Profile: William Lawes

Mergers and Acquisitions

Biography: Mergers and Acquisitions

Will Lawes is co head of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP's worldwide financial institutions group and runs our corporate FIG team in London. He specialises in public bids, mergers and demergers, private acquisitions and disposals, joint ventures, restructurings and equity issues of all types, both in the UK and across borders. He advises a range of corporate, investment bank and financial institutions clients.

His work over the last few years includes acting for: ABN on the sale of its UK private client business to Société Générale; Amersham on the ￂﾣ5.9 billion stock offer from General Electric; ConocoPhillips on its ￂﾣ2 billion investment into Lukoil, the Russian oil company; GCap Media on its acquisition by Global Radio; Grupo Ferrovial and the other consortium members on the ￂﾣ12 billion offer for BAA; Hanson in relation to the ￂﾣ8 billion offer from HeidelbergCement; ING on its sale of Williams de Broe; Northern Rock on dealing with its liquidity crisis and the process leading to nationalisation; Pearl, the UK insurer, on its hostile ￂﾣ6 billion offer for Resolution plc and the competing offer from Standard Life; Pearson on the sale of Les Echos to LVMH; and the underwriters on the rights offerings by RBS, HBOS and Bradford & Bingley.

Will was educated at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand; and Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge. He has been a partner since 1994. He is qualified in both the UK and New Zealand.

Other Practice Areas

Additional Practice Areas