgate-Palmolive. The deal will see Unilever sell its Sanex personal care brand to Colgate for €672m (£590m), while also paying $215m (£132m) for a portfolio of Colgate laundry detergent brands in Colombia.
2 minute read

International Edition

DLA enters Mongolia market with alliance deal

DLA Piper is set to enter the Mongolian legal market after securing an alliance with local firm C&G Partners. The two-partner Mongolian firm will become a DLA Piper 'focus firm', with DLA targeting local work in sectors including mining, capital markets, banking, project finance, hospitality and leisure and infrastructure. DLA Piper Asia-Pacific managing director Alastair Da Costa commented: "The relationship with C&G will enable the firm to have a presence in an emerging economy where our clients are doing increasing volumes of business.
2 minute read

International Edition

Dealmaker: Simon Gamblin

Barlows corporate chief Simon Gamblin on Ethics in the east of England and his comedy conundrum...
3 minute read

International Edition

Herbert Smith heads up firms advising on £65m JJB Sports recovery effort

A raft of firms including Herbert Smith are lining up to advise in relation to a £65m recovery plan for embattled sports retailer JJB Sports. Herbert Smith is advising regular client JJB as it gears up for a £65m capital raising and a delisting from the main market of the London Stock Exchange onto the Alternative Investment Market.
2 minute read

International Edition

A&O Moscow corporate chief to take managing partner role as incumbent retires

Allen & Overy (A&O) has appointed a new Moscow managing partner to replace current postholder Tony Humphrey, who is due to retire at the end of next month. The magic circle firm has named Moscow corporate head Edwin Tham to lead the office, with effect from 1 May.
2 minute read

International Edition

A&O seals hire of Debevoise corporate trio for Paris office

Allen & Overy (A&O) has boosted its Paris M&A practice with the hire of a trio of lawyers from US firm Debevoise & Plimpton. The team, which is led by partner Marc Castagnede and includes senior associates Dan Taieb and Olivier Thebault, joined A&O yesterday (21 March), bringing the total number of partners at the magic circle firm's Paris office to 30 and the number of M&A partners to seven.
2 minute read

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