September 22, 2015
Insights and Deal-Critical Recommendations from a Panel of UK/US M&A Experts
The UK public takeover market has at times proved difficult to understand and a challenge to navigate particularly for foreign bidders. This webcast offers a unique opportunity to hear from a panel of seasoned public M&A experts (including the recent former Director-General of the UK Takeover Panel) on early consideration issues for bidders of UK takeover targets. The panelists discuss how to manage the trickier issues arising around secrecy/leaks, pre-bid approaches third parties, stake building, deal protection tools, statements of intention and undertakings, with reference to recent takeovers and attempted takeovers of UK listed companies.
This panel discussion will be of particular interest to Non-UK corporates (senior management and in-house), PE buy-out houses (principals and in-house counsel) and non-UK investment bankers.
View Slides [PDF]
PANELISTS:
Dennis J. Friedman — a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He has led the Firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions Practice for many years. He is a widely recognized corporate lawyer with extensive experience in the mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and capital markets areas. In addition to his 35-year-plus legal career, Dennis was an investment banker at several major Wall Street firms, where he was a senior M&A banker and also the head of a merchant banking group (1986 to 1992).
James Ben — is a Managing Director and Co-Head of U.S. Consumer Retail at Rothschild. Before joining Rothschild, Mr. Ben was head of the Global Consumer and Retail M&A Group at Barclays and Lehman Brothers and previously was a senior M&A banker with Lehman Brothers’ Global Technology M&A group. Over the course of his career, Mr. Ben has advised on over $100 billion in M&A transaction volume in the consumer, retail, technology and industrial sectors. Before joining Lehman Brothers, Mr. Ben was a lawyer and practiced law with Sullivan & Cromwell (New York), as a member of the firm’s M&A Group.
Nigel Stacey — an English qualified Partner in the London office, he has more than 20 years of experience specialising in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. Nigel has acted on some of the UK’s most high profile transactions and has advised on deals with an aggregate value in excess of $600bn. Nigel practiced with Ashurst from 1999 and became a Partner in that firm in 2000. Prior to this he practiced with Slaughter and May. He joined Gibson Dunn in July 2014. Nigel led the team that was voted ‘Restructuring Team of the Year 2011’ at the British Legal Awards.
Philip Robert-Tissot — Director General of the UK Takeover Panel from April 2013 to July 2015. Prior to that role Philip was a Managing Director and Chairman of Citi’s EMEA M&A business, having previously been Head of UK Banking & Broking. He joined Schroders in 1989 and was promoted to Director in 1996. He became a Managing Director when Citi acquired Schroders’ investment banking business in 2000. With 24 years as an investment banker with Schroders/Citi, he was one of Citi’s most experienced UK financial advisory practitioners. He has a broad range of experience acting for clients in both the public and private sectors, including listed company and private company buyside and sellside transactions, hostile bids and bid defences, IPOs, demergers, demutualisations, listings, rights and other equity issues, and restructurings. As an investment banker, Philip has advised on major transformational M&A transactions including advising Kraft Foods on its $21.6 billion offer for Cadbury, advising Chloride in respect of competing offers received from ABB and Emerson Electric and advising Ferrovial in respect of its offer for BAA Before joining Schroders in 1989, Philip worked for 4 years for Rio Tinto Zinc.
Selina Sagayam, Panel Chair — a corporate finance practitioner and Head of Practice Development in the London office of Gibson Dunn. Selina is recognized as a leading lawyer in the fields of Corporate/M&A and corporate governance. She spent two years seconded in the senior role at the UK Panel on Takeovers and Mergers and has extensive experience advising on transactions involving public companies, including issuers and shareholders on (hostile) takeovers and public campaign/activist situation.