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Even though Jacques Richelle left the firm for DLA Piper in May this year, the market is confident that Linklaters will remain among the top firms, as one partner says: "Linklaters holds up very well". It's not hard to see why.

David Ballegeer is highlighted by the market as "the leading lawyer" of the firm. Moreover, the loss of Richelle was countered by the arrival of Charles-Antoine Leunen from Freshfields who will strengthen the banking and capital markets practice of the firm.

Deals
Despite the departure of Jacques Richelle to DLA Piper, over the past year the firm was involved in a wide range of activities in banking.

For example, David Ballegeer advised cinema-theatre group Kinepolis on a five year facility agreement entered into for purposes of refinancing existing bank debt. This followed the firm's work on the group's seven-year bond issue.

Just like its competitors in the market, the firm remained strong in acquisition financing. Ballegeer and Richelle were involved in the €370 million facilities to Couckinvest and a €251 million back-up liquidity facility to Waterland Private Equity to finance Couckinvest's public take-over bid for Omega Pharma, a Bel-20 listed pharmaceutical company. The structure of this transaction covered both the debt financing of the bidder as well as the equity to be provided by the bidder by Waterland and certain co-investors.

The firm's experience with the borrowers continued as Richelle advised Etex Group on a €1.3 billion multicurrency facilities agreement, part of which to be used to pay for the acquisition of Lafarge's European and South American gypsum activities, with the reminder to be used to refinance Etex's existing €500 million multicurrency revolving credit facility.

Another highlight saw the firm work on the €850 million refinancing for paper and pulp producer Sappi and its subsidiaries, involving revolving credit facility and senior secured notes. The transaction was used towards the general corporate purposes of the group and to reduce Sappi's existing debt. The firm took advantage of its international networking and undertook the leading role of English, Belgian, Dutch, German and Hong Kong counsel in relation to the revolving credit facility, the security documentation and the local aspects of the high-yield bonds.

In project finance, Richelle acted for The Dow Chemical Company and Solvay for the HPJV project involving the Bt8.5 billion (€219 million) term loan facility agreement to finance their joint venture project for the development, commissioning and operation of a 330KTA hydrogen peroxide plant and associated steam methane reformer unit in Map Ta Phut, Thailand.

The market is generally happy with the firm's position in tier one. Known for its debt capital markets reputation, the firm is often praised by peers as an "important player", with Matthieu Duplat highlighted as the main debt capital markets lawyer.

Deals
Similar to its competitors, Linklaters was involved mainly in debt work over the last 12 months. For instance, the firm advised BNP Paribas Fortis and KBC on a €110 bond issue for Befimmo, a Belgian real estate company.

Another highlight saw the firm assist arrangers and dealers Dexia Bank Belgium and HSBC France with the establishment of a €5 billion guaranteed EMTN programme for Eandis.

In the high-yield market, the firm advised Citibank and Barcap with regard to a high-yield bond issue and credit facility for Ineos and BASF. In a similar deal, Linklaters assisted Carmeuse Group with the $450 million high-yield bond issue.

In structured finance, the firm assisted a Belgian bank on the securitisation of SME loans.

It is no surprise that Linklaters maintains his position in tier one this year. Peers agree that Linklaters is a "fully integrated" firm, offering other services such as tax and litigation to clients. It is "probably the largest corporate group," says a partner. The firm also had a busy year with high profile deals inundating their Brussels and Antwerp offices, such as Deutsche Bank's cross-border mergers and Fluxys' acquisition of Eni.

Deals
The firm was instructed by Deutsche Bank to advise on the cross-border merger of Deutsche Bank, its Belgian retail bank, into Deutsche Bank Europe, its German subsidiary. This €386 million transaction was part of Project Sungate, the European cross-border merger program of Deutsche Bank, aiming to convert certain of its European subsidiaries such as in Hungary, Portugal and Belgium, into branches of Deutsche Bank.

Staying in the finance sector Jean-Pierre Blumberg and Nico Goossens completed the €527 million sale of KBC's Belgian savings bank Centea to Crédit Agricole and Landbouwkrediet. The divestment was part of the EU-imposed restructuring obligations of the KBC Group following receipt of State aid during the financial crisis.

In the energy sector, Arnaud Coibion was working on Fluxys' acquisition of Eni's interests in Interconnector (UK), Interconnector Zeebrugge Terminal and Huberator. In a €150 million joint acquisition with Fluxys G, Snam will take a 50% asset stake. This could mean the two companies could jointly pursue potential developments in the gas sector in Europe.

Another complex transaction saw Eric Pottier advise EDF Energies Nouvelles on the sale of the 49.9% of its 18.28% stake in C-Power to Marguerite Fund. C-Power is a company responsible for the development, construction and operation of the Thornton Bank offshore wind farm project, located in the North Sea 30km off the Belgian Coast. This would be the first investment of the Marguerite Fund, an equity fund set up to invest in greenfield and expansion projects in the energy, renewable and transport sectors.

In private equity, the firm assisted Ypso France with the sale of 100% of its shares in Numericable Belgium and Numericable Luxembourg for €360 million to a consortium between Apax, Deficom Group and Altice.

Blumberg and Goossens also assisted KBC with the sale of all its shares of Fidea to equity firm JC Flowers. The €243.6 million transaction was another of the EU-imposed restructuring obligations of KBC Group following receipt of State aid during the financial crisis.

Linklaters seems to be walking a bit of a tight rope at the moment but, against the questions raised in the market, clients stand firm on the firm's continued edge. "It's a no brainer for us, they never let us down," says one.

The Brussels office has downsized in recent years and lost some big names, including Alec Burnside and, more recently, Johan Ysewyn, and it may still have some tricky navigating to do. But the mighty reputation of its leading partners, especially Gerwin Van Gerven, the quality throughout the ranks and the firm's pedigree keeps it nose in front. "Van Gerven can really steer the field and makes sure that what the client thinks is what is made known to the EC (European Commission)," says a client.

The firm recruited Simon Pritchard in London to boost ranks in 2012 and added ten associates across the global practice. It has also chosen Michael Cutting to succeed Van Gerven as global practice head.

Clients are full of praise for the firm's bench at senior and junior levels. Associates Helen Crossley, Erik Venot and Andreas Eberhardt drew particular praise. "Crossley works closely with Van Gerven and she is fantastic at drafting and extremely smart, to the point that the partners shut up and listen to her," effused one client. Dutch counsel Paul Kreijger is also well regarded by peers as is Jonas Koponen.

"They have changed a lot but the partners have stayed there, there are new faces but we never felt any change," says a client.

Deals
Both Nestlé and Siemens added Linklaters to their global panels last year. Wolfgang Deselaers was especially busy on the litigation front, while Bernd Meyring, Jonas Koponen, Gavin Robert (London) and Van Gerven all acted on high profile merger control cases, as well as article 101 and 102 cases.

The firm was a high demand in the health and medical sector. Key deals saw the team advise Johnson & Johnson on its $21 billion acquisition of Synthes (still ongoing in mid-2012); a vast deal pitted with numerous complex areas. The team also advised Linde on its acquisition of Air Products, cleared in April 2012 without conditions.

Outside health, the team acted for Volkswagen on its move to gain sole control of MAN.

The team is also representing Deutsche Bahn in two abuse of dominance proceedings against the EC (European Commission). The case raises a number of interesting issues, namely whether the EC should obtain court orders prior to initiating dawn raids. In another large court case the firm, led by Koponen, was representing Microsoft in a complaint of abuse of dominance against Google.

The Linklaters team is well entrenched on lender and borrower side financings across the spectrum. Its leading capital markets, corporate and restructuring practice allows the team to cover all the angles.

The firm went through some changes in 2011/2012, losing partner Arnaud Fromion to Shearman & Sterling and Nathalie Hobbs, a market leader in Paris, who moved to the firm's Hong Kong office.

Olivier Jauffret and Bertrand Andriani both have strong practices especially in acquisition and leveraged financing, as well as syndicated facilities, and the firm continued to figure on many of the market's big banking deals of 2011/2012.

Deals
Olivier Jauffret was especially busy on acquisition financing. He advised AXA Private Equity for its acquisition of Groupe Outremer Telecom, a PIPE financing (private investment in public equity) which closed in July 2011.

In the same month Jauffret closed a deal for JPMorgan as coordinator, arranger and bookrunner along with Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, for a €600 million real estate refinancing of French healthcare group Groupe Vitalia; a deal which tackled various issues including the enforcement of securities in Luxembourg and the applicability of the French sauvegarde (safeguard) procedure.

Jauffret also advised BNP Paribas as agent and senior lender on the amendments and extension to the leverage financing for cable television operator Numericable, worth €3.25 billion. The deal allows Numericable to issue subordinated and senior secured high-yield notes.

Kathryn Merryfield led one a few large deals, among them a €6 billion facility agreement for the financing of the acquisition of shares in International Power for GDF Suez, signed in May 2012.

The firm also appeared on numerous other deals, among them for CVC on acquisition financing of the Delachaux Group, Société Générale and a pool of banks on a facility to Schlumberger and BNP Paribas and Natixis on the €1 billion financing related to the spin off of Dia from Carrefour.

Linklaters covers each area of the capital markets comprehensively. The team has been kept very busy with liability management transactions and issuers tapping the US market and recently acted on the largest rights issue in the market. With the hire of Patrice Doat in 2011 to the partnerships, the firm has won itself another edge in the market in structured finance.

According to one client, Doat "is very hands on and very efficient".

A big change in the team occurred in 2011 with the retirement of market star lawyer Gilles Endréo.

Deals
The firm advised on the first ever issuances of Renminbi denominated bonds by French companies (by Air Liquide and Alstom) and the first ever 100 year Eurobond in the market.

With regards the Air Liquide deal, the team advised HSBC, Bank of China, ICBC and Standard Chartered as joint lead managers on bonds issued and guaranteed by Air Liquid for CNY2.6 billion (€340 million) for seven years. The deal was shortly followed by Alstom's issuance.

The firm was engaged for liability management work and in one mandate advised Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays bank and CA-CIB as dealer managers on CA two tender offers of up to €2.1 billion for regulatory capital notes. Compagnie Générale de Géophysique-Veritas also engaged the team as issuers on a $650 million high yield bond issuance subject to Rule 144A / Regulation S.

A large equity deal saw the team act for BNP Paribas, Morgan Stanley and Société Générale as underwiters on the €1 billion rights issue by PSA Peageot Citroên, issued to fund investments in the PSA – General Motors strategic alliance. Another large transaction saw the firm advise Air France – KLM on the private placement of 33.6 million shares, equivalent to 7.5% of the company and worth €467 million.

The firm also advised Michelin, Eutelsat and Arkema in relation to other block trades.

In other work, HSBC, RBS and Société Générale engaged the team to advisr them as joint bookrunners on Nexans' €275 million convertible and/or exchangeable bonds for new or existing shares (OCEANEs) due in 2019. The deal's goal was to fund the repurchase of existing OCEANEs due in 2013.

On the structured finance side, a team advised BNP Paribas, Société Générale and RBS on the €425 million securitisation of trade receivables from Rexel's Australian, French and UK subsidiaries. The international nature added layers of complexity to the deal and marked the first time Australian law governed trade receivables would be directly sold to a French FCT.

The firm also represented Crédite Agricole-CIB and HSBC France as arrangers and managers on the €1.93 billion securitisation of auto-loans by Renault's RCI Banque, and CA-CIB on a permanent vehicle fleet securitisation by Avis Budget Car Rental Group. On the derivatives side, the team assisted Air France – KLM on a total return swap with Natixis on OCEANEs issued in 2005 and due in 2020 worth €450 million.

Linklaters' corporate M&A is led by a group of ten partners who are well established in tier one. On the private equity side, the firm covers both the mid cap and large cap markets, putting it in a good position given the unpredictable deal flow for large caps.

"They have done so much more than some of the other firms and that puts them in the upper level," says a client. A number of the leading lawyers and partners that led on the firm's big deals have market wide reputations.

The firm has had couple of changes to the partnership in recent years but 2011 and 2012 saw a consistent team act on no less than three of the five biggest M&A deals by value (in 2011. Commentators speculate that the firm may be primed to hire.

On the M&A side, the firm is especially strong in large deals with a public angle and its dominant position across the market in financing, capital markets and restructuring and insolvency offers a deep bench and wide set of skills to clients.

Deals
In mid-2012 Alain Garnier led a team advising the Caisse des Dépôts (CDC) on the dismantling and restructuring of Dexia and its subsidiaries, a piece of work which was under a considerable amount of media attention.

Marc Loy led a team to advise GDF Suez on the acquisition by China Investment Corporation (CIC) of a 30% stake in its exploration and production division and a 10% in its LNG Atlantic liquefaction plant for a value of $4 billion. Meanwhile Pierre Tourres acted for EDF Energies Nouvelles on the public tender offer for 100% of its shares by EDF.

Loy also acted for Vodafone alongside the UK office in the sale of a 44% stake in its French subsidiary SRF to Vivendi for a cash consideration of €7.75 billion.

A final interesting deal saw Thierry Riguet lead the advice for Rémy Cointreau on the sale of 100% of its share capital in Piper-Heidsieck Compagnie Champenoise to Société Européenne de Participations Industrielles for €417 million.

Vincent Ponsonnaille, Fabrice de la Morandière, Pierres Tourres and David Swinburne were active on the private equity side involving large cap global private equity players and specialist funds on deals ranging from €40 million to €1 billion.

Linklaters gets solid feedback all round and is soundly in the top two in terms of overall standing. Bertrand Andriani is one of the market's leading project finance names. The firm has a strong reputation on the domestic work side and it also appears on numerous international project financings. "Great team, they make a deal in an impressive way," says a competitor.

Deals
The firm advised the lenders to TAQA and JLEC on the financing for the 700MW expansion to the Jorf Lasfar power plant in Morocco; a deal that was still ongoing in mid-2012.

In other deals the team won mandates from the China Minmetals Corporation and the French rail authority RFF, which it advised on the European Investment Bank (EIB) financed high-speed link between Tours and Bordeaux.

Linklaters handles a wide mix of deals, from large cap cross-border transactions for global clients to domestic French mid-cap (and large cap) work.

The firm is seen as a very safe bet on all sorts of deals, and its leading banking and finance team also brings a large reserve of expertise into the mix.

Deals
In mid-2012 Aymar de Mauléon was busy advising the Caisse de Dépôts (CDC) on the dismantling of Dexia and restructuring of Dexia Crédit Locale and its subsidiary Dexia Municipal Agency. CDC is a major shareholder in Dexia and consequently a key player in its restructuring.

Cœur Défense was possibly the most famous restructuring and insolvency case on going in 2012, and the firm was advising PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as the administrator of Lehman Brothers UK Real Estate, which is the indirect major shareholder of Dame Luxembourg and Cœur Défense, which was under sauvegarde (safeguard) proceedings. Liabilities in the case, which started in 2008, add to €2 billion.

In mid-2012, the team was also advising Doublon Courbevoie and its Luxembourg shareholders in negotiations with creditors about opening sauvegarde proceedings. The firm steered the parties to a consensual safeguard plan.

In April 2012 the firm helped Petroplus and a pool of banks bring Petroplus' restructuring under control.

Linklaters pratcice is divided into separate banking and finance and financial regulatory teams, headed by Carl-Peter Feick and Andreas Steck respectively. The firm's "proactive" banking team is valued for its "responsiveness" and "dedication" by clients and described as an "important player" by one peer. Another highlights the strength of the "very competent" Eva Reudelhuber. According to one peer, Marc Trinkhaus is "the younger generation" and "he does a lot of work".

Deals
Linklaters' portfolio of recent work includes a mix of new money and refinancing deals in roles for borrowers and lenders. In regards to the latter, its standout transaction was its part in arranging a new €8 billion facility for the Schaeffler Group. A Frankfurt team led by Marc Trinkhaus advised the lenders, including Commerzbank, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg and RBS on the deal.

On the new money side, one notable deal saw Julian Zaich lead a team advising REpower Systems, a manufacturer of wind energy equipment, on a growth financing arrangement which exceeded €750 million. The syndicated deal was agreed between BayernLB, Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank.

Elsewhere the firm was involved in two headline acquisition financings in 2011 where it represented the banks. In June, Trinkaus and Brian Gray finalised the financing of Blackstone's acquisition of Jack Wolfskin, where the pair were representing Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and IKB. While more recently, Michal Hlásek headed a team representing UBS and the RBS on the purchase of Jimmy Choo from Towerbrook Capital. The Labelux Group bought the company in July 2011 for £533 million.

Linklaters regulatory team has been advising Erste Abwicklungsanstalt (EAA, the "Bad Bank" of WestLB) in the context of the takeover of high-risk assets within the sale of WestLB. It has also been active for longstanding client Deutsche Börse, representing it on the planned increase of its share in the Eurex Group to 100%.

Linklaters maintains its position as the leading international firm in terms of debt capital markets advice after another strong year. One of the practices' virtues is its diversity: "If you want a one stop shop go to Linklaters" says one client. The lawyers in the debt practice are rated for their "very high" technical ability by clients.

Practice head Peter Waltz is the practice's outstanding figure. "Waltz is doing a great job," says one peer while a client considers states from an investment bank: "Peter Waltz on the equity linked side has an unparalleled track record and is very much liked by the convertible bond desk for his work, Another client of Oliver Dreher, who works with a number of the ranked firms, says what differentiates the firm is the "number of good ideas it has" and that it "comes up with creative solutions." For clients another advantage of the firm is its straightforward approach: "They always tell you your risks and the solutions you can choose between. I think it's very effective way of working."

Deals
In the first quarter of 2012 the firm finalised a number of large debt deals on the side of underwriters. By far the biggest of the firm's recent transactions was Siemens two unsecured bonds, cumulatively worth €3 billion. The much-admired Peter Waltz led the team advising Deutsche Bank, Barclays Capital and Credit Suisse on the transaction. On Hochtief's recent €500 million bond Waltz and Uta Marschall shared the responsibility of heading the team representing the joint lead managers of the deal.

Elsewhere the firm was involved in Talanx's €500 million bond, advising Barclays Capital, Citigroup, JPMorgan, HSBC and UniCredit.

Linklaters' headcount has been depleted by a succession of senior and junior departures during the last 12 months. Although this has been the case across the capital markets practice, it has been most pronounced on the equity side with partner Christoph Vaupel and two managing associates joining Taylor Wessing and Mark Devlin moving to Baker & McKenzie. Competitors feel Linklaters will be largely unaffected as its three remaining partners – Herbert Harrer, Laurenz Uhl and Marco Carbonare, a US securities expert parachuted in from the London office to replace Devlin – are "highly experienced" and reputable figures. Clients say the firm can be a touch "over complicated" sometimes.

One client values the hands on approach taken by the partners. "It was an extremely good experience. It was a small team, Laurenz Uhl and Marco Carbonare and they were very committed to the project and to meet deadlines. There wasn't a single prospectus drafting they didn't attend and as a consequence, given their wealth of experience, we met all deadlines and it was very tight schedule. One client who made use of the firm's Asian network said it was a seamless operation.

Clients note Linklaters is particularly strong in real estate. "They distinguish themselves with a pretty good REIT (real estate investment trust) team, they have good experience there," says one.

Deals
On the issuer side, several of Linklaters major deals have come for companies based outside Germany. For Austrian company Lenzig, a team led by Peter Waltz advised on a capital increase and the secondary offering of its shares on the Frankfurt exchange which raised €568 million. Additionally, the firm was involved in one of the largest IPOs in Europe in 2012 when acting on behalf of a Swiss client. Partner Marco Carbonare was at the helm for Asia focused, outsourcing company DKSH's €750 million IPO and SIX Swiss exchange listing. The largest deal for the firm's Frankfurt office came when representing UniCredit on its €7.5 billion capital increase. Working with the Linklaters Milan branch, partner Herbert Harrer and his team advised on what was the biggest capital measure ever undertaken by an Italian bank.

Working closer to home, Harrer led the group representing the underwriters of GSW Immobilien's €201 million rights offering: Joh Berenberg Gossler & Co, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Kempen and UniCredit. Additionally, Harrer and Ulli Janssen had been providing capital markets advice to the Deutsche Börse in regard to its merger with NYSE Euronext, but the deal was blocked by the European Commission which ruled that it would create a virtual monopoly in European exchange traded derivatives if approved.

With US and German law capabilities, Linklaters is known as one of the international firms able to advise on domestic and international transactions. Competitors say the firm is not present on the bigger deals but "it is active in this area".

Deals
Frankfurt partners Peter Waltz and Burkhard Rinne worked alongside the London office on two deals. The pair represented the initial purchasers, including Goldman Sachs and UBS, of Kinove German Bondco, an indirect portfolio company of private equity firms Rhône Capital and Triton, in connection with its €355 million and $350 million high-yield offerings listed in Ireland, which were used to finance the acquisition Evonik's carbon black business. The second matter was a German law governed high-yield bond. The debut €200 million, high-yield offering by ALBA was used to repay a bridge to bond loan.

More recently, Rinne represented Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, UBS and Apollo Securities as initial purchasers of the CEVA Group's $325 million and $475 million offerings.

Led by Kurt Dittrich, Linklaters has a decent practice with a solid reputation among peers. Aside from its well regarded practice head, Laurenze Uhl is a prominent a figure and a client's favourite. One who has a longstanding relationship with Uhl stressed that the work was "always done speedily," that he and his team "come up with good ideas" and that the work is "always of good quality".

Deals
Linklaters had an active 12 months. And although much of its work is ongoing and remains confidential it closed two significant transactions in the first quarter of 2012. In January Laurenz Uhl and his team finalised a deal for Commerzbank which provided it with some much needed regulatory capital relief. The transaction, CoSMO Finance II-2, was a synthetic securitisation of a €2 billion portfolio of German SME (small and medium enterprise) loans originated by the bank. More recently, in March, Kurt Dittrich led the team which closed a deal for €750 million in asset-backed, floating rate notes. The firm was representing the arranger and lead manager, Société Générale, in this true sale securitisation of German law governed auto loan receivables originated by Bank Deutsches Kraftfahrzeuggewerbe.

The firm's confidential work in 2011 included restructuring both CMBS and lease receivable transactions, further synthetic securitisations and advising on conduit programmes.

Of the tier two firms, Linklaters is seen as "the closest to tier one" by competitors. Practice head Hans-Ulrich Wilsing is "certainly known on the market" and is described as "a great guy and a great lawyer," but peers say he is much more of a pure corporate rather than an M&A lawyer. "You would hardly ever see him negotiating an SPA," notes one. The practice's true M&A partner is seen as Ralph Wollburg, who has an "excellent reputation".

Deals
Recommended for its energy expertise, Linklaters M&A practice secured several notable mandates in the sector during the last 12 months. It was involved in two matters involving EON, firstly, on the sale of EON's company which owns and operates its German gas transportation network, Open Grid Europe, where it advised the buyers, a consortium led by Australian investment bank Macquarie. Partners Ralph Drebes and Klaus Marinus Hoenig led on the €3.2 billon deal. On the second matter Ralph Wollburg and Daniel Dehghanian were representing EON in establishing a joint venture with Brazilian coal mining and natural gas company MPX, which will be the largest private energy company in Brazil if the deal is a success.

One of the biggest ongoing transactions in the automotive sector in Italy is Audi's potential acquisition of leading motorcycle brand Ducati. Partner Hans-Joachim Holzapfel is leading a team from the German office which is representing Audi on its €830 million bid.

The Deutsche Börse is among the firm's prestigious clients. Currently, Wollburg, Achim Kirchfeld and Thomas Dörmer have been advising it on acquisition of all of the shares in Eurex from SIX Group. Additionally, the firm was representing the German exchange on the planned merger with the NYSE but the deal was blocked by the EU Commission.

Linklaters is considered "the strongest of the tier three" firms by several rivals, who rate the work of practice head Rainer Traugott highly. "Linklaters is making good progress with Traugott," notes one competitor.

Despite the challenging market, the firm has had a positive 12 months, acting for variety of international and domestic funds, in addition to taking a role on the largest leveraged buyout in Germany.

Deals
A highlight for the firm was its advice to Macquarie, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and MEAG on the acquisition of Open Grid Europe, which at €3 billion was the largest leveraged buyout of 2012 when it closed in May.

Elsewhere the firm counselled Cinven on structuring its fifth multi-billion Euro fund and represented the bank on financing of the acquisition of Orange Switzerland from France Telecom by Apax Partners.

A relatively young practice, Linklaters only branched into project finance six years ago. Peers confirm Eva Reudelhuber is an "active player" on the market and that she is "good". The firm has extensive experience in the renewable sector, particularly in wind projects.

Deals
Regarded as particularly strong on renewable, most of the practices' key deals have come in this sector.

In 2011 practice head Eva Reudelhuber closed a deal to finance largest project-financed offshore wind farm. The €1.2 billion 400MW project called Global Tech 1 will be constructed in the North Sea. Reudelhuber advised the European Investment Bank (EIB) on the deal.

More recently, the firm advised on Baltic 1, the first German offshore wind farm. A team including Reudelhuber, Wolfram Distler and Judit Körmöczi represented advised KfW-IPEX, NIBC and LBBW with respect to providing €200 million in financing for the project.

One recent solar project saw the firm act for Commerzbank as sponsor to the development of a portfolio of photovoltaic installations on Corsica.

Outside of the renewable sector the firm advised the borrower EPS Ethylen-Pipeline on securing a credit facility through Raiffeisenlandesbank and Bayerische Landesbank to finance building an ethylene pipeline.

Strong backing from the majority of its competitors aligned with an impressive list of headline deals sees Linklaters join the first tier. Quite simply competitors rationale is that the hire of Kolja von Bismarck has "strengthened Linklaters" adding depth and experience to an already impressive team. "I think Kolja on Bismark has such a strong position in the market, and with him, the entire team there clearly deserve to be ranked in tier one," notes one practice head. Long-standing partner Sven Schelo is noted for being particularly "active" and "strong on finance".

Deals
Linklaters has been present on numerous high profile cases, including several which are at present confidential. Of the public deals, perhaps the most highly publicised is wood manufacturer Pfleiderer's insolvency. Partner Kolja von Bismarck is heading the team advising Centrebridge, a private equity firm which is a bondholder and senior lender to the group. After the failure of the restructuring when the Frankfurt court ruled against an application to restructure under the 2009 bond act, the firm has advised on an insolvency plan under the country's new act.

A successful restructuring where the firm played its part was cable company Primacom's. Partner Sven Schelo headed the team acting for the senior lenders of the group on the matter, which is being completed using a scheme of arrangement under English law.

Elsewhere, the practice is involved in two notable mandates with a Lithuanian angle. Schelo is advising the Lithuanian Central Bank on drafting new legislation on the restructuring of banks, in addition to advising the administrator of AB Bankas SNORAS, the third largest bank in Lithuania, on its insolvency.

Linklaters' "very well regarded" banking and finance team is mandated on a good proportion of the more complex deals on the market. Partners Andrea Arosio and Davide Mencacci are rated as "two of the strongest" banking lawyers in Italy by rivals. Technically, clients say the firm is on a par with the leading domestic firms while noting "it has an advantage with its network". Others comment on the quality of the lawyers. "Linklaters has very strong partners like Andrea Arosio and Davide Mencacci."

Deals
Linklaters closed two award-winning deals in 2011. Largest of the three, was its advice to the lenders in a €2.1 billion transaction, which involved financing Axa PE and Italian infrastructure fund F2i's €772 million acquisition of network operator G6 Rete Gas and refinancing the debt of the buyer's other distribution networks, Enel Rete Gas and E.on Rete Gas. The deal won Project Finance Magazine's European Oil & Gas Portfolio Financing Deal of the Year. Secondly, the firm represented Fiat and some of its subsidiaries in a deal for a €1.95 billion revolving facility, which was awarded Italian Syndicated Loans & Leveraged Finance Deal of the Year by Euroweek.

Another role, less acclaimed but certainly still impressive, was the firm's work on the largest public to private LBO in Italy since 2007. The firm advised the arrangers of the €985 million financing for BC Partners for the buyout of Gruppo Coin, Italy's biggest department-store chain. Esteemed partner Andrea Arosio led the teams on each deal.

Linklaters' core capabilities are equity work and structured finance. Transactions on the Italian equity markets have for the most part been limited to capital measures undertaken by the banks recently. With its excellent banking relationships, the firm secured the majority of the most coveted issuer roles on these transactions.

Although the firm's equity capability is unquestioned, some peers suggest the firm is lss active in debt, however the quality does not seem to be in doubt, as one client who has a longstanding relationship with Claudia Parzani and uses the firm solely for bond work says: "She's extremely good on the legal side and the technical side. When you issue bonds you need to have knowledge of the banking regulations, what can be classified as capital etc and she has this."

On the structured finance side, the firm is also considered to be a market leader. "Very good, very hard working, very precise," says one client. Others also point out that even if the firm misses a initial deadline, it makes up for it with the additional effort it puts in to get the job done. "They are not 100% in tune in terms of respecting deadlines, but they make up for being late with the effort they put in to catch up on delivery time. I rate them very highly," says one client.

In recognition of the firm's quality across the full spectrum of capital markets work it moves into the top tier.

Rivals are quick to point out that Luigi Sensi, who retired, will be greatly missed.

Deals
Linklaters played a key role in some of recapitalisation exercises undertaken by several Italian banks. In 2012, it can lay claim to taking the lead role on one of the biggest and most important transactions in Italy. UniCredit's €7.5 billion capital increase was integral to ensuring the banks long term security, helping it shore up its balance sheet and meet capital requirements. A team led by joint practice head Claudia Parzani acted as issuer's council on the deal which was the largest rights issue ever undertaken by an Italian bank. In a similar, only slightly less substantial, deal but on the underwriter's side, Parzani and her team acted for Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Banca IMI as joint global coordinators and bookrunners of Intesa Sanpaolo's €5 billion rights issue.

Another major coup for the practice on the equity side was Parzani and her team's advice to the underwriters of Salvatore Ferragamo's IPO, the first on the Italian market in 2011, which raised €379 million for the fashion company.

Longstanding client UniCredit also mandated the firm to help establish its €25 billion covered bonds programme and with the issue of its first tranche of €7 billion covered bonds. Joint department head Dario Longo and Elio Indelicato were lead counsels on the deal.

The firm's securitisation work includes representing Santander as arranger and Santander Consumer Bank as originator in a deal to securitise a €950 million portfolio of auto loan receivables.

When discussing Linklaters M&A practice the first thing most competitors mention is the departure of two partners to Hogan Lovells in June 2012.

While deniably the pair will be missed, particularly Picone who led on several major transactions for the firm recently, Linklaters has a large and capable team which has had a busy 12 months, so retains its ranking.

Deals
Of the firm's publishable deals, one transaction which is notable was Picone and his team's advice to its advice to private equity fund Terra Firma and RTR Group in the acquisition Nuova Rete Solare, which owns 10 photovoltaic plants in Italy, from Terna for €260 million.

Another significant deal saw the firm act for Safilo and its shareholder, HAL Investement, in the acquisition of the Polaroid eyewear business.

Numerous recommendations from peers combined with a respectable portfolio of recent work sees Linklaters move up to tier three. "You see Linklaters quite frequently. When we work with them it is always good experience," notes one partner.

Deals
Currently, one of the practices most prominent clients is the South African Ministry of Treasury, which it is advising on implementing its c.4GW renewables energy programme.

In 2011, the firm advised the lenders in relation to the financing of the first two Italian photovoltaic plants in EDF Energies Nouvelles's €1 billion photovoltaic portfolio in Italy and France.

Linklaters joins the second tier after a spate of recommendations. "They are certainly better than tier three. They should be at least tier two," says one rival. Another agrees, explaining: "[Andrea] Arosio is very active on the bank side."

Deals
The bulk of Linklaters work is ongoing and confidential but, on the side of the debtors, it has been mandated on some of the biggest deals around.

Its most impressive public deal was its advice to steel producer Lucchini which needed assistance with restructuring its €770 debt. Davide Mencacci and Francesco Faldi were among the partners involved in the deal.

On the lender's side, the firm's recent experience includes advice to the creditors of Unopiù, an outdoor furnishing company on its €88 million restructuring, Andrea Arosio headed the team representing the mezzanine lenders Mezzanove Capital and Unplus.

The market feels that the firm is well placed in the rankings, although a few practitioners question the size and the visibility of the team in the country. Martijn Koopal is held up as the firm's key figure for banking work.

In December 2012 Onno Bakker departed the firm to join DLA Piper in Sydney.

Deals
Bank side mandates were the order of the day for Linklaters last year. One highlight saw Martijn Koopal act for the lenders including ING, BBVA, Banco Nacional de México and Crédit Agricole on the $400 million acquisition finance to Vopak and Engas for the takeover of the Alamira II regasification facility in Mexico from Shell. Staying in acquisition finance the team also advised ABN Amro, ING and Rabobank as lead arrangers and lenders for Jumbo's acquisition of C1000 from CVC.

Refinancing has been a theme of the market and last year the firm acted for ING as coordinator and ABN Amro and Rabobank as agents on the €625 million refinancing of BAM 20007's facilities.

In straight lending the firm acted for RBS on a €1.2 billion revolving facility to Vopak and for Banc of America Securities, Citigroup Global markets and ABN Amro on the ¢2 billion multicurrency revolving facility to Aegon.

The firm continues to display its forté in debt capital markets. One peer describes the firm as a "young, top international franchise". Headed by Pim Horsten, the firm's capital markets department has received varied mandates, but they are mainly related to debt or structured finance.

Deals
Two of the firm's largest mandates came on the debt side. In one a team led by Pim Horsten acted for the Dutch State on its $3.3 billion sovereign issue into the US, the first time the state had undertaken such a transaction. Horsten also advised ING Groep and Bank on exchange and tender offers for seven tranches of debt securities as part of its €5.8 billion liability management programme.

High-yield debt is rapidly gaining traction in Europe and the firm has been quick to take advantage of this new source of work. In one example Alexander Harmse led a team advising the joint bookrunners on a $375 million issue of senior secured notes by Hyva Global. The issue was done in combination with the securing of bank facilities.

Covered bonds are another instrument that is becoming popular with European issuers and again the firm has been active here. Kees Westermann advised the dealers on ABN Amro's €25 billion covered programme, sold into the US under Rule 144A. Westermann also advised Deutsche Bank, HSBC and West LB as managers on an asset backed notes issue by Bumper 4 Finance and RBS and Rabobank as lead managers on a mortgage backed notes issue by Arena 2011-II.

Having added department head Jan Willem de Boer to the team from De Brauw in May 2011, Linklaters has given itself a good base to build up its corporate offering.

While the team in Netherlands is not as large as some contemporaries, the quality of the partners is not in doubt and the benefit of the Linklaters network should not be underestimated.

Deals
One high profile mandate last year was Pieter Riemer and Henk Arnold Sijnja's advice to Deutsche Börse on its proposed merger with the NYSE Euronext. Though the deal eventually fell though it is still testament to the team's quality.

Elsewhere Riemer acted for the ING Groep on the sale of its car lease division to the BMW Group for €700 million.

Linklaters has gradually built its reputation in the last few years thanks to the work of department head Paul Kuipers.

The firm acts mainly for the banks and other financial institutions including some accountancy firms and counts the likes of RBS and PricewaterhouseCoopers among its clientele.

The first magic circle firm in Portugal still needs to work hard to gain its presence in the most Western part of the continent. While the market in general praises the quality of work the firm offers, most lawyers question the size and the presence Linklaters has in the market. Across all departments, Linklaters is described as "a top firm" with "good lawyers", but "very small". This view is also shared by clients across the board.

The firm's banking practice has received mixed views from peers. A client who now uses other departments of the firm says "Banking in Linklaters doesn't have a strong presence here". A partner says "We've done some work with them, they created a complex structure, but they were professional, so it's fairly placed here". Another feels the firm tends to represent banks most of the time and deserves a tier one ranking. As most Portuguese firms and corporates now focus on other Portuguese speaking countries such as Angola, peers worry that the firm is not keeping its pace to set its footprint in the wider Lusophonic network. A rival says: "They are strong in the past using the model of premium work as a magic circle firm, but there is no work going on in Portugal". Nevertheless, as demonstrated by the financing of the offshore wind farms in Cape Verde, the firm is proving it is gaining a presence in Africa.

Interestingly, the firm's capital markets team is much more appreciated by both clients and peers, with António Soares seen as the superstar of the firm. A client says "He has profound industry knowledge not just in capital markets but also in the general market in Portugal". Another client describes the firm's capital markets practice: "Linklaters are good at capital markets related deals, anything related to public tender offer, that's when I'd rate highest probably." Again, peers feel the firm's capital markets practice is rather small, although the team is seen active in transactions and is particularly "very good in equity".

The firm's project finance practice is highly praised by clients: "For project finance always Linklaters. The firm is keeping itself up-to-date with the latest renewable energy projects in Africa, which has probably gained respect from competitors. "It's correctly placed here in terms of scale, dimension and frequency of work," notices a peer. "For project finance we don't think twice," says a client. Rivals see the firm's practice in project finance with high regards, with one peer saying "significantly ahead" of other major firms.

Deals
In banking Pedro Siza Vieira, Gonçalo Veiga de Macedo, Edgar Monteiro, Teresa Novo Faria acted for the banks including ING and Barclays as lead arrangers in regard to a €50 million loan to Onitelecom in order to refinance its debt. The team also acted for Banco Espirito Santo (BES) as lender to the Logoplaste Group on the restructuring of its €131 million debt.

In capital markets António Soares acted for the banks including Banco Espirito Santo Investimento, Nomura and UBS on the €1 billion capital increase of BES. In addition Soares acted for Semapa as the issuer on the offer of €300 million in 6.85% notes due in March 2015 on the NYSE Euronext Lisbon.

In project finance the team acted for the African Development Bank and the European Investment Bank (EIB) on the €60 million PPP (public-private partnership) for the development of four offshore wind farms in Cape Verde. Elsewhere Francisco Ferraz de Carvalho, Marta Almeida Afonso and Raul Relvas Moreira advised the Enersis Group as borrowers and sponsors of a €12 million facility granted by Banco Comercial Portugues to Alto Marão – Energia Eólica Unipessoal for the construction of a 15MW wind farm in Portugal.

With a strong global reputation in corporate matters it is not surprising to see Linklaters rank highly in the M&A table. "M&A was remarkably good; Linklaters has to be on top of the list," says one client.

While peers and clients have no doubt about the firm's technical ability, some point out that one area that could do with improvement is capacity and the support provided by other departments: "The problem with them is they still need to increase in some areas; they are looking for space; trying to get to the market as a big player," says one client.

As demonstrated by the transactions below, the corporate team has secured major mandates this year including the acquisition of REN, which shows the firm's ability to take on major deals which potentially change the country's economy.

António Soares leads the wider corporate finance team, which also includes the respected Jorge Bleck. The firm usually acts for corporates.

Deals
One of the largest deals the firm undertook saw Jorge Bleck advise State Grid International Development Limited on the acquisition of a 25% stake in the share capital of REN, the Portuguese power company. The transaction is part of a wider trend, which has seen Chinese companies invest in utilities and infrastructure around Europe. Similarly Bleck acted for China Investment Corporation on its acquisition of a 8.69% stake in Kemble Water Holdings. The acquired stake contained shares and Eurobonds and was taken from Santander.

Back in energy, Bleck also acted for EON on its proposed acquisition of a 21.35% stake in EDP.

Elsewhere António Soares advised the Linde group on its acquisition of the European homecare business of Air Products in a deal valued at €590 million. Soares also advised BXR Partners on its agribusiness joint venture in Mozambique with Quifel Holdings.

Having established its wider restructuring and insolvency group in 2008 in reaction to the crisis, Linklaters has one of the more settled units in the market. Like contemporaries the team combines finance, corporate, litigation, tax and even real estate under its wider R&I banner.

The team is led by Pedro Siza Vieira and has picked up a number of notable bank side mandates in the last year. "Pedro Siza Vieira is a very good lawyer," sees a partner.

With so many insolvencies going on in the country, it is interesting to note that whilst most Portuguese firms pick up major local bankruptcies proceedings (usually from the real estate or tourism sectors), Linklaters has secured deals from the Portuguese subsidiaries of global companies such as MG Rover Portugal.

Deals
Last year the Linklaters team acted for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on two notable matters. In one the team advised on the insolvency proceedings of MG Rover Portugal and the firm also continued to advise on matters relating to the insolvency of Lehmann Brothers.

In a capital markets related deal, the team also assisted Deutsche Bank London and HSBC on Greece's €206 billion exchange offer and liability management.

Pedro de Rojas is head of the banking and finance department of Linklater's Spanish office. With a strong global brand Linklaters continues to attract a high pedigree of client. This year the firm secured a number of complex cross-border mandates involving leading financial institutions and private equity firms.

Deals
In corporate financing, the firm have assisted on a number of big ticket refinancings. Pedro de Rojas advised a group of banks (including BBVA, Bankia, CaixaBank and ICO) on a forward start facility refinancing in the construction industry.

In addition Rojas led a team advising the bookrunners and agent on a €1.2 billion facility granted by a syndicate of 24 lenders to leading sustainable energy technology company Gamesa which closed in June 2011.

In acquisition financing, a noteworthy deal saw Ben Crosse lead a team advising The Carlyle Group on the financing for the purchase of an 85% stake in Spanish TV, telephony and broadband operator Telecable.

In financial regulatory work the firm advised Lazard Wealth Management Europe on the acquisition of a Spanish investment firm (owned by Swiss group BSI), which enables Lazard to launch in Spain.

Linklaters have tier two strength across the board in Spanish capital markets with a tight international network and a client base comprised of some big Spanish corporates and financial institutions including Bankia, CaixaBank and BBVA. Iñigo Berricano leads the department and is involved in the IPO of Bankia. One peer describes Berricano as "well regarded for equity capital markets work."

Deals
In debt work, Iñigo Berricano advised leading construction company OHL (Obrascón Huarte Laín) on the issue of €300 million notes and €425 million in high-yield notes. In other impressive work Federico Briano and Berricano assisted a number of financial institutions on Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) drawdowns under a €75 billion programme. The firm also instructed Barclays Bank as placement entity on the issue of €4.3 billion notes in what was the biggest bond issue by a Spanish Autonomous Community in 2011.

In other impressive work Berricano led a team advising JPMorgan Securities on two €1.3 billion repurchase orders involving asset-backed securities which closed in March 2012.

Meanwhile, a standout case in equity was advice by Berricano and Conrado Tenaglia on the €3 billion IPO of Bankia. The cross-border deal, which closed in July 2011 included advice to financial institutions involved as coordinators, bookrunners. underwriters and managers.

Linklaters enhanced its small but effective Spanish corporate team last year with the internal promotion of Alexander Kolb to the partnership. The team still plays to its strengths and alongside its traditional corporate client base is picking up more mandates in the private equity space.

One of the firm's largest deals saw Alejandro Ortiz acting for the Carlyle Group on its acquisition of Telecable. The 85% stake was acquired for €400 million and is one of many transactions generated by the need for Spanish banks to sell on assets. Staying in private equity the team also acted for Apollo on the acquisition of the Spanish business of MBNA Europe Bank. The deal saw Apollo acquire both the institution and its full portfolio of loans.

Elsewhere, in a deal that also involved the London office, Sebastián Albella acted for First Reserve in regard to the establishment of a joint venture with Renovalia, a promoter of renewable facilities. The deal will see the two companies combine to acquire and develop a number of wind farms.

Department head pedro De Rojas was active last year advising the borrowers, guarantors and lenders on the CAPIO – Mostoles Hospital project in Madrid. The deal is part of a wider project to expand the use of PPPs (public-private partnerships) in Spanish hospital funding.

Elsewhere the team also advised Japan Bank for International Cooperation on the financing for a Spanish concentrated solar power plant in Extremadura.

One of Linklaters' key transactions last year saw it advise Bank of America Merrill Lynch as advisor to the Spanish Banking System Restructuring Fund (FROB), the Spanish Deposits Guarantee Fund (FGD) and Bank of Spain on the restructuring of CAM as part of the wider restructuring of the Spanish banking sector. The deal saw FGD effectively takeover CAM and subsequently sell it on to Banco de Sabadell, it constitutes the largest banking restructuring to date in the country.

Elsewhere in the real estate sector Rafael Molina acted for the joint venture company of British Land and Henderson on the debt restructuring of Nueva Condomina, with the value of the debt around €240 million.

Per Nyberg is Linlaters' sole financing partner in Stockholm, but he brings a wealth of experience and picks up notable mandates in a variety of areas. He is also ably supported by the likes of managing associate Patrik Björklund. The firm also of course has the benefit of its European network from which to draw additional manpower and mandates.

One highlight transaction last year saw Nyberg act for outdoor products manufacturer Husqvarna on the securing of a new revolving credit facility.

Clients agree Linklaters have a "tremendous base of legal knowledge" and even a peer concedes that "the lawyers there are good". However the firm is smaller than some of its competitors. Head of the practice, Jörgen Axelsson has been busy on most of the key deals and is described as an "innovative and skilled lawyer". The firm continue to work on a number of complex transactions with domestic and international clients.

Deals
Cementing the firm's position as market leaders in niche financing, Jörgen Axelsson advised Fastighets Balder on the issue of SKr257 million (€30 million) preference shares to finance the SKr400m acquisition of a Marriott hotel in Malmö.

Axelsson also led a team advising infrastructure company Sefyr Värme on its SKr1 billion issue of senior secured bonds. This is noteworthy as a rare deal given current difficulties with syndicated leveraged financing deals. Further, Axelsson assisted Trigon Agri on a SKr350 million senior unsecured bond issue.

Another standout case saw Tom O'Neill instruct a group of lead managers and bookrunners (including Credit Suisse Securities (USA) Goldman, Sachs and Merrill Lynch) on the $1.25 billion drawdown of the $15 billion Nordea US covered bond programme.

Despite being a well-established brand in Stockholm the Linklaters office doesn't have the size of team to churn out the volume of deals as some of the bigger firms. Most peer and clients would agree it remains a frontrunner in quality and complexity of deals. There has been a reshuffle in 2012 with the lateral hire of partner Roger Johnson from Hannes Snellman however this was offset a few months later in May with the departure of leading lawyer Krister Hansen. The market will wait to see how this may affect performance. Fredrik Lindqvist heads the Stockholm office.

Deals
The firm advised Swedish private equity company Ratos on the SKr2.9 billion (€347 million) sale of Anticimex Holding, a leading European health and safety service company to funds managed by EQT VI.

Meanwhile a team advised ITT Corporation on the Nordic aspects of its split into three independently listed business groups specialising in industrial, water and defence.

In an interesting deal the firm advised Chinese automotive distributor Pang Da Automobile Trade on an equity investment in Swedish Automobile (Saab Automobile). The firm also instructed Astra Zeneca on a joint venture with leading Algerian pharma company BioPharm. Other clients include UBS, Deutsche Bank and RBS.

Linklaters, alongside magic circle contemporary Clifford Chance, is the firm in London who are closest to achieving full balance in terms of bank and borrower side work. The sponsor side practice is also gaining momentum.

The team in London is led by Gideon Moore and like contemporaries in the field has moved to more fully incorporate its debt offering into the wider finance practice to offer clients a more synchronised bank and bond service.

One client who worked with Moore says: "Links have a couple of incredible banking lawyers in Gideon Moore and Adam Freeman and we would look to use those two guys everytime. Technically gifted and it's a matter of trust as well." Another client backs these words: "I've worked a lot with Linklaters and they deliver extremely high quality."

As with its magic circle contemporaries, the sheer numbers of lawyers that Linklaters can deploy is a key reason for its presence on larger mandates: "If you need to run something that will require multiple branches and you need to have a group of people who are competent in running those standalone branches then Linklaters is definitely a better place." says another banking client. "The thing about Links is that you have three or four very strong partners there, Nick Syson is one of the best guys around." It should be noted though that big teams do not always guarantee quality and clients noted that on certain deals consistent partner time was not guaranteed. "When they get the deal the more junior guys are often brought in to staff it as opposed to the seniors," says another bank side client. "That can save a bit on cost, but as a client you do want the senior guys."

The last year has also seen the firm put together a good run in terms of restructuring deals, which is a promising sign in a market where bank reluctance has kept new lending deal flow low.

Deals
Linklater's balance of bank and borrower work is clearly reflected by their major transactional work last year.

Bank side work included Philip Spittal acting for BNP Paribas as lead arranger and bookrunner on a €6 billion revolving facility for BMW, used to refinance an existing facility. A similar mandate saw fellow partner Claire Watson act for RBS on a $6 billion refinancing facility for mining firm Xstrata.

In acquisition financing the team led by Oliver Edwards acted for the arrangers, bookrunners, underwriters and JPMorgan as coordinator on facilities consisting of $1.55 billion and SFr700 million (€582.9 million) for the Lonza Group's acquisition of Arch Chemicals.

On the borrower side, substantial mandates included acting for Etexco as borrower and co-guarantor and the other guarantor parties on the negotiations around €1.3 billion in multicurrency facilities used to refinance debt and acquire the South American gypsum activities of Lafarge.

The firm also had an active year in LBO financings with notable transactions including advice to the sponsors on Carlyle's buyout of RAC, acting for the banks on the acquisition of Orange Switzerland by funds managed by Apax partners and, in a deal which fits into the wider trend for bank/bond combined financing, acting for the senior loan arrangers and the bond underwriter in the financing for the acquisition of Evonik Carbon Black by Rhone Capital and Triton.

Alongside the other top tier firms Linklaters can put its status among the elite down to the number of different products it can offer expertise in, whether it be straight debt work, Contingent Convertible (CoCo) bonds, Islamic Finance or multicurrency offerings. The firm's broad banking offering will also be a boon as the market shifts more towards combined senior lending and bond models.

The team has a number of highly regarded individuals including Carson Welsh who heads up both the firm's equity and debt teams.

With high-yield taking up an even more prominent position in the market the firm has also moved to address this in recent years adding the team of Alexander Naidenov, Mark Hageman and Cecil Quillen to fill the gap.

Deals
The firm's status in the top tier is fully justified by the number of more bespoke bond products on which it works. Examples last year include Carson Welsh's advice to Credit Suisse Securities and the other managers on a $8 billion issue of buffer capital notes with contingent convertible (CoCo) features. As well as meeting Basel III requirements and being favoured by regulators, issues such as these are expected to become increasingly important as a cheaper way for banks to raise new capital. Similarly Keith Thomson acted for the joint bookrunners including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley, on Aabar Investments' €1.25 billion convertible bond, the largest of its kind in the Middle East.

Similarly, Nigel Pridmore and Jonathan Fried acted for the Industrial and Commercial Bank of Asia on an issue of Rmb1.5 billion ($235 million) in supplementary capital notes under its wider $5 billion US MTN programme.

With sovereign bonds a big topic for UK firms Linklaters can point to its work on the Russian Federation's R40 billion ($1.2 billion) bond issue. A joint London and Moscow team, with the former led by Cecil Quillen, acted for the joint lead managers and bookrunners, including Deutsche Bank, HSBC and JPMorgan on the transaction, which saw the state issue 7.85% bonds into the US market under Rule 144A, the first time Rouble denominated bonds had been offered at such a scale into the USA.

The team also displayed its Islamic finance credentials when Julian Davies acted for Deutsche Bank Securities Saudi Arabia, Samba Capital & Investment Management Company and Saudi Fransi Capital as joint lead managers and bookrunners on a $1 billion sukuk (Islamic bond) issue by Arabian Aramco Total Services as part of the project financing of an oil refinery in the Jubail industrial city in Saudi Arabia.

Finally, Jane Brown acted for the lead bookrunners and managers including Merrill Lynch, Standard Chartered and RBS and the co-managers BNP Paribas, Citigroup and HSBC on a $1.5 billion dual tranche issue by the Abu Dhabi national Energy Company for sale into the US markets under Rule 144A/Reg S.

Linklaters is arguably the firm that has been looking like the keenest and most likely firm to steal Allen & Overy's crown in the derivatives space in the last few years. The firm's combined structured products and derivatives group led by Mark Fletcher and David Phillips is a formidable machine and has been seen on a range of innovative work in recent times. A clear feather in the cap was its work on ISDA's (International Swaps & Derivatives Association) equity derivative definitions. In this case it is less the work itself (with a few firms claiming work for the Association) but the fact that the firm was chosen to do it that is most notable.

Elsewhere the firm, like other leading practices, has been involved in work related to clearing houses and the new regulatory regime that will be surrounding them.

There is one area which clients point to that could be improved which is partner time. The perception among clients is that compared with Allen & Overy the quality of the firm's associates is perhaps not as strong, which makes it even more vital to have partner involvement throughout the transaction. This aspect was something, which it was felt could be improved.

Deals
One deal, which if nothing else generates a fair amount of kudos in the market is the firm's work for ISDA (International Swaps & Derivatives Association) on the 2011 Equity Derivatives Definitions. The firm's offices in London, New York and Hong Kong worked on these, with the London team led by Michael Voisin. One of the key changes has been to make confirmations able to be read electronically. In addition to the above, Sitlani and managing associate Mark Drury acted for ISDA in producing the rules for the Equity Derivatives Determinations Committee. The rules which were drawn up in conjunction with market participants provide guidelines for market and pricing disruption events.

The firm has also advised on a number of longevity swaps related to pension funds. On the bank side Voisin acted for Deutsche Bank on its negotiations with Dutch insurer EGON, while David Phillips took a similar role for Credit Suisse on discussions with ITV over its pension scheme. On the company side, counsel Joan Ma advised the trustees of the Rolls-Royce Pension fund on its longevity swap with Deutsche Bank.

A team led by Vinay Samani also acted for Blackrock as arranger on the establishment of a new trading platform for exchange-traded securities backed by precious metals. The platform will allow iShares Physical metals to issue securities.

Linklaters alongside Freshfields is still seen as the market standard in London and clients from across the board, whether using the firm as main counsel or not recognised its strengths and highlighted it as a name associated with high-end work, as one client says succinetly: "For something that is a complicated London listing you'd use Links or Freshfields."

The firm's bench strength is also seen as a key strength and while a lot of contemporaries have one or two figures, the implication from clients was that at Linklaters, even if a preferred partner is otherwise engaged, someone with an equal skill set will step in, as one client who used the firm across Europe says: "At Linklaters there are many more partners that I work with and many points of contacts. They are very strong in Moscow, their Central European team has dropped off a little bit in recent years, but for London capital markets work they are first rate."

The firm also picks up credit for tis US offering. "Linklaters has the strongest US team, so if we had something with a US element we would probably look to include Linklaters in the list and go to them as a priority," says one bank side client.

Deals
One of the largest IPOs in the last year, its size emphasised by a slow market, was that of commodities trader Glencore. A Linklaters team of Charlie Jacobs, Patrick Sheil, David Avery-Gee and Owen Clay led the London team acting for the company on the $10 billion IPO dual listed in London and Hong Kong.

Mining and natural resources has been an active sector in a slow market and a further example was the Vallares IPO on which the US qualified Tom O'Neil and John Lane led the Linklaters team advising Credit Suisse Securities as global co-ordinator and bookrunner, JPMorgan Securities as joint bookrunner and Evolution Securities as co-lead manager. Vallares was set up by Nat Rothschild and former BP CEO Tony Hayward and is an acquisition vehicle. Similar work saw Nick Rumsby and John Lane advise Ophir Energy on its £800 million IPO on the LSE.

Russia-linked work has also been prevalent in the market of late and a Linklaters team led by Jason Manketo acted for the bookrunners and agents including Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank on the $3.3 billion privatisation of a 10% stake in VTB, the second largest Russian bank. The deal saw shares in the bank sold to Deutsche and VTB Capital.

Finally, Manketo acted for UniCredit on a €7.5 billion rights issue, the largest ever carried out by an Italian bank.

Linklaters' three partner practice consisting of Mark Hageman, Alex Naidenov and Cecil Quillen has had a successful year in the market and sits comfortably alongside its magic circle peers. A strong and – critically - balanced banking department in terms of clients is also a boon to Linklaters wider financing offering.

Though its fair to say that the department is not as well known among its peers as some contemporaries, the team's workflow speaks for itself and clients were certainly impressed.

Deals
In line with the market trend for combination bank and bond financings, last year Alex Naidenov advised Goldman Sachs, UBS and Barclays as bookrunners and Commerzbank, Lloyds and Medobanca as co-managers on two seperate bond issues valued at €355 million and $350 million respectively. Naidenov also advised Goldman Sachs as the arranger of a €200 million bridge to PIK high-yield notes.

Elsewhere Mark Hageman acted for House of Fraser on the issue of a £250 million bond in conjunction with a £70 million revolving credit facility. On the refinancing side Hagemen acted for GCL Holdings on a €200 million issue of senior notes to refinance exisiting indebtedness.

Among the firms in the top tier it is arguably Linklaters who strikes the best balance between bank and corporate clients. This attribute should not be underestimated as it gives the firm a much clearer perspective on the types of products and structures, which will be best suited to an individual companies needs. A clear example of this is the work completed this year for various UK utilities.

"They have outstanding relationships with top UK corporates and Linklaters is extremely close to them and was intimately involved in the securitisation structures they put in place and I found them uniquely competent in that role," says one US client. "It was never a question, the company simply wanted to stick with their trusted legal counsel and they did a great job."

Like its closest rivals the firm can also call on a strong regulatory practice and clients appreciated the synchronicity between departments: "Linklaters are very good at bringing together all the different parts of their firm, they do have a very strong regulatory practice and they leap in quite a lot, but the transactional lawyers are all now pretty well versed as well which is helpful," says a bank side client.

The firm's utilisation of its network is also commended: "Linklaters we would use for anything with a multi-jurisdictional element, they are very good at bringing in say their French office," says another client.

Deals
The team picked up some notable securitisation work last year with Anne Hoe acting for Lloyds TSB, Citibank and Bank of Scotland on the £1.6 billion securitisation of UK PFI (private finance initiative) loans, while Andy Vickery and James Harbach acted for JPMorgan securities and RBS as the arrangers and joint lead managers of Skipton Building Society and Darrowby No. 1's £1.2 billion RMBS.

In related work Hoe was again involved advising Lloyds TSB on the establishment of a $500 million securitisation programme.

Elsewhere Julian Davies and Reza Taylor acted for Anglian Water Services on the issue of $570 million in privately placed US private placement bonds, which formed part of the wider securitisation of the utilities provider.

Another intriguing mandate saw the London team led by Paul Lewis acting alongside the Luxembourg team advising the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) on the establishment of a Sovereign bond protection facility, which provides a protection certificate with a newly issued bond which can be detached and sold on. The intent is to increase demand for state bond issues.

There's no doubt that Linklaters is still viewed as a key player on some of the largest and most innovative deals on the market, but some clients did mention that in today's environment the firm could perhaps consider being more flexible in terms of the type of work they are willing to undertake, if only for the sake of client relationships. One corporate client explains: "They still position themselves as a niche player only doing the high-end M&A and in my view that has proved slightly counterproductive for them because other firms are closer to me today, though they started down the same lines."

Deals
Like most firms, the team's work has been focused around energy and natural resources. Clearly one of the largest mandates completed by the team in the last year saw partners Sandeep Katwala and Stephen Griffin act for BP on its $9 billion joint venture with Reliance. The deal will be focused around the natural gas market in India.

In another linked deal, this time on the sponsor side, John Lane, Stuart Bedford and Pam Shores acted for JPMorgan Cazenove on the acquisition by cola mining group Vallar in a 75% stake in BRM a subsidiary of Bumi Resources.

In the electricity sector specifically Matthew Middleditch and Iain Wagstaff acted for GDF Suez on a €20.2 billion reverse takeover which will see the international energy assets of GDF Suez transferred to International Power in return for a 70% stake for GDF. Middleditch was also involved alongside Roger Barron acting for EON on the £4 billion sale of its UK electricity and distribution business to PPL.

In Ian Bagshaw and Richard Youle Linklaters has two of the most highly regarded private equity partners in London and they and their team advise the likes of The Carlyle Group, TPG Capital and Terra Firma.

The UK team was enhanced in September 2011 with the return to London of Nick Rees who had spent four years co-heading the firm's US operation. The firm also promoted associate Alex Woodward to partner.

Deals
Last year on the buy side, department head Ian Bagshaw acted for Bridgepoint on its acquisition of Quilter & Co from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. Similar work saw Richard Youle, Alex Woodward, Ben Rodham and Francesca Yardley act for HGCapital on the acquisition of the Iris Software Group and the Computer Software Group, two companies HG had previously owned before initially selling them in 2007.

On the sell side, Carlton Evans acted in conjunction with the firm's Madrid office for Apax and Nordic Capital and Capio on the sale of the latter's Spanish subsidiary to CVC Capital Partners. Another highlight, which saw Bagshaw involved again, saw a team advise RBS on the £925 million sale of the Priory Group to Advent International.

The firm also worked on take private deals for the likes of HGCapital on an offer for Group NBT and Apollo Real Estate Funds and Delancey on the take private of property investor Minerva.

The global project finance department at Linklaters is headed up by Bruce White and was enhanced last year with the promotion of Richard Coar to partner. Other changes included the relocation of James Douglass to the Beijing office from London.

The firm has been carving out a distinctive niche in recent years in Russian linked projects having acted on the likes of the Yamal and Shtockman LNG (liquefied natural gas) projects and the Moscow ring road. Oil and gas has been another focus point.

The firm took a blow in late August 2012 with the departure of partner Clive Ransome to Milbank. The infrastructure partner has recently acted on a major transaction in Turkey.

Deals
One area that has remained vibrant in the past few years despite the downturn has been Russian linked oil and gas mandates. In the last year Daniel Tyrer, former head of the firm's Moscow energy practice, acted for the banks including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), BNP Paribas and ING on the €750 million financing to RusVinyl to develop a PVC plant in Russia. Tyrer also acted for the lenders, including VTB Capital, the EBRD and Gazprombank on the funding for the PPP of the new Petersburg toll road.

Shifting to the growing market of Turkey, Clive Ransome (now departed) acted for Tupras on the $2.1 billion financing for an upgrade to its Izmet refinery.

In infrastructure, another Turkey deal saw Ian Andrews advise UniCredit as lead arrangers on a $750 million financing granted to Limak Construction for the capacity expansion of the Port of Iskenderun.

Power has been another busy area and in July last year Matthew Hagopian acted for KST Electric Power Company as the borrower in connection to the $332 million financing for a 433MW gas turbine in Mexico, the Norte II Power Project. The transaction is notable as it was financed largely from Asia and represents the first time the Korea Electric Power Corporation (one of the sponsors) had entered the Latin American markets. On the renewables side John Pickett acted on the £1 billion financing for a new offshore wind farm in North Lincolnshire and further afield advised the African Development Bank and European Investment Bank on the financing for four onshore windfarms in Cape Verde.

The Linklaters team is led by Tony Bugg and incorporates a total of 34 partners if one includes those who work across a number of areas.

While the firm primarily works on the creditor side, it can also point to a handful of notable debtor side mandates as well.

Deals
The firm has worked on a number of administrations in the past 12 months. One such deal saw Tony Bugg and Rebecca Jarvis acting for PricewaterhouseCoopers as the administrators of oil refining group Petroplus. Prior to the insolvency, Chris Howard, Mirthe van Kesteren and Bruce Bell acted for ING as the agent to a group of lenders on the financial restructuring of the group.

In the financial services sector, a team led by Richard Bussell and David Ereira acted for Simon Freakley as temporary administrator of the Lithuanian Bankas Snoras, following the country's Central Bank's decision to suspend the bank's management. The firm subsequently advised the bankruptcy administrator. Rebecca Jarvis meanwhile acted for the Lloyds Banking Group and the Irish National Asset Management Agency (Nama) in regard to the appointment of Ernst & Young as administrators of the group of companies who owned Battersea Power Station.

In terms of debt restructuring highlight mandates include Yushan Ng and Richard Bussell's advice to SEAT Pagine Gialle on its €3 billion debt restructuring. On the bank side, Ng was again involved acting for the co-ordinating committee of the lenders on the €680 million debt restructuring of Regency Entertainment Leisure and Tourism; while Yen Sum worked alongside the firm's Spanish team advising the senior co-ordinating committee in regard to Dinosol's restructuring. The firm also had roles on the restructuring of the HMV Group, Panrico and Southern Cross.