According to the results of the study of the TOP-25 UK law firms, it was established that during 2018 the companies were engaged in the following practices (areas): M&A, Tax law, Banking and financial law, Capital markets, Wealth management, Real Estate, Labor, pension, insurance law, IP (intellectual property) and Technology, Infrastructure, Litigation, GR, Pro Bono, Antitrust, Restructuring, bankruptcy, International Arbitration, Compliance.
The most common practices in 2018 were the following:
In this direction, the following law firms provided the greatest number of services:
M&A UK 2018 | ||
---|---|---|
1 | Travers Smith | 14% |
2 | Slaughter and May | 9% |
3 | Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer | 8% |
Ashurst | 8% | |
4 | White & Case | 7% |
Kirkland & Ellis | 7% | |
5 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | 6% |
6 | DLA Piper | 5% |
Lewis Silkin | 5% | |
7 | Sidley Austin | 4% |
8 | Other | 27% |
The first place in the legal practice of M&A among the TOP-25 law firms in the UK goes to Travers Smith, whose share is 14% in this direction. The company has advised on M&A issues the following companies: Access Group, Livingbridge, Agrial Group, Auto Trader Group plc, ITRS Group, Caledonia Investments plc, Volex PLC, HSBC Bank plc, Inflexion, Eggplant, Office Space in Town, Forum Partners and Kailong Group.
In the second place is Slaughter and May (9%), which advised the following companies: Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), SHV Holdings, Draper Gain Investments Limited, Scientific Games, Palamon Capital Partners, De La Rue plc, Standard Life Aberdeen plc, Impello Limited, GKN plc, Legal & General, Prudential plc, Michael Chambers/Orbach & Chambers Holdings Ltd, GSK, Vodafone, Shire plc, Richemont, RR, RR Group, Arsenal Holdings PLC, RPC Group, Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc., Banco Santander, SA, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Dometic, SHV Holdings.
The third place was shared between the two companies - Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Ashurst (8% each).
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advises: KAR Auction Services, Inc. (KAR), Permira, Pandox, STADA, Terra Firma, Neptune Energy, KLX Inc. and KLX Energy Services Holdings, Inc., XIO Group, KKR and Bregal Investments, Pandox, Prudential and Eastspring Investments, BP, Montagu Private Equity, Warburg Pincus, Equitable Life, Nets, JAB, Advent International, ZPG Plc, Liberty Global, Cinven, Li & Fung, InterContinental Hotels Group, Laird, Interoute.
Ashurst advises: Goldman Sachs, Santander Group, Digital Colony, Johnston Press, OMV, Generali, Arla Foods, Greenhill & Co International LLP, Merlon International LLC, LEO Pharma, Peel Hunt, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, Warburg-HIH Invest, Lazard, FCC Environment, Rothschild, IPO, Ares Management, Cell, Octopus, Stafford Capital, Trinity Mirror, EmergeVest, NetScientific plc, Faroe.
The fourth place in the direction of M&A belongs to the companies White & Case and Kirkland & Ellis, which occupy 7% share in the practice.
White & Case's clients, accompanied and/or advised on M&A issues are the following: Zynga, European Entertainment Intressenter BidCo AB, JBIC, Piraeus Bank, A15, Mid Europa Partners, Goldman Sachs and Blackstone, Muzinich, Mid Europa Partners, Kiko, CVC Capital Partners, Goldman Sachs International and Trigon Dom Maklerski SA, SIA, ETF Securities, Qatar Petroleum, PPF Group, Canon Medical Systems Corporation, JP Morgan, Calpine Corporation, WernerCo, Nomura International plc.
Kirkland & Ellis’s clients include: Triton Partners, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Carlyle International Energy Partners, Rowan Companies plc, Crimson Hexagon, BC Partners, Valence Media, Apax Partners, FNZ, EQT, SVP, OTPP, Pamplona Capital, Actera and Esas , Apax, Capital Sale, GIC, Wyndham Worldwide, Alteri Investors, Oaktree, NPAC Holdings.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (6%) ranked fifth. Company's clients include such companies as: Blackstone, PHC Holdings Corporation, Bridgepoint, Barclays, Blackstone, Telereal Trillium, KKR, Technology Crossover Ventures, Round Hill, ChemChina, Silver Lake, Riverwood Capital LLC, Openlink Financial LLC and Hellman & Friedman, Gates, Melrose Industries PLC, Stonepeak and others.
The sixth position in the direction is occupied by two companies - DLA Piper and Lewis Silkin (with 5% each).
DLA Piper customers include: John Swire & Sons, 2 Sisters Food Group, Element Power, STG Partners, Clinigen Group plc, Palisade, BTG, Lotus Bakeries, Waterlogic, Nettitude, Wipro, Dechra Pharmaceuticals, Sytner Group and others.
Among Lewis Silkin's customers are the following: Deeson Group, RYVL (The Marketing Group), Dictate IT, PA Consulting, Stifel, Way To Blue, Sopra Steria (Euronext Paris), Next Fifteen Communications Group plc, Haymarket, Sparkler, Haymarket, Harbor Group, Next Fifteen Communications Group plc, Synergie.
The seventh position in the rating belongs to Sidley Austin (4%).
Sidley Austin advised and/or accompanied: Apollo, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Gilde Buy Out Partners, Cincinnati Financial, China Reinsurance, Apollo, Navigators Group, Inc., Sun European Partners LLP, Five Arrows, TransUnion, United Energy Group, TowerBrook Capital.
Other law firms (Herbert Smith Freehills, Hogan Lovells, Linklaters, Macfarlanes, Clifford Chance, Bird & Bird, Cravath Swaine & Moore, Dentons, Milbank, Clyde & Co, Covington & Burling, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, Weil Gotshal & Manges, Sullivan & Cromwell, and others), which were included in the research sample, together account for a 27% share of practice in the direction of M&A among the TOP 25 UK law firms.
The Top Pacers team presents the practice rating in the direction of M&A (acquisitions, mergers, sales) among companies that according to the results of our independent research are included in the TOP-25 UK law firms in 2018. The most active of the Top 25 UK companies in the practice of consulting and supporting M&A in 2018 were included in the sample for the study.
The analysis was carried out based on the results of monitoring open sources, as well as calculating the amount of public information about support and consultations carried out by law firms that participated in the study.