EY reaches settlement over long-running $7.3bn Nortel Networks bankruptcy saga October 13, 2016 A settlement has been reached in the long-running global insolvency of Canadian telecoms giant Nortel Networks' European-based companies. Three groups of creditors, including 33,000 UK pensioners, Canadian pensioners and US bondholders, had been unable to agree who gets what from the $7.3bn (£6bn) to be distributed since the company’s collapse seven years ago. The battle has been over [...]
Shaanxi Ligeance Mineral Resources digs out £326m for Gardner Aerospace November 16, 2016 Chinese aerospace and mining firm Shaanxi Ligeance Mineral Resources (SLMR) announced today it is to buy aerospace parts manufacturer Gardner Aerospace. Derby-headquartered Gardner makes parts which are used by Airbus and is currently one of the high-flying businesses held by City veteran Jon Moulton's Better Capital. SLMR, along with its subsidiary Chengdu Aerospace Superalloy Technology (CAST), plans to pick [...]
Beyond boom and bust: Interview with Herbert Smith Freehills’ UK head of corporate Ben Ward December 21, 2015 Ben Ward is not cautiously optimistic about the markets in 2016. He says that’s not positive enough – he’s really very optimistic, but insists that “sustainable growth” are his watchwords for 2016. Spoken like a true lawyer. Ward has just taken over as Herbert Smith Freehills’ (HSF) head of corporate in the UK, overseeing everything [...]
British American Tobacco shares fall three per cent after announcing $49bn Reynolds takeover deal January 17, 2017 British American Tobacco's (BAT) share price tumbled four per cent on Tuesday afternoon after it announced a deal to take over US competitor Reynolds. After months of talks between the two firms, BAT has agreed to pay around $49.4bn (£40.8bn) for the 57.8 per cent of Reynolds that it does not already own. Its shares jumped [...]
This is Me: Let’s talk about mental health to end the stigma in the City October 10, 2016 Today may be World Mental Health Day, but if you’re an employer, or indeed an employee, mental health should always be top of your agenda. Stress and poor mental health in the workplace are commonplace. Last week, a survey by Business in the Community and YouGov, supported by Mind, revealed that 62 per cent of [...]
SAB Miller’s £71bn sale is facing growing shareholder pressure as Aberdeen Asset Management reportedly joins the rebellion July 24, 2016 The long-awaited takeover of SAB Miller has reportedly been left on a knife edge by growing shareholder concerns on sterling's depreciation, even as analysis shows the total number of deals since last month's Brexit vote holding up. Shareholders have raised fears that the cash value Anheuser-Busch InBev's £71bn purchase has plummeted alongside the strength of sterling since last [...]
Merger Monday: Big deal developments spark hopes of M&A pick-up this autumn August 22, 2016 Global deals valued at nearly $65bn (£49.5bn) cleared a series of major hurdles yesterday, amid hopes of a renewed drive in worldwide mergers and acquisitions next month. US pharmaceutical company Pfizer agreed a $14bn deal for San Francisco-based Medivation, which specialises in cancer treatments. It came as a welcome boost to the pharma giant whose [...]
City Moves for 1 April 2016 | Who’s switching jobs April 1, 2016 Squire Patton Boggs Squire Patton Boggs has announced that Andrew Herring has been appointed partner in the London office. Andrew, a well-known rail and transportation sector lawyer, will join the firm’s real estate practice, working with the global infrastructure and construction groups. He joins from DWF. He specialises in advising public and private sector clients [...]
City Moves for 16 June 2016 | Who’s switching jobs June 16, 2016 Industry Barbican-based global brand consultancy Industry has appointed Nada El Barshoumi as lead brand consultant for the Middle East and North Africa Region. Prior to joining Industry, Nada was a partner at Bahrain-based PR and design agency Obai & Hill, where she was employed for more than three years. She has worked with a wide [...]
City Moves for 11 March 2016 | Who’s switching jobs March 11, 2016 BLM Risk and insurance law business BLM has announced the appointment of abuse claims expert Sharon Moohan. Sharon joins BLM’s abuse claims team having overseen €953m (£743m) of redress payments in her role as sole solicitor for the Irish Residential Institutions Redress Board. The board was set up in 2002 to make fair and reasonable [...]