Advising more than 130 LSE listed clients, the corporate and M&A lawyers at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP advise multinational corporations and private capital firms and are well known in the public M&A space, regularly working on high value UK public takeovers, auctions and bilateral deals. Recent highlights include advising National Grid on its £7.8 billion acquisition of Western Power Distribution. Spearheading the team’s M&A offering is Gavin Davies, who is ‘at the very top of the field,’ particularly in relation to cross border M&A and investments in technology, telecoms, financial services and industrial sectors. The ’straight talking’ Caroline Rae helps clients ‘steady the boat through difficult areas’ including acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures and public takeovers, while Stephen Wilkinson focuses on high-value corporate transactions and governance matters. Mark Bardell is a ’stellar professional’ and specialises in significant M&A and public company situations for blue chip corporates, offering experience as previous Secretary at the UK Takeover Panel. Heading the financial institutions transactions team is Alex Kay, who also offers expertise in the consumer and listed real estate sectors. Also of note is high profile M&A partner James Palmer, who has returned to full-time client work after serving as firmwide chair. Harriet Forrest, who advises on M&A involving both public and private targets and Heidi Gallagher are also recommended.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Extremely responsive, practical and commercial team. The firm does not "over-lawyer" work and understands the relative importance of various legal issues in the context of a broader transaction or corporate aim. Compared to other UK or European practices, HSF stands out for its collaborative practice and ability to see the broader picture.’
‘Mark Bardell and Shaun Williamson are both stellar professionals, who anticipate needs, respond with practical and actionable advice in a timely and efficient manner. If I could clone them to work in every other country where we have legal needs, I would do so. I rarely enjoy getting a call or email from many outside counsel, but when HSF and Mark and Shaun call, I am excited to hear from them. They have earned our trust and consistently reaffirm it with high-quality, timely work product.’
‘Exceptional knowledge of the applicable laws and regulations. The team has vast experience in applicable transactions, anticipates needs and problems and comes up with solutions. Top notch!’
‘The team has top level experience and judgement across the full range of corporate disciplines. They are particularly skilled when it comes to complex situations involving public companies where an understanding of the market, the key players and board dynamics come into play. Above all, we turn to them for their strategic judgment and insight which has helped us on to get deals across the line in very complex situations.’
‘Mark Bardell and Gavin Davies are both at the very top of the field for us across jurisdictions, not just in the UK. They bring nuanced insight along with effortless execution to everything they do. They are also particularly accessible and responsive both in the midst of a deal and not, and always reachable when we need them on an urgent basis. Finally, each of them brings a strong grasp of the commercial context of a deal which makes them a part of the deal team in every way and not just advisers on discrete issues.’
‘An excellent, diverse, highly responsive, creative and all-round team. They are solution orientated whilst keeping us compliant. Caroline Rae was particularly strong. She was direct, straight talking and unafraid to have difficult conversations when she needed to, which I value in an adviser. The whole team were very happy to help and I always felt that we were a clear priority for them.’
‘Responsive, always thinking ahead and a great partnering model. Alan Montgomery and Siddhartha Shukla are both personable and have got to know our shareholders which means the influence and conversations are deep and knowledgeable. They give great practical advice.’
‘Charles Steward was fantastic and is someone who will go far. He has excellent knowledge, is clear speaking and very thoughtful. Caroline Rae was always available and helped steady the boat through difficult areas. All of the competition team were excellent. All in all, this is a superb firm that provided proactive advice throughout.’
Key clients
- Abbott
- Airtel Africa
- Altice
- Altra Industrial Motion Corp.
- Anglo American
- Ardonagh Group
- ArcelorMittal
- Atlassian Corporation
- Blackstone
- BP
- British American Tobacco
- British Land
- Capital & Countries Properties
- ClearBank
- Comcast (formerly Sky)
- Dentsu
- Elementis
- Evergreen Coast Capital Corporation
- General Mills
- GIC Infra Holdings Pte Ltd
- Go-Ahead Group
- Hammerson
- Inchcape
- Indivior
- Johnson Matthey
- JP Morgan
- KPMG
- Ma'aden
- MADE.com
- Mercuria Energy
- Mitsubishi Corporation
- Morgan Stanley
- National Grid
- OneWeb
- Pearson
- Qatar Investment Authority
- Reaction Engines
- South32
- Stagecoach
- Synthomer plc
- Telefónica
- TP ICAP
- Tryg
- Tullow Oil plc
- The UNITE Group
- Virgin
- Weir Group
- WHSmith
- WiseTech Global
- Workspace Group plc
Work highlights
- Advised Evergreen Coast Capital Corporation, an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management L.P. and Brookfield Capital Partners LLC, on the consortium acquisition of Nielsen Holdings plc, the S&P 500 audience measurement, data and analytics company, for approximately $16 billion in an all-cash deal.
- Advised OneWeb regarding its proposed combination with Eutelsat Communications, a listed French satellite and telecommunications company, to create a large satellite operator with a combined entity value of US$7 billion.
- Advised Capital & Counties Properties PLC on its recommended all share merger with Shaftesbury PLC, which will bring together some of London's iconic destinations in Covent Garden, Carnaby Street, Chinatown and Soho, to create an estate valued at £5 billion.
Lawyers
Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Leading associates
Rising stars with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Gavin Davies