Bredin Prat keeping busy amid banking crisis

Wall Street firms aren't the only ones dealing with credit crunch-related fire drills. Bredin Prat, the Paris-based boutique that represents France's corporate elite, has its hands full with bailouts, mergers, and outside counsel appointments.

"Our level of activity, at least in the financing sector, has certainly increased," says Bredin capital markets and M&A partner Olivier Saba. "I don't want to say we're benefiting from this, but it is good to be busy."

The French Government announced on Monday (20 Monday) that it would invest $14bn (£8.6bn) in the nation's six largest banks, on the condition that they increase lending to other companies and homeowners.

Saba says the bailout plan is structured into two tranches. The French state will inject equity directly into at-risk banks while also refinancing certain bank-held assets through a special purpose vehicle that borrows credit from the government and loans the proceeds to the banks themselves.

Along with Bredin securities partner Didier Martin, financing partner Raphaele Courtier, and antitrust partner Olivier Billard, Saba is advising the French Treasury on the Government's bailout plan. Saba and Martin advised France's largest bank, Credit Agricole, in July when the Paris-based bank raised $8bn (£5.2bn) in new capital.

Paris-based Banque Federale des Banques Populaires, a co-operative of 21 regional banks, is also a longtime Bredin Prat client. On 8 October, Banques Populaires announced a plan to begin merger talks with Paris-based Caisse Nationale des Caisses d'Epargne et de Prevoyance, a co-ordinating body for 17 former state-owned savings banks.

M&A partners Patrick Dziewolski and Emmanuel Masset are advising Banques Populaires in ongoing discussions with Caisse d'Epargne. A successful merger would create France's second-largest bank with capital holdings of nearly $55bn (£34bn). The two banks already jointly own French investment bank Natixis, which raised $4.7bn (£2.9bn) in July to offset billion-dollar write-downs (Dziewolski and Masset advised Natixis on the capital raising as well).

Two other large French banks, BNP Paribas and Societe Generale, will receive roughly $5.7bn (£3.5bn) in government subsidies.