Lawyers 2,892
Turnover £2.1 billion
Offices 44
Partners at Allen & Overy, one of London’s five elite “magic circle” firms, voted to merge with the New York outfit Shearman & Sterling this month to create a transatlantic business with about 3,950 lawyers and 800 partners across 48 offices.
The merger will catapult A&O’s revenue to about £2.87 billion. Allen & Overy was founded in the City of London in 1930 and Shearman & Sterling was set up in New York in 1873. “Sterling” will be dropped from the name of the merged firm, which will be called A&O Shearman.
Over the coming months, the firms will work towards the final closing of the transaction, which is anticipated in or before May 2024.
Wim Dejonghe, senior partner at Allen & Overy, branded the occasion “a historic moment for both firms and our profession” that would create a “truly exceptional global firm”. Adam Hakki, his counterpart at Shearman & Sterling, hailed the creation of a “firm unlike any other in the world” and a “new industry leader”.
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While turnover at A&O grew by 7 per cent to £2.1 billion, its profits dipped slightly to £892 million and profit per equity partner fell 6.7 per cent from £1.95 million to £1.82 million. The firm blamed the impact of “challenging market conditions” and high inflation.
On the day that it disclosed its latest financial results, the firm also announced the resignation of its managing partner, Gareth Price, after more than three years leading the firm and almost 30 years there. A&O said that Price had resigned “for personal reasons” and that the decision was unrelated to the proposed merger with Shearman & Sterling.
On the work front, the drive towards renewable energy has kept the firm’s lawyers busy. Its 250 energy transition specialists advised on projects in more than 35 jurisdictions, involving clients from diverse sectors such as power, shipping, aviation, automotive and manufacturing.
Its lawyers advised Summit Carbon Solutions on the development and financing of a $5.3 billion integrated carbon capture, transportation and storage project and an $8.4 billion financing of the largest green hydrogen plant in the world, by Neom, in Saudi Arabia.
Notable work for the private credit and infrastructure sector teams included advising Sweden’s EQT Infrastructure on its €3.4 billion deal to take a majority stake in Wind Tre’s Italian mobile and fixed telecoms network.
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The global technology practice acted on the information management company OpenText’s $6 billion acquisition of MicroFocus, a provider of software technology. It also won mandates on a large number of projects in the booming digital infrastructure sector and advised on a range of emerging technology matters, from AI to quantum computing to blockchain, including the European Investment Bank’s first digital bond issued in sterling.
★ Commended for banking & finance; commercial dispute resolution; company & commercial; employment; financial crime & fraud & regulatory; intellectual property; mergers & acquisitions; tax
To browse the Best Law Firms 2024, go to thetimes.co.uk/bestlawfirms