LawFuel.com – Law Firm News Daily – International law firm Clifford Chance has won Corporate and Commercial Firm of the Year in the Legal 500 UK Awards 2013. This is the first ever Legal 500 UK Awards which is aimed at recognising the best from law firms to barristers’ chambers to in-house lawyers and general counsel operating in the UK.
Clifford Chance was also shortlisted in a further five awards categories: dispute resolution; finance; projects, energy and natural resources; real estate; and insurance (corporate and regulatory).
The recognition follows the Firm’s success in Legal 500 UK 2013 which ranks Clifford Chance tier one in 34 categories in London, four more than the nearest competitor firm. Clifford Chance’s tier one rankings include acquisition finance, bank lending, banking litigation, debt capital marketing, dispute resolution, employee share schemes, equity capital markets, insurance, M&A, private equity, projects, energy and natural resources, public affairs, real estate, transport – rail, and VAT & indirect tax.
Simon Tinkler, partner and London head of Corporate said: “This is a fantastic achievement and is a reflection of our reputation in the market as a corporate practice well-known for its work on complex, cross-border matters for the world’s leading corporations and financial institutions, as well as our commitment to service excellence.”
Recent high-profile M&A deals which the Firm’s Corporate practice has advised on include:
- Suntory on the £1.35 billion acquisition of Ribena and Lucozade from GSK
- Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation PLC (ENRC) on the £3 billion offer for the existing and to be issued shares of ENRC other than those already held by an innovative cash and shares offer
- Shell on its US$6.7 billion acquisition of a portfolio of LNG assets from Repsol S.A., including plant capacity and supply positions in Peru and Trinidad and Tobago, a 25 per cent stake in a power plant in Spain and a material LNG marketing and trading operation
- Barclays PLC on its £6 billion rights issue
- Cinven on its parallel acquisitions of Mercury Pharma and Amdipharm to form AMco Group
