IFLR 1000
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The downturn in M&A deal flow from last year has finally levelled out it would seem, with some confidence returning to the market. However partners continue to qualify their optimism by saying the market still shows signs of volatility.

"I think it's fair to say that deals have become even more difficult to execute. There has been a bigger gap between buyer and seller agreements than ever before," says one, while another adds, "Funding for deals is also hard to find. There is a whole different level of gearing and leverage now."

A major trend in this area is to do with private equity and divestment, and a number of deals this year have been of this type.

"There has been a pickup in private equity investors exiting their investments," says one partner. "In fact, there was one of these that happened that was the first for many years in Europe and marked an opening in the market if you ask me, as work then started picking up again." Another agrees: "There has been a number of private equity divestments, and some large distressed work. However, there have been no large distressed sales."

"I would say Gorrissen Federspiel are definitely among the leaders in M&A," says one competitor, and the firm maintains its tier one position by virtue of being among the most active firms in the market and getting hold of a good proportion of the rarer, big-ticket deals.

One such transaction was for the East Asiatic Company, advising on a major divesture that was worth almost €161 million; a clear example of the type of work that has been seen in the market.

Another interesting deal showcased Gorrissen's attractiveness to foreign clients. A team fronted by partner Camilla Collet advised the global pharmaceutical company Pfizer on the strategic acquisition of the consumer health division of Ferrosan. This was purchased primarily from Altor, a Scandinavian private equity fund, although other sellers were involved too.

Head of department Tomas Haagen Jensen was also kept busy this year advising JN Data, the software arm of Danish financial institutions Nykredit and Jyske Bank, on their partnership agreement with Bankernes EDB Central, Skandinavisk Data Center and Foreningen Bankdata.

Widely viewed as one of the market leaders, Kromann Reumert has again been very active this year. "We meet Kromann most frequently," comments a partner. The team, led jointly by Christina Bruun Geertsen and Peter Ketelsen, have found themselves with some sizeable mandates, and have also been involved with a deal that addresses the ongoing aftermath of the Icelandic banking collapse.

Most notably, the firm was counsel to the directors at Danisco, a bioproducts and food ingredient company that was the subject of a voluntary public tender offer for all its shares by a subsidiary of DuPont. The American chemicals company made an offer of €4.8 billion, and when the deal is confirmed it will represent one of the largest ever tender offers in Danish history.

The firm broke ground in other areas too. On one pioneering transaction it advised Dong Energy on its sale of half of its stake in Nysted Havvindmøllepark, one of the world's largest wind farms. The deal, which cost pension fund PensionDanmark around €94 million, is the first time a Danish pension fund has directly invested into an offshore wind farm, and it is hoped that future investment in the sector will be encouraged by this development.

Early this year the firm also closed a deal for Kaupthing Bank and the Icelandic Central Bank, as they sold the Danish commercial bank FIH for €670 million to a group of buyers made up primarily of Scandinavian insurance companies and pension funds. FIH works closely with small and midsize companies, and it was important for the economy that this bank could be able to lend again.

"Plesner are definitely a top tier firm, as they are very active and we see them in all the major transactions," says one partner, while another agrees: "Plesner are very good, good at strategy and are growing."

This growth was highlighted by the lateral hire of Tue Ravnholt Frandsen from Bruun & Hjejle, who joined in March 2011, along with Henrik Rossing Lonberg. Lonberg is seen as a rising star in Denmark and his hire is considered quite a coup.

Overall, the team itself is extremely highly thought of, as one client comments: "They have incredibly creative, smart and attentive lawyers, and are very hard working. I see myself as a bit of a taskmaster but these guys were up to it."

Christian Kjølbye comes in for some specific attention too: "He is one of the best M&A lawyers I have ever worked with, really outstanding," says one client. "He was outstanding, sharp and very intelligent," adds another, "He was always practical and looked for solutions not problems."

Kjølbye himself was on the team that worked on the standout deal for the firm's M&A practice this year, advising on the buyer side of the Danisco deal opposite Kromann Reumert. Worth €4.6 billion, the deal will become, on closing, the second-largest inbound investment ever made into Denmark.

The team also took on work from the government, advising state-owned broadcasting stations DR and TV2|Danmark in a controlled auction of infrastructure assets run by Handelsbanken including the €168 million sale of Broadcast Service Danmark in September 2010 to the Swedish state-owned Teracom.

Accura is very much a firm on the up, and extremely close to pushing through to the top tier. "Accura are businesslike and have a tough approach. They are gaining a greater share in the market too," comments one competitor.

The team is large and still growing after the hire of a substantial portion of Rønne & Lundgren's M&A department last year, a haul that included partners Henrik Juul Hansen, Morten Jensen, Poul Jagd Mogensen and Jesper Schultz Larsen.

However, there is an impression across the market that, despite their high level of visibility, the firm doesn't always act on a regular basis on the big-ticket deals. "We have had some dealings with Accura, though I would say that they are a little more mid-market," says a partner, while another concurs: "Accura are very active, and service a lot of mid-market clients."

Despite this perception, Accura have still done some interesting work in this area. In one notable deal it advised a consortium, comprised of Kirkbi, the Lundbeck Foundation and PFA Pension with respect to the acquisition of the global safety services company Falck. This transaction completed in April 2011 for a confidential sum.

The team also worked on an interesting deal for the state, with Kare Stolt advising Finansiel Stabilitet (a company set up by the Danish government to help sort out distressed banks) on the sale on EBH Finansservice.

As is the case with banking, some in the market suggest that Bech-Bruun has slightly dropped away this year. "We see Bech-Bruun less now. They have good lawyers but not the best. They have no rainmakers," says one partner, while another points to the firm's loss of manpower: "Bech-Bruun could possibly slip to tier two due to important partners leaving."

The highest profile departure was that of Niels Erik Nielsen, who is now at Lett. "Nielsen was a very dominant figure within Bech-Bruun. I mean, he drove the firm. He is very active, very aggressive, and is a very good lawyer." says one peer. Another partner is even more forthright: "Bech-Bruun, as far as we are concerned, is falling apart in M&A."

Clients however still seem more than satisfied, as one says: "I take great pleasure in using Bech-Bruun." Another praises the firm's proactive style: "I don't want the story from before, I want what's happening now and they are good at solving the problems we see and finding those we don't see. They are complex problems, but they handle them very well."

With the market seeing a pick-up in private equity exits this year, the team acted on one such deal this year. Thomas Gjol-Tronning advised IK Investment Partners and Ratos on its sale of Superfos Industries. The pre-eminent pan-European injection moulded plastic packaging producer was acquired by British RPC Group for €240 million in February 2011.

Leading lawyer Søren Meisling also advised on a large cross-border agreement between electronic payment solutions providers PBS Holding and its Norwegian counterpart company Nordito. Bech-Bruun acted for the former. The merger created the largest northern European company of this type with over 2000 employees in five countries.

"Bruun & Hjejle is a more academic, full-service firm. They have an excellent M&A team," sums up one partner. The firm is seen as having a traditional approach in M&A as in other areas. "Bruun & Hjejle are trying to change their traditional, old school outlook, and this will take time," adds another.

It has been a year of significant comings and goings at the firm, with the highly-rated Henrik Rossing Lønberg moving over to Plesner. However, the firm also hired another well-regarded partner in Henning Aasmul Olsen, who joined from Danske Bank Corporate Finance. "Bruun & Hjejle has a very good partner, Henning Aasmul-Olsen. We have definitely been seeing him," comments one partner.

The firm has worked on some significant mandates this year, including in March 2011, the advising of a consortium made up of two large Danish pension funds, PensionDanmark and PKA on the acquisition of a €850 million 50% stake in the Anholt offshore wind farm from Dong Energy. Like the similar Nysted deal (the sale of the bank's stake in a windfarm development) it is hoped that this will open the gates for pension funds to further get involved in renewable energy investments in Denmark.

A team consisting of Mogens Ebeling and Henning Aasmul-Olsen also advised on the ultimately cancelled offer by Apax Partners for the Danish services company ISS, a deal that would have been worth €6.4 billion. The transaction would have been notable for its sheer size in the European market, but economic volatility meant that the deal was never completed.

Horten is viewed as having a very strong M&A practice in utilities and renewable energy, and the team, led by leading lawyer Hans Christian Pape, is gaining a larger reputation year on year.

The firm's standout transaction last year was a landmark deal involving the municipality of Gladsaxe, which is near Copenhagen on the island of Zealand. Partner and leading lawyer Lise Lotte Hjerrild advised Gladsaxe and Nordvand in the merging of the municipality's water and waste business with that of the Gentofte municipality, the end result being the formation of the Nordvand Group. Completed in May 2010, the €348 million deal was the first consolidation of its kind, establishing a precedent for the rest of the sector.

Lett has worked hard to expand its M&A practice this year hiring high-profile M&A practitioner Niels Erik Nielsen, formerly of Bech-Bruun and Sam Jalaei from Eversheds.

The team, led by Sebastian Ingversen in Copenhagen, has been fairly active, with one deal for Parken Sport & Entertainment gaining significant coverage due to their ownership of FC Copenhagen football team.

Another interesting deal saw the firm advise ATP, the largest state fund for Denmark, on the acquisition of FIH Erhvervsbank, a deal complicated by the situation of the previous owner, Icelandic bank Kaupthing.

Rønne & Lundgren has had a difficult year, after seeing a number of partners depart for Accura, including no fewer than four members of their M&A team. This exodus included big names such as Henrik Juul Hansen, Morten Jensen, Poul Jagd Mogensen and Jesper Schultz Larsen.

"I'd say Rønne & Lundgren must be on the way out as they lost their whole team to Accura," says one partner.

The firm has moved to address the loss however, through promoting internally and recruiting a number of new associates.

Last year the team also acted for Ejensdomplus on its €8 million acquisition of an Italian company that manages photovoltaic projects. One of the first indirect investments from a Danish company into an Italian renewable energy concern, the deal closed in December 2010.

Eversheds this year has been doing a number of international deals, making good use of its global network.

One mandate saw the team advise leading global acoustics products company AAC Acoustic Technologies Holdings on its investment in Kaleido Technology, a Danish firm. This was the only Chinese M&A deal in Denmark in 2010, and was worth €17 million.

Hannes Snellman is a new arrival in Copenhagen this year marking its launch with a sweeping raid on Bech-Bruun, taking partners Philip Rijsborn, Peter Lyck and Mikkel Baaring Lerche.

The market will wait to see what impact the new team can make.

Moalem Weitemeyer Bendtsen possesses a robust corporate practice, which is headed up by Dan Moalem. The team has benefitted from its headline acquisition of Christoffer Galbo the previous year, as he has been working with new clients for the firm.

Much of the team's work remains under confidentiality, but the firm did act for new private equity client Greystone Capital in the acquisition of Progressive IT in addition to advising Abaxis in its takeover of a majority stake in Scandinavian Micro Biodevices.

The firm has had a successful year in terms of attracting new clients, with names including AP Møller Mærsk Group, Spendrups and Kemira Group.