Ashurst is the latest firm to benefit from the fallout of Lehman Brothers’ spectacular collapse, with the top 10 City firm advising Lehman’s European investment banking division on its takeover by Nomura.
Corporate head Adrian Clark (pictured) and corporate partner Gavin Gordon are leading the team, which also includes employment, incentives and pensions head Caroline Carter.
Nomura announced today (23 September) that it had agreed to buy the European and Middle Eastern equities and investment banking operations of the stricken bank. The Japanese bank also beat Barclays to take on Lehman’s Asia-Pacific operations.
Ashurst joins a number of firms on the deal. Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom has landed the lead role for Nomura on both acquisitions. The US firm is advising the Japanese bank from its London and Hong Kong offices, fielding a team including Hong Kong corporate co-head Nick Norris, London restructuring partner Lynn Hiestand and London corporate partner John Adebiyi.
Meanwhile, Nomura panel firm Osborne Clarke is advising on the employment aspects of Nomura’s acquisition of Lehman's European assets, with the firm fielding a team under employment partner Victoria Parry. Nomura relationship partner and employment chief David Cubitt and employment partner Richard Brown are also advising.
Linklaters is advising Lehman’s Asian liquidators KPMG from the firm’s Hong Kong office, with Asia corporate chief Keith Johnson taking the lead role, assisted by litigation partner Melvin Sng.
The firm is also advising PricewaterhouseCoopers as the bank’s European administrator, with restructuring chief Tony Bugg, banking partner Richard Holden and corporate partner David Ereira leading.
The deals will save thousands of jobs at Lehman. Lehman has around 3,000 employees in the Asia-Pacific region and all should be offered employment with Nomura. The bank’s equities and investment banking businesses in Europe and the
Middle East employ around 2,500 staff, with a significant proportion expected to be retained.
More news, deals and comment on Ashurst
Ashurst on the Legal Week Wiki
