We have extensive experience in acting for bidders, targets and financial advisers on both recommended and hostile bids. Our clients include trade buyers, private equity houses and sovereign wealth funds who are active in domestic and global markets.  We know the potential challenges inherent in these deals and will help you to put your best foot forward.

By considering issues early on, together we will be able to address them and to avoid unnecessary surprises. We will simplify and de-risk the process, from preparing for the bid and initial communications through to execution of the deal and beyond. Our lawyers also specialise in industry sectors as well as practice areas for maximum effectiveness.

In addition to our market experience as a firm, we work closely with public M&A regulators across the globe. A number of our team have spent time on secondment to the Takeover Panel as senior case officers.  This gives us invaluable insight into the intricacies of UK public bids, the Takeover Code and, crucially, how the Takeover Panel operates. 

It takes more than a corporate team to bring a public bid to a successful close.  Our corporate practice is supported by global teams of market-leading experts in tax, real estate, employment and incentives, pensions, anti-trust/competition, regulatory and litigation, as well as teams offering the full range of finance support including all aspects of banking, capital markets and restructuring transactions.

Our recent takeover experience includes advising:

• Takeda Pharmaceutical Company in relation to its £46bn recommended offer for Shire plc, the largest ever outbound M&A deal by a Japanese company
• J Sainsbury plc on the £15bn merger with ASDA Group Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Walmart Inc 
• SABMiller plc on the US$108bn recommended acquisition of SABMiller plc by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV
• Home Retail Group plc on the £1.2bn recommended cash and share offer by J Sainsbury plc
• Deutsche Börse AG in relation to its recommended all-share merger of equals with London Stock Exchange Group plc
• Al Noor Hospitals Group plc on the £6.8bn combination with Mediclinic International Limited
• Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. on the US$3.8bn proposed acquisition of Mattress Firm Holding Corp., a leading specialty retailer of mattresses and related products and accessories in the United States.
• Euston BidCo Limited and Alinda Capital Partners III Limited on the £198m recommended cash acquisition of Energy Assets Group plc
• Regent Pacific Group Limited on the £114.3m recommended share exchange offer for Plethora Solutions Holdings plc
• Delhaize Group S.A. on its €26bn cross-border merger with and into Netherlands-based listed retailer Ahold
• Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc on the €3.24bn acquisition by XPO Logistics of all Mr. Norbert Dentressangle and his family's shares in Norbert Dentressangle, a French listed company
• Solvay on its US$5.5bn acquisition of US listed company Cytec
• Casino Group on the €3.1bn sale of its stake in Big C Supercenter Public Company Limited in Thailand
• Amec Plc on the US$3.2bn recommended offer for all of the issued share capital of Foster Wheeler AG, for a combination of cash and securities
• Amlin plc on the recommended £3.4bn cash offer by Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company Limited
• The Carlyle Group on its recommended £499m cash offer for The Innovation Group plc
• Alent plc on the recommended £1.3bn cash offer by Platform Speciality Products Corporation
• Delphi Automotive plc on its recommended £1.07bn cash offer for HellermannTyton Group plc
• Brookfield Property Partners L.P. on its £1.2bn mandatory cash  offer for Canary Wharf Group plc
• Brother Industries, Ltd. on its recommended £1.03bn cash offer for Domino Printing Services plc
• Kazakhmys plc on the £3.04bn cash and share offer for ENRC plc  by a consortium of ENRC shareholders (not including Kazakhmys)