The history of Davis Polk & Wardwell dates back to 1849 with its founding in New York. Over 170 years later, the firm has grown to 10 total offices spanning four continents. In the United States, Davis Polk has offices in New York, Washington DC and the Silicon Valley.
Focusses / specialisms
The firm has standout practices in banking, capital markets, regulatory financial services, M&A and restructuring and insolvency.
In addition to its standout work nationwide in banking, capital markets, M&A and restructuring and insolvency, the firm does notable work in project finance, hedge funds, registered funds and private equity.
Notably the New York office is one of the best in the region for financial and corporate practice areas.
In regulatory financial services the firm provides advice to banks, trade associations and financial institutions regarding M&A acquisitions, capital markets trading and US monetary legislation such as Dodd-Frank, the Volcker Rule and Basel III. It also advises clients on fintech, blockchain and cryptocurrency matters.
The firm represents issuers and underwriters in all areas of capital markets.
On the debt capital markets side, the team advises clients in high value convertible, investment grade and high yield bond offerings.
On the equity capital markets side the firm advises on IPOs, private placements, follow on offerings, secondary offerings, direct listings and common share offerings.
In derivatives and structured products, the team represents clients in the banking and financial institution industry on structured products issuance programs, forwards, options, swaps and margin loan facilities.
The registered funds practice advises banks and financial institutions regarding compliance, structuring and implementation of ETFs, hedge funds, mutual funds, private equity funds and other types of funds.
The M&A team represents strategic acquirers and sellers in high value acquisitions, mergers, privatizations and joint ventures across a wide array of industries. The firm also has a separate private equity practice dedicated to advising private equity firms in acquisitions, sales, investments and portfolio restructurings.
In restructuring and insolvency, the team represents debtors, creditors and trustees in out of court financial restructurings and Chapter 11 bankruptcy and restructuring cases.
Key clients
Key clients for the firm include HSBC, BNP Paribas, BBVA, Comcast, Texas Instruments, Tyson Foods, Credit Suisse, Natixis, Goldman Sachs, PIMCO, General Electric, Heineken, Purdue Pharma and Citibank.
Research period review: 30th edition (2019/2020)
During the research period the regulatory financial team continued to advise clients in the banking and financial services industry on acquisitions, capital markets trading and monetary policy compliance. It increasingly advised clients in fintech, cryptocurrency and blockchain matters.
The debt capital markets team continued representing high profile clients in convertible, investment grade and high yield bond issuances. The equity markets team saw a lot of IPOs during the period.
The derivatives and structured products group worked on a lot of margin loan facilities, forward agreements and structured products programs, where it represented major banks and financial institutions.
The registered funds team represented banks and financial institutions regarding the compliance, implementation and structuring of funds, especially ETFs, hedge funds and mutual funds.
The M&A team continued to represent largely strategic acquirers in multimillion and billion dollar acquisitions and mergers. The private equity team saw mostly acquisitions and investments, advising private equity firms on both buy and sell side.
The restructuring and insolvency team advised mostly debtors and creditors in some of the largest Chapter 11 bankruptcy and restructuring cases in the nation.
The M&A team saw partner John H. Butler leave for Sidley Austin in 2019.
Deal highlights: 30th edition (2019/2020)
Charles Schwab $26 billion acquisition of TD Ameritrade
Energy Transfer $5.1 billion acquisition of SemGroup
IBM $20 billion 2.8%, 2.85%, 3%, 3.3%, 3.5%, 4.15%, 4.25% bond issue
Purdue Pharma Chapter 11 restructuring
PG&E Chapter 11 restructuring
Uber NYSE IPO
