Dechert Crowned ‘European M&A Law Firm of the Year’ and Wins ‘Deal of the Year’ at The Deal Awards Europe

Dechert LLP has been named ‘European M&A Law Firm of the Year’ at The Deal’s inaugural awards in Europe, recognizing the firm’s dominant position in the European deal market. Leading business publication The Deal chose Dechert for its exceptional practice-wide performance, inward flow of talent and handling of recent complex, high-quality deals.

The firm also received the ‘Deal of the Year’ award for its work on Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto. A Dechert team led by Alec Burnside acted as co-counsel on EU antitrust issues to Monsanto in its US$66 billion acquisition by Germany’s Bayer AG.

The firm’s growth in London, New York and Washington, D.C., along with its work in other key international hubs such as Paris, Hong Kong and Singapore, were key factors in the winning submissions.

The Deal also pointed to Dechert’s representations of SK hynix as part of a consortium in connection with the US$18 billion acquisition of Toshiba Memory Corp., of Apollo in its largest-ever US$24.7 billion private-equity buyout fund, and of private equity-backed Chrysaor in its US$3.8 billion acquisition of Shell’s North Sea oil assets.

Recent laterals were also highlighted at the firm including life sciences M&A practitioner Robert Darwin and finance specialist Privat Vigand.

Dechert also won a finalist spot in three other categories. In the ‘Private Equity Law Firm of the Year’ category, The Deal recognized Dechert’s strong performance in European private equity, including its representation of Coveris Holdings S.A., a global packaging manufacturer, in the sale of its Global Rigid Business to Lindsay Goldberg LLC.

London-based corporate partner Christopher Field was shortlisted for ‘Private Equity Lawyer of the Year’ for leading the Coveris transaction and a number of other high-profile matters since he joined Dechert last year.

Dechert also picked up a finalist spot in the ‘Most Innovative Deal of the Year’ category for its representation of
SK hynix in the acquisition of Japan’s Toshiba Memory Corp.

About Dechert

Dechert is a leading global law firm with 27 offices around the world. We advise on matters and transactions of the greatest complexity, bringing energy, creativity and efficient management of legal issues to deliver commercial and practical advice for clients.