Sullivan & Cromwell’s London office, established in 1972, is the largest of our branch offices and a natural focal point for cross-border European transactions. Its legal staff includes both English- and U.S.-qualified lawyers with specialist expertise in equity and debt capital markets, M&A (including private equity), project development and finance, real estate private equity and finance, leveraged and acquisition finance, antitrust and EC competition law, litigation and tax. The London office serves corporate, government and investment banking clients throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East and Gulf regions, as well as Central Asia.

Recent transactional and case highlights include the following:

M&A/Private Equity

• Representing InBev (Belgium) in its $60.8 billion acquisition of Anheuser-Busch (U.S.) 
• Represented Akzo Nobel in its $16.12 billion acquisition of Imperial Chemical Industries in 2008 and its $14.45 billion sale of Organon BioSciences to Schering-Plough in 2007 
• Represented Endesa in its $58.4 billion acquisition by Enel (Italy) and Acciona (Spain) in 2007 
• Represented Scottish Power in its $22.5 billion sale to Iberdrola in 2007—creating Europe’s third largest utility 
• Represented Silver Lake Partners in the $16.5 billion acquisition of Intelsat, Ltd. by Serafina Holdings in 2008 
• Represented the Chairman and largest shareholder of Abbot Group plc (U.K.) in the $1.8 billion sale of Abbot to Turbo Alpha Limited (U.S.) in 2008

Securities

Equity

• Represented UBS in its CHF 15.4 billion rights offering in 2008
• Represented the placement agents in the $604 million placement on AIM by Dolphin Capital Investors (U.K.) in 2007
• Represented Realia in its € 861 million IPO in 2007 
• Represented the underwriters in the $623 million global IPO and Swiss Stock Exchange listing of Gottex Fund Management Holdings (Switzerland) in 2007
• Represented the underwriters in the $300 million IPO of Tetragon (Luxembourg) in 2007
• Represented the underwriters in the $90 million IPO of GlobeOp (U.K.) in 2007

Debt

• Represented Philips in connection with its € 3 billion SEC-registered notes offering in 2008
• Represented Vodafone in connection with its $3.5 billion SEC-registered notes offering in 2007 
• Represented ING in connection with multiple SEC-registered offerings of Perpetual Debt in 2008 and 2007 
• Represented the underwriters in connection with a $2 billion SEC-registered notes offering by Telecom Italia in 2008
• Represented the underwriters in connection with two $1 billion offerings of SEC-registered MTNs by Eksportfinans in 2007 
• Represented the underwriters in more than 20 debt offerings by European Investment Bank in 2007-2008 

Project Development and Finance

• Dolphin Energy project ($4.14 billion, UAE, Qatar and Oman): represented the lenders; the Middle East’s largest cross-border gas project
• Yemen LNG financing ($4.8 billion, Yemen): represented the project; Global Deal of the Year and Oil & Gas Deal of the Year (Infrastructure Journal); Middle East Oil & Gas Deal of the Year (Project Finance International); Middle East Oil & Gas Deal of the Year 2008 (ProjectFinance); Project Finance Deal of the Year (Asian-Counsel)
• Iskandar Development project ($1.2 billion, Malaysia): representing the Mubadala Development Company as part of a consortium; the single largest foreign real estate development in Malaysia
• Emirates Aluminium smelter project ($7 billion, Abu Dhabi): representing the sponsors; largest single site aluminum smelter in the world; 2007 EMEA Industry Deal of the Year (PFI)
• Ambatovy nickel project ($3.3 billion, Madagascar, 2007): representing the sponsors; largest greenfield nickel project in the world 
• Baku–Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline project ($3.9 billion, Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey): represented sponsor consortium; EMEA Oil Deal of the Year (Project Finance International); Deal of the Year (Infrastructure Journal); European Oil & Gas Deal of the Year 2004 (Project Finance); Project Finance Deal of the Year (IFLR) 
• Moma titanium project ($366 million, Mozambique): representing Kenmare Resources plc as developers and the borrowers of the largest greenfield mining project financing to date in sub-Saharan Africa 
• Tengizchevroil (TCO) upstream financing ($4.4 billion, Kazakhstan): representing the borrower/issuer 

Real Estate Private Equity and Finance

• Representing Whitehall Street Global Real Estate Limited Partnership in its pending sale of six hotels in continental Europe 
• Represented Rodamco Europe in its $15 billion acquisition by Unibail Holding
• Represented Whitehall Funds and Cerberus Partners, L.P. (U.S.) in connection with its acquisition of the real estate business Harpen Immobilien AG (Germany) from Harpen
• Represented the underwriters in connection with ProLogis European Properties Fund’s (Luxembourg) € 650 million IPO
• Represented Realia (Spain) in connection with its € 861 million IPO

Leveraged and Acquisition Finance

• Represented Finmeccanica in connection with financing issues in the $4.95 billion acquisition of DRS Technologies Inc. 
• Advised Honsel AG in its € 480 million refinancing 
• Advised Philips Electronics and NXP in the $10.3 billion spin-off and sale of NXP by Philips to KKR and Silver Lake—the largest leveraged buyout transaction in Europe in 2006 
• Represented Rhône Capital LLP in connection with its acquisition of LWB Refractories Holding GmbH from Lhoist S.A. (Germany) 
• Represented Swisscom in its $6.3 billion acquisition of FASTWEB

Antitrust and EC Competition Law

Merger Clearances

• Represented Arcandor in its acquisition of MyTravel 
• Represented Chiron in its $6.6 billion sale to Novartis 
• Represented Hilton Hotels in its $26 billion sale to Blackstone Group
• Represented Business Objects in its $300 million acquisition of Cartesis

Litigation

• Prosecuting securities disclosure action on behalf of Endesa against Gas Natural arising out of Gas Natural’s unsolicited tender offer for Endesa 
• Defending Manuli Rubber Industries (Italy) in several antitrust class actions filed in the United States 
• Advising two clients on SEC and DOJ investigations for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations arising out of United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme 
• Represented Morgan Crucible plc in an action for antitrust damages before the Competition Appeals Tribunal in London 
• Prosecuting two international arbitrations on behalf of TeliaSonera, one in Vienna and one in Geneva

Tax

• Represented AXA in connection with the sale of its reinsurance subsidiary AXA Re to a private equity consortium led by Stone Point Capital LLC 
• Advised Allianz and Blue Wings in a $1 billion securitization program 
• Representing GS Infrastructure Partners and Mediobanca in connection with their acquisition of a stake in Sintonia S.A. 
• Represented Lightyear Capital LLP in its acquisition of the renewal rights to the existing London market insurance portfolio of Württ AG (Germany) and its subsidiary Württembergische UK Ltd. (U.K.) 
• Represented PARIS RE in connection with its € 224.5 million IPO 

For more about S&C’s practice in Europe, please click here.