Partner Article

Looking for international deal expertise

John Riddick, Partner and Head of Thomas Eggar’s Business Support Group, shares his views on legal services.

Recent high profile and complex international transactions managed by Thomas Eggar LLP have highlighted the growing trend for legal consumers to sidestep the traditional Magic Circle or traditional City legal provider in favour of strong (and often more cost effective) national and regional suppliers.

For example, most recently, Thomas Eggar LLP have been sought out by Rubicon, Easygroup Holdings and Lonrho PLC to work on their project in relation to airline carrier options in Africa. This is no doubt down to Thomas Eggar’s considerable track record in advising on deals in Africa and the Gulf, such as the award winning acquisition of aircraft for Arik Air Limited.

Baltic Oil Terminals PLCchose Thomas Eggar to assist in acquiring Haahr Tank-Lager A/S and its refined oils terminal in Denmark for approximately 6.3 million. This complex transaction, covered both Danish and Dutch law and involved liaising closely with international law firms to complete the deal. Thomas Eggar’s UK-wide team led by corporate partner, John Riddick, negotiated the terms of the loan with CMS Cameron McKenna, who represented the lenders and assisted with the listing on the CISX stock exchange in Guernsey.

Simon Escott, Baltic Oil Terminals PLC’s CEO, comments: We have worked with Thomas Eggar for over six months and developed a trusted relationship with the firm. The team were refreshing to work with and provided sound advice at every stage of the transaction. The resulting acquisition of Haahr Tank-Lager A/S provides us with tremendous opportunities for both our customers and our business.

Despite the economic outlook these are just two projects in a steady flow of M&A and corporate finance activity over the past 12 months for Thomas Eggar. Their national reach, regional contacts and reputation for being commercially creative when faced with substantial and complex mattersis clearly demonstrated by other highlights this year.

Most notably these include the IPO of Lonrhoplc by way of an introduction to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation in excess of 200 million (many of the other such transactions have been handled by Magic Circle firms); a $70 million convertible Eurobond for Lonrhoplc, the 100 million debt refinancing of Micheldever to allow it to continue its highly successful buy and build strategy; and cross border work for Doosan Power Systems, the UK and European operation of the global Korean headquartered company, Doosan Heavy, on its refinancing of 100 million debt, incurred predominantly in connection with the acquisition of Czech company, Skoda Power.

The calibre of these deals, for sophisticated clients on an international playing field, requires accessibility, capacity and expertise from its legal providers. But, as these examples show, it is increasingly evident that for clients who want to find a cost-effective alternative to their City firms without sacrificing quality, Thomas Eggar is not just a viable but also a commercially attractive option that can put a team together to provide solutions for larger national and international deals.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .