Jan Mellmann > Watson Farley & Williams LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

A ‘great team with relevant experience’, Watson Farley & Williams LLP covers the full range of equity capital markets matters for a roster of AIM-listed clients as well as their nominated advisers and brokers. The team is well-regarded for its expertise in the energy and natural resources sectors, where it regularly guides clients through IPOs, secondary fundraises, as well as cross-border reverse takeovers and take-private transactions. Chris Kilburn leads the practice as well as the firm’s oil and gas offering and advises domestic and international clients in the sector on equity issues, while corporate expert Jan Mellmann is a key contact for debt and equity hybrid deals.

Noted for its ‘excellent sector knowledge and good partner involvement in transactions,’ Watson Farley & Williams LLP is a key choice for clients across the energy, transport, and infrastructure sectors. The team is headed up by oil and gas expert Chris Kilburn, who regularly works with clients from the mining, commodities, transport, infrastructure, and energy sectors. The ‘commercial and experienced’ Jan Mellmann specialises in domestic and cross-border acquisitions, particularly in the mining and commodities spaces. On the shipping and offshore oil and gas front, Daniel Saunders and Andy Savage are highly adept transactional lawyers, while Christina Howard and Mark Tooke work with clients from the transport and technology sectors respectively on international mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and corporate restructuring. Energy and natural resources specialist Tony Edwards joined the practice in May 2023 from Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP.

Watson Farley & Williams LLP‘s mining practice has particular strengths in M&A, capital markets, project finance, and dispute resolution. The team is jointly headed by Singapore-based Sumeet Malhotra and London-based Jan Mellmann. Mellmann specialises in corporate finance and M&A, which includes joint ventures, corporate restructurings, and commercial agreements.

Watson Farley & Williams LLP has ‘a flexible and adaptable finance practice, focusing on the commercial outcomes‘, and clients note that the firm is ‘helpfully pragmatic in its approach‘. The firm is particularly strong in reserve-based lending deals. Lead partner Joe Levin ‘provides practical, solution-focused advice, and understands the commercial drivers behind a transaction‘. The highly regarded Philip Beswick recently assisted Levin with a $300m reserve-based lending facility to support increased crude oil production in the Republic of Congo. Jan Mellmann, who co-leads the mining and commodities group, and global head of oil & gas Chris Kilburn are closely involved in the financing of major projects around the world.