The Legal 500

Thanks to its superb client base of funds, Latham & Watkins advised on most of the market’s landmark transactions, while continuing to handle LBO restructuring work. The practice is headed by Thomas Forschbach, with Olivier du Mottay, Nathalie Alibert and Gaëtan Gianasso also recommended. Highlights included assisting Cinven on the acquisition of Sebia from Montagu Private Equity. 2010 also saw the appointment of Denis Criton.

Fabrice de la Morandière, Vincent Ponsonnaille and David Swinburne at Linklaters LLP handled a good number of mid and large-cap transactions. The practice has great resources thanks to its large client base of funds. It assisted Axa Private Equity on the sale of Spotless to BC Partners, and BC Partners on the sale of Picard Surgelés. The firm also remained highly active handling debt LBO restructuring work.

SJ Berwin is the ‘absolute market leader on mid-cap transactions’, according to clients, while the firm is also increasingly retained to advise on big tickets. The team includes Maxence Bloch, Christophe Digoy, Jérôme Jouhanneaud and Pierre-Louis Périn. Highlights included advising Lion Capital on the acquisition of Picard Surgelés, and IK Investment Partners and the sellers on the sale of Cerba.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges’ continues to impress, even in a difficult market. The strong team, including David Aknin, Jean Beauchataud, Frédéric Cazals and Emmanuelle Henry, assists large market players on LBOs and restructuring transactions. The firm advised the management on the sale of Cerba to PAI.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP advises major players including CVC Capital Partners and BC Partners. The 29-lawyer team is particularly suited to advise on major LBO transactions with key figures including Daniel Payan, Eduardo Fernandez, Christophe Garaud and Cédric Hajage. The practice assisted PAI on the acquisition of a majority stake in Cerba.

Ashurst LLP has a team of ‘trusted advisors’ led by five partners; Nicolas Barberis, Yann Gozal, Guy Benda, Bertrand Delaunay and Frédéric Pinet. The firm focuses on large-cap transactions and LBO restructuring work. Highlights included assisting Cinven on its tender offer for Sperian Protection and Qualium Investissements on its acquisition of La Foir’ Fouille.

Ayache Salama & Associés stands out for its ‘strong commitment on transactions’ and ‘efficiency on small and mid-cap deals, especially in a difficult environment’. The team includes the ‘very good negotiator and deal maker’ Bernard Ayache, Olivier Tordjman who ‘never makes a single mistake’ and David Ayache. The firm assisted Astorg Partners on several major transactions including on the LBO acquisition of Sebia.

In Jean-Marie Ambrosi and François Jonemann, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP has a ‘very technical team’. The firm completed several major transactions in 2010, assisting BC Partners on the sale of Picard to Lion Capital, and Natixis on the sale of its private equity portfolio.

Thanks to its strong relationship with 3i, Apax Partners and Carlyle, Clifford Chance has a good private equity practice, the team advising on several key deals in 2010. The firm assisted the Carlyle group on the acquisition of B&B hotels, and 3i on the acquisition of Trescal. Key partners in the practice include Gilles Lebreton, Laurent Schoenstein and Thierry Schoen.

Headed by Fabrice Cohen, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP’s practice focuses on large-cap transactions. Jean-Claude Cotoni is also active in the practice. The team assisted Qualium on the sale of Marc Orian.

The ‘fantastic’ Frieh Bouhénic provides a ‘very high quality’ of services. The practice, led by Michel Frieh, is a solid choice for small and mid-cap transactions. The firm assisted the management on the acquisition of Sebia, and Bridgepoint Capital on its joint acquisition of Histoire d’Or and Marc Orian.

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP has great LBO capabilities in practice head Pascal de Moidrey, Jon Harry, and the ‘exceptional’ Alexis Terray. In a difficult market, the nine-lawyer team succeeded in playing a significant role in major transactions, including assisting key client Astorg Partners on the sale of Geoservices to Schlumberger.

Jones Day is a leader in the venture-capital field while also covering the full range of private equity transactions. The eight-lawyer practice, managed by Renaud Bonnet and newly promoted partner Charles Gavoty, handles a large number of deals and dominates the market in the technology and life-sciences areas. Key clients include Seventure Partners, Total Energy Venture and public sector fund FCDE. The team assisted Inside Contactless on the largest financing round occurring in France in recent years.

Xavier Jaspar, Guillaume Kuperfils and tax advisor Laurent Borey lead Mayer Brown’s ‘reactive’ practice. The ten-partner team includes newly promoted partner Olivier Aubouin and Thomas Philippe – management package specialist Alexis Dargent left the firm to set up his own boutique. The ‘excellent’ LBO practice puts a ‘great focus on client service’ and demonstrates a ‘very good business sense’. It recently assisted Chequers on the secondary LBO on Thermocoax Holding.

Morgan Lewis is a leader in venture-capital through Olivier Edwards and Karen Noël, while Anne Tolila focuses on LBOs. The team completed a large number of transactions in 2010, notably in the e-commerce and health sectors. It assisted Spartoo on raising €12m, and Cerenis Therapeutics and the investors on Cerenis Therapeutics’ €40m fund raising.

SarrauThomasCouderc has built its reputation advising the management in LBO transactions. The team, led by David de Pariente, Frédéric Bucher and Jean-Bernard Thomas, was involved in key deals in 2010, advising the management of Spotless on its sale to BC Partners and Carlyle on the negotiations with the management of B&B Hotels.

Scotto & Associés has ‘the best practice in France for advising management teams’, according to clients. A spin-off from former Wilinski Scotto & Associés, the practice is led by Lionel Scotto whose ‘very strong commercial skills’, ‘longstanding knowledge and relationships in the industry’ and ‘outstanding technical expertise’ are highly praised. The team also includes Isabelle Cheradame and Nicolas Menard-Durand, who joined from Mayer Brown in 2010, while Jean-François Louit handles M&A and capital-markets work. The firm advised the management on the LBO on Picard.

Led by Vincent Morin, White & Case LLP’s practice assists a strong client base of funds (Apax Partners, Carlyle, Cinven). Franck De Vita is also recommended. Highlights included assisting BC Partners on the acquisition of Spotless.