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M&A dealflow returned to some level of normality in 2010 after a stagnant few years. While levels are some way off their pre-recession highs, firms have been buoyed by an increase in activity almost across the board. Global M&A totalled $2,122.7bn for 2010, up 24.7% from 2009, with deal volume also up by 23.4% at 11,921 announced deals compared to 9,659 for 2009.

European M&A was up 41% year on year, topping $645.7bn in 2010, up from $459.4bn in 2009; this will have been music to law firms’ ears, as the developed economies struggled to lift themselves out of the mire. The larger international firms have largely benefited from deal activity emanating from emerging markets, as western investors look for high-growth investment opportunities; a new breed of emerging markets client has come to the fore looking to invest in more stable economies as well as emerging economies. If anything the likes of Linklaters LLP, Slaughter and May, Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy LLP, along with a handful of US firms, have tightened their grip on the market and are beginning to move away from an increasingly crowded mid-market.

On the private equity side, the market had its busiest year since 2007 globally, totalling $235.5bn worth of deals, up 92.5% compared to 2009 ($122.3bn), representing 11.1% of global M&A compared to 7.2% in 2009. Activity has been driven as much by houses regaining their appetite for significant investment as looking to exit via secondary buyouts. In the City, US firms are finally building credible alternatives to the UK firms. Although the likes of Clifford Chance remain at the top of the market, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, Latham & Watkins LLP and Kirkland & Ellis International LLP are hot on their heels. Notable developments on the private equity adviser landscape include the investment being made by Ropes & Gray LLP’s London office, hiring Kiran Sharma and Peter Baldwin from DLA Piper UK LLP and Jones Day respectively.

2010 saw renewed activity in equity capital markets, and several new IPOs were launched: a substantial shift from the quieter conditions of 2009. While there is still widespread caution among investors and companies, London’s largest-ever international IPO, Glencore, went ahead on the London Stock Exchange in May 2011, and has opened up the market to increased deal flow. The mining and natural resources sectors, as well as emerging markets, remain areas of focus for many firms.

In competition, those firms with an international focus and a strong UK practice have remained busy in mergers despite the downturn, where volume work has given way to fewer but more complex transactions, often requiring innovative solutions. On the litigation front, appeals against administrative decisions of the authorities are on the rise, and there has been a significant surge in private damages actions before the Competition Appeal Tribunal and the High Court. Several key legislative developments at UK and European level have also sparked an increase in compliance advice, and one of the major developments on the horizon is the proposed merger in the UK of the OFT and Competition Commission. Public procurement matters look set to feature increasingly heavily in the future.

New to the chapter this year is the Commercial contracts section, covering work previously covered under Outsourcing and procurement, for both public and private sector clients, and also taking into account other commercial work, such as complex joint ventures and distribution agreements.

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