A highly professional outfit, BBA Legal is one of the top firms that outside investors and players look to when they wish to become involved in Iceland."They do a lot of work with foreign creditors....
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A highly professional outfit, BBA Legal is one of the top firms that outside investors and players look to when they wish to become involved in Iceland.
"They do a lot of work with foreign creditors. BBA Legal is a very strong firm," admits a competitor.
The firm is invariably described as "strong", and is renowned for its M&A capabilities in particular: "BBA Legal is very active, and very strong in corporate. They are also gaining strength in litigation," says a partner.
"BBA are a good, solid firm. They are small, but good," opines another lawyer.
Those who have engaged BBA are also quick to praise the legal creativity of the team in Reykjavik: "The transaction we worked on has seen several changes in Icelandic law and an unprecedented financial and political background, so they had to be innovative," comments a legal client.
This reputation is borne out by their ongoing work on the Icesave dispute, advising huge clients such as the UK Treasury and no fewer than 16 Dutch municipalities.
Despite the litigation and wrangling over the bank collapses, there have been some other nice deals for BBA this year. Displaying their aforementioned corporate abilities, a team headed up by leading lawyer Einar Baldvin Arnason acted for Bluestar Silicones Investment with regard to the acquisition of Norwegian environmentally friendly materials producer Elkem. The firm conducted due diligence and gave legal advice on the Icelandic aspect of this deal, which closed in April 2011 for around $2 billion.
Another big M&A deal was advising Titan Investment Company, which was representing a larger body of investors who were looking to acquire all the domestic and Lithuanian concerns of MP Banki. Once more Arnason was involved, and the deal reached a successful conclusion in April 2011 for a sum of €300 million.
The team also conducted some banking work, mainly restructurings. In one standout deal they advised Bayerische Landesbank on the restructuring of Exista, an insurance underwriter and asset financier. Einar Baldvin Arnason and fellow leading lawyer Asgeir Ragnarsson led the team here, and closed the deal in late 2010 for an approximate figure of €500 million.
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