IFLR 1000
The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms

BA-HR has maintained one of the best capital markets teams in the market. "High level, absolutely top, they have amongst the best partners," says a client. "Extremely good on the law and very well fitted toward being commercial and handling commercial issues."

Finn Myhre is one of the well-established names in the market who, says one competitor, remains at the "forefront in corporate bonds". He kept his name in lights advising Santander Norge on the first ever securitisation under Norwegian law, which involved the €1.4 billion securitisation of a car loan portfolio and had to overcome an untested legal framework to successfully close in March 2011.

Peers highly recommend the "up and coming" and "young but leading" Robin Bakken for equity. Bakken advised ABG Sundal Collier, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citibank as joint bookrunners on the IPO and listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange of Statoil Fuel & Retail, which generated €686 million.

Head of finance Richard Sjøqvist is a regular counsel to Norske Tillitsman (the Norwegian loan trustee for bonds listed on the Oslo exchange) and has a strong debt practice. Marking another milestone, Sjøqvist represented Pareto Private Securities, Platou Finance and DnB NOR Bank as managers in the largest ever high-yield bond issuance organised in Norway: the $460 million issuance for Golden Close Marine Corp.

Finance partner Terje Sommer, Arne Tjaum, Rolf Ringdal (for debt) and M&A partner Svein Gerhard Simonnæs all have top market reputations. Tjaum recently acted for Aker Drilling on its IPO, which together with a high-yield bond issuance and a bank loan raised €458 million.

BA-HR is in the 'magic-circle' of Norwegian firms and holds its place within the top four. It has a long list of very experienced partners but there are chinks in its armour. "They have a strong team but I am eager to see who will be coming up through the ranks," says a competitor.

Richard Sjøqvist heads the banking and finance practice and leads on many of the firms top deals. "The most visible and active, see him all the time," says one competitor, while another seconds the comment: "very active and very good." Another peer says "I would trust him with any business I have".

The firm turns over perhaps fewer financing deals than some of its direct peers but it lands very high value mandates. The biggest recent deal saw Sjøqvist work with Anders Gullåsen to advise a syndicate of more than 15 banks including Nordea Norge as lead arrangers on $2.4 billion loan to BW Offshore, the largest syndicated deal ever arranged in Norway.

Another high value deal, evidence of the considerable activity in the Norwegian offshore sector, saw Audun Nedrelid advise Lloyds Bank Group in January 2011, working alongside Norton Rose handling the UK law side, on a $1.1 billion financing of the sale of two rigs to Seadrill.

In other banking work mixed into multi-faceted financings, Sjøqvist and Ida Marie Odegaard assisted Pareto Securuities and Natixis on a $117 million bank loan to Floatel International combined with a high-yield bond issuance and Terje Sommer, Gullåsen, Arne Tjaum and Morten Smørdal acted for Aker Drilling on a complex refinancing involving a bond issuance, IPO and bank loan.

According to one client BA-HR has a "high level; it is among the top two firms in Oslo absolutely together with Thommessen, they have the best partners in town, extremely good on the law and well fitted to being commercial and handling commercial issues".

The firm has a long list of highly experienced partners, however it is not immune to criticism. Competitors say the firm has a "philosophy of not growing in head count" and that is has "become less important over years", confronted with increasing competition from other firms.

Nevertheless, the firm did recruit, taking on experienced M&A and oil & gas partner Jan Jansen from Arntzen de Besche in late 2010. Clients highly recommend Bjorn Gabriel Reed and Svein Gerhard Simonnæs, with one saying that Simonnæs has an "extremely commercial approach in M&A". Aside from the leading individuals, Morten Smørdal often supports on the big deals.

In early 2011 Simonnæs and Smørdal worked with Slaughter and May to advise its key client Aker Solutions on the sale of its process and construction businesses in Europe, America, Asia and Australasia to Jacobs Engineering Group for $913 million. None of the assets were in Norway. Simonnæs also acted for Posten Norge and Ergo Group on a merger with EDB Business Partner (owned by Telenor) to form one of the biggest regional IT services group worth €1 billion.

Simonnæs and Lars Kristian Sande represented EQT on its €178 million purchase of Hafslund Fibernett, owner of Norway's largest independent fibre optic network in December 2010. In the same month, Smørdal and Tarjei Thorkildsen closed a shipping / offshore M&A deal for National Oilwell Varco for its $531 million purchase of all shares in APL (Advanced Production & Loading).