Experience

Financial Institutions

• Advised Barclays Capital and Dubai Islamic Bank on a US$2.8 billion Islamic structured bond issue to part-finance Dubai Ports acquisition of P&O – the largest Sukuk to date
• Advised Shell on its role in the creation of the world's first crude oil Exchange-Traded Fund, valued at around US$2 billion
• Advised Deutsche Bank on a US$460 million Sukuk al-Mudarabah for Abu Dhabi based Aabar Petroleum Investments Company PJSC. This was the first international Sukuk al–Mudarabah, and the first exchangeable Sukuk
• Acted for Royal Bank of Canada and Goldman Sachs on the financing of Canadian-based Talisman Energy's £1.2 billion takeover bid for UK-listed Paladin Resources
• Advised the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) on the establishment of its London physical commodities exchange
• Advised a group of banks led by Dubai Islamic Bank on a US$1 billion syndicated ijara facility for the Government of Dubai's Department of Civil Aviation
• Acted for the original financiers and asset value guarantors in relation to refinancings of five Airbus A340-600 aircraft leased to Virgin Atlantic Airlines
• Advised Lloyds TSB Corporate on an innovative network link-up agreement with Citigroup Global Transaction Services

Corporate

• Advising Total on its acquisition of Exxon-Mobil's downstream assets in 14 African countries
• Advised News Corporation on US$95 million acquisition of Huzur Radyo TV A.S. (TGRT), one of Turkey's largest television broadcasters
• Acted for Shell in relation to a US$4.1 billion consortium bid for 51 per cent of Tupras, which is held by the Turkish Government
• Advised West Private Equity on Blackstone's £162 million secondary buy-out of Southern Cross Healthcare
• Acted for Pearson Education in relation to the creation of a joint venture with BBC Worldwide
• Advised the Ministry of Finance of the Government of the Sultanate of Oman on the £400 million IPO of state-owned telco OmanTel
• Acted for the Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) on its acquisition of West End landmark the Savoy Theatre
• Have recently completed a number of London Stock Exchange and AIM listings, including Armorgroup, Kazakhgold Group, Nelson Resources, International Ferro Metals, International Marketing and Sales Group, Caspian Energy and Borders & Southern

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Dispute Resolution

• Acting for Performing Right Society and Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society in a dispute with the British Phonographic Industry, several online music service providers and four UK mobile telephone service providers over the level of royalties that composers should receive from online and mobile use of their music
• Advising on one of the largest cross-border restructuring proceedings in legal history, acting for the UK administrators of Federal Mogul
• Acting for Virgin Mobile in a dispute with T-Mobile relating to mobile network services provided to Virgin Mobile
• Advised on one of the largest arbitrations ever heard in London, a complex international LMAA arbitration concerning the "Solitaire", the world's largest pipe-laying vessel

EC & Competition

• Led successful negotiations with the European Commission in respect of its investigation of the FA Premier League's broadcasting agreements with BSkyB and others
• Defeated an OFT complaint made against the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) in connection with its application for recognition as a recognised investment exchange
• Securing the OFT's leniency for Hasbro in an investigation into price fixing and representing Hasbro in the Competition Appeal Tribunal after the OFT's decision was appealed
• Represented the Racecourse Association on its successful appeal (to the Competition Appeal Tribunal) against an OFT infringement decision issued in relation to the joint sale of interactive betting rights, the first time an OFT infringement decision has successfully been overturned on appeal
• Obtaining EC Merger Regulation approval from the European Commission for the acquisition of Tibbett & Brittan by Exel plc.
  Obtaining OFT clearance for the acquisition of Saxby by General Mills
• Obtaining clearance from the Turkish Competition Board (TCB) for the acquisition of a competing chewing gum business (Intergum) by Cadbury Schweppes. This was the first case in which undertakings were given to the TCB in order to avoid a second phase inquiry
• Advising the British Horseracing Board on its successful appeal from a High Court judgment which found that the BHB had abused its dominant position in the terms it applied for the sale of its data (finding that the BHB had charged excessive prices, refused to supply and applied discriminatory prices). This is the first case on Article 82 to be considered by the Court of Appeal
• Representing the Finnish Seamans Union (FSU) in an appeal against a High Court judgment awarding an injunction to a Finnish shipping company (Viking), the effect of which was to prevent the FSU from taking industrial action lawful in Finland against Viking because of the re-flagging. The Court of Appeal discharged the injunction and referred important points of European law to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) regarding the Freedoms under the EC Treaty to establish in or provide services to other member states. The ECJ's judgment is pending.

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Employment & Pensions

• Advising the administrators of Turner & Newall on the pension scheme funding deficit
• Advising Rentokil on a highly publicised decision to close its employee pension scheme
• Advising the Highways Agency on the employment aspects of re-tendering for maintenance and widening contracts of the M25
• Acting for Esterline Technologies Corporation in relation to the establishment of its Sharesave option scheme
• Acting for the partners of United International Pictures (Universal Pictures and Paramount) on the employment aspects of de-merging the joint venture

Energy, Transport & Infrastructure