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

In line with the international markets, there has been an increase in deals in the French M&A and private equity sectors in the last year. "I would say we've seen an increase of the deals in the last 12 months, especially in the last six months, there has been a boom in the number and the size of the deals in the last six months in both sectors," says one partner, while another one agrees: "M&A and private equity are very active and things are very interdependent."

The reasons behind this reflect the re-emergence of acquisition and LBO financing. In addition because "a number of companies have not been hit as was expected, they still have cash to acquire companies who've suffered from the financial crisis", says one partner who says that in particular "some of the private houses have cash to spend".

Unlike the previous year, companies seem ready to pay higher prices than the investment funds investing in the core businesses. "Right now, the corporations have a lot of cash; therefore they're very active in looking for acquisitions in their core business, not in diversification, but in their core business."

There has also been an easing in the price discrepancy between buyers and sellers in the market. "I would say for those companies who have shown a strong ability to perform during financial crisis, there's no longer any gap between the expectations of the sellers and the buyers," says one M&A partner. "The money the buyers are ready to spend on those companies was proved to be very efficient in the financial crisis."

The private-equity market has also been significantly re-born and there is a huge amount of money, raised before the financial crisis, to be invested by the private-equity firms, "There is a lot of pressure on many private funds to find investment opportunities during the next two years," says one partner, while another one adds that the sectors the private equity houses are investing in include "the energy sector, especially the green energy sector, the internet sector and luxury goods".

Lead partner Jean-Claude Rivalland from Allen & Overy received clients' praise for both his legal knowledge and innovation capabilities. "He's intelligent and he knows a lot," says a client. "He has a good knowledge and he knows which colleague to talk to for the expert areas when he needs to and he also has good interpretation of the law when analysis requires," the client continues. "He comes up with ideas to solve out problems, sometimes it will be things where we need to change or want to add something, and he's pretty good for finding solutions to match the needs we require, with whoever he's negotiating with."

The firm's M&A capacity has been bulked up recently with a hire of former equity star Marc Castagnede from Debevoise & Plimpton.

The firm's French practice got a share in one of last year's most talkative transactions when a team of lawyers, including Rivalland, Frédéric Moreau and Frédéric Jungels alike, advised Honeywell on its takeover bid on French listed company Sperian Protection which was worth €1.4 billion.

Rivalland's commerciality has also grabbed clients' attention, as one says: "I think Jean-Claude is quite commercial, because when comes to negotiation, he's able to identify what's the important issue and what's the less important issue."

Elsewhere Marcus Billam and Jungels advised Compagnie La Lucette on its merger with Icade and on the following takeover launched by Icade. The mandate was valued at €260 million.

"Ayache Salama & Associés is a French firm with a good private-equity practice, not international, but with a good private-equity practice," says one competitor. The private equity team has advised on a number of mandates, one saw David Ayache acting for the Nexar Capital group on the acquisition of Allianz Asset Management. Elsewhere the firm also advised on a few LBO mandates when Olivier Tordjman led the team advising Histoire d'Or in relation to its LBO transaction with Marc Orian.

According to its peers, Baker & McKenzie is "well-known in real estate". One highlight at the firm saw a team advising Veolia on the merger of Veolia Transport with Transdev, resulting in the creation of the first worldwide public urban transportation group with a turnover of €8.3 billion. The team, which involved a group of practitioners including Régis Fabre, Alain Sauty de Chalon and Bruno Bertrand alike, assisted Veolia in the agreements reached with the RATP for the sale of its assets regarding the merger.

Another highlight closed in February 2011 saw De Chalon teaming up with Christian Blomet advising the French Post on the structuring and launch of a joint venture (JV) with SFR to build and market mobile phone offers as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). The JV targets 1.5 to 2 million customers with a turn over expecting to be more than €500 million within three years.

In the French M&A market, Bredin Prat is a clear market leader and the French domestic's position is backed by peers and clients alike. "Bredin Prat is an excellent firm, top people and always does the job," says one client.

Rivals also agree with the firm's position in the market: "They're fine as a tier-one firm. They're doing more public M&A and general corporate work," says one, while another agrees: "Bredin Prat is a very very well-known firm in the corporate and public M&A space."

The firm also benefits from its 'best friends' relationship with Slaughter and May which ensures that it is mandated on a number of large cross-border transactions

Head of the corporate department Didier Martin also draws praise from rivals: "Didier Martin is a well-known M&A lawyer in the market," says one peer, while another one agrees: "He's one of the top lawyers."

One highlight in the energy market in France last year saw GDF Suez Energy International contribute €20 billion assets into International Power in exchange for the latter group's newly issued shares. A Bredin team led by partners Patrick Dziewolski and Matthieu Pouchepadass advised GDF Suez on corporate and financing aspects of the deal, and also on its structuring and negotiation process. The deal will create an enlarged International Power group and enable the shares to be traded on the main market of LSE.

Another substantial deal was the $1.4 billion acquisition of all the shares of Sperian Protection by US conglomerate Honeywell International. The Bredin team, led by partner Olivier Assant, acted for the acquirer and it is believed to be one of the very few public offers of this size over the past few years.

Elsewhere partner Olivier Rogivue headed the team advising two joint ventures between Ineos Group Holdings and Petrochina International Company, in the field of petroleum refinement in Scotland and France. As well as another joint venture of the Ineos Group with China National Petroleum Corporation in a technical cooperation agreement. The team worked alongside Slaughter and May who advised on the English law aspect, and the deal was worth in total €1 billion.

November 2010 saw a team led by Benjamin Kanovitch and Kate Romain representing Crédit Mutuel-CIC (CM-CIC) in relation to the creation of the new Spanish banking platform jointly controlled by CM-CIC and Banco Popular. The team worked alongside Spanish 'best friend' Uría Menéndez on the deal. The Bredin Prat team also advised on CM-CIC's 5% stake acquisition of Banco Popular for an approximately €300 million; and a €312 million investment in the Spanish bank, which counts for a €625 million value of the bank. The transaction was worth €925 million in total.

Cleary Gottlieb's leading position in the French M&A market has been consolidated by its wide range of mandates this year, including domestic public and private M&A transactions, cross-border deals, and emerging markets mandates. "Like any other international law firm, the team have top lawyers who're very good at what they're doing," says one client, though he also points out that the firm's internal communication "could be smoother than it is".

Heading the corporate team is Pierre-Yves Chabert who gained praise from his rivals. "He's a very good lawyer. He has a very good reputation. He's a very good technician, and a hard worker. He's a public M&A lawyer," says one, while another one agrees: "Chabert is a leading lawyer in market for ten years now. He's involved in most of the transactions and for me he's recognised in the market."

In the public M&A area, a Cleary team led by the head partner Chabert advised EDF on its €4.7 billion sale of a participating interest in EnBW to the Land of Baden-Württemberg (LBW). LBW acquired 45% of EnBW's interest at a price of €41.5 per share.

Again Chabert was involved in another de-merger deal when the firm advised Accor Services, a spin-off from multinational corporation Accor, which later became Edenred. The deal required tax and legal structuring advice, as well as new financing advice for Edenred, and it was worth approximately €2 billion.

In the private M&A market, Marie-Laurence Tibi led the team and acted for a French postal operator La Posta in relation to its €2.7 billion capital increase, which was part of a series of capital raisings made in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Mandates coming from emerging markets have also kept Cleary team busy. One transaction highlight saw the team representing Weather Investments in a joint venture with VimpelCom creating the fifth largest telecommunications carrier Orascom Telecom Holdings, with net operating revenue worth $21.5 billion.

Clifford Chance's reputation as an international law firm has been firmly endorsed by its clients. "We've worked on many transactions with the firm's London, Paris, Frankfurt and Munich offices. The fact is that we've often returned to them, which shows that we're quite happy with them," says one. "As a firm, I think they've the right person for the problems we're tackling, and they're able to try to bring on board [other lawyers] if necessary. So that's why companies like ours are attracted to the international law firms. We're kind of relying on the firms that have all the expertise we need and the ability to bring it to the table at short notice and Clifford Chance is very good at that." While another one adds that the city law firm "is benefiting from clients coming from London".

Though one client points out that the collaboration between the individual offices is still something that could be improved, as he says: "The issue is with all other international law firms, so Clifford Chance is not any better or worse in this regard compared to the law firms I've worked with".

A notable arrival at the firm saw the Paris team hire former Shearman & Sterling partner Mathieu Remy, who specialises in both domestic and cross-border public and private M&A.

Early this year, the Paris team advised Hearst's purchase of Lagardère's international magazines, which was previously a division under French publishing group Lagardère. The team, headed by partners Gilles Lebreton and Yves Wehrli, worked alongside their colleagues in Spain, Italy, London, Moscow and Far East to close the $731 million deal.

Again the team was involved in another cross-border transaction when the lead partner Catherine Astor-Veyres advised Siemens, a German conglomerate, regarding its global strategic partnership with French Atos Origin. The nature of the partnership involved Siemens' €850 million contribution into Atos Origin through the German group's IT division Siemens IT Solutions and Services. "They're not very lawyerish, but take into consideration the economic interest of their clients," says one client. "They've always delivered on time under our instruction."

In addition, Astor-Veyres also came in for individual praise. "Catherine's a very experienced partner who's both strong in negotiation and in taking care of our internal limitations. She's not only good at bringing up our points across the table in negotiation, but also in giving us advice which meets our group's needs. She really tries to find a solution, so we're very happy with her," says one client.

Another media-related deal saw partner Pierre Gromnicki lead the team advising on Technicolor's Grass Valley disposal programme. The plan included three separate transactions related to the broadcast business, the transmission business, and the head-end business of Grass Valley.

In the Far East, the market saw the firm frequently involved in a number of decent transactions which took place in Thailand. One highlight again involved Wehrli to advise Carrefour's sale of its hypermarket business to Big C, an affiliate of France's Casino Group. The deal, valued at €868 million, requires the firm's international network to advise multiple bidders in the cross-border auction process.

The Thai food industry proved to be a lucrative area for the firm last year who advised Thai Union, a seafood producer and exporter, on the acquisition of MW Brands from Trilantic Capital Partners. The deal was again headed by Astor-Veyres and valued at €680 million.

Another lawyer, Arnaud Felix, has also grabbed clients' attention: "This is really a good thing that we've worked together with Arnaud, who worked with the French stock authority before joining Clifford. So on the technical side, she's a very experienced lawyer, who has the insight into how the EMF functions."

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre "has been doing some M&A deals" according to one observer, while another peer says the firm closed some "small transactions". In the energy sector, a team advised BKW - Forces Motrices de Berne on its undertaking to acquire four Allevard hydropower plants from Ascométal.

Another highlight saw the team acting for Media-Saturn Holding on its disposal of 34 Saturn stores to HTM/Boulanger in France. While in the elderly care sector, the firm also advised DomusVi and GDP Vendôme on the merger of the two groups of companies by way of contribution and sale to DVD Participations, which operates nursing homes.

Davis Polk & Wardwell has been involved in a number of notable mandates. One highlight involved a team of corporate lawyers, including Georges Terrier, Arnaud Pérès and Christophe Perchet alike, who advised energy company EDF on its €3 billion cash-and-share acquisition of the 50% share capital of EDF Energies Nouvelles, a French market leader in renewable energy sector. The mandate was closed on June 21 2011.

A €320 million transaction saw partners Terrier, Perchet and Theodore A Paradise teamed up to advise Valeo Group on its agreement with RHJ International and Nissan Motors to acquire Niles, a Japanese automotive supplier.

In the natural resources sector, Terrier and Pérès advised Eramet, a French-listed metals and mining company, in connection with an acquisition of a 10% stake in Comilog, Eramet's subsidiary specialising in manganese by the Gabonese Republic.

"De Pardieu Brocas Maffei does corporate, this is for sure, but I see them more on the real estate side and they've got a big real estate practice," comments on one competitor. "So they're advising M&A transactions but more on the real estate side."

The biggest M&A mandate at the firm last year saw a team of partners advising Carrefour Property in connection with the legal and tax structuring of the transfer of the group's operating real estate assets located in France, Spain and Italy, and the distribution of 25% of Carrefour Property's shares to its shareholders. The mandate was valued at €10.4 billion.

Another highlight worth €458 million saw the team acting for eight cereal cooperatives in relation to strengthen their links with the Tereos group in particular through contribution to a joint venture Tereos Agro-Industrie of their equity interest in Syral and BENP alike.

The talking point of Debevoise & Plimpton's M&A practice last year was the departure of its equity star Marc Castagnede who joined Allen & Overy's Paris arm. One observer comments on the move: "The team is quite reduced actually, I think one of the partners actually left to Allen & Overy."

In September 2010, a Paris team advised Wendel on the block trading, together with KKR, of 9% of Legrand's capital, representing 23.7 million shares worth €567 million.

Castagnède also led the team advising Apax Partner as co-investor with Bridgepoint on the acquisition of Histoire d'Or and of Marc Orian.

"Freshfields has a very important M&A practice in the French market, and I'm not surprised that they're ranked in tier two," says one rival. The corporate team has strengthened its capacity over the past 12 months, and its tier two status in the market is strong and solid.

One of the biggest deals in the firm last year was to advise Danone on the merger of its fresh dairy products businesses with those of the Russian listed company Unimilk in the Central European Initiative (CEI) zone. Leading the Freshfields team was partner Antoine Vignial, and the deal was closed at €2.3 billion. It is believed that the transaction will enable both parties to form a strategic partnership of their dairy businesses in the region.

Another notable deal saw the Paris corporate head Fabrice Cohen advising WestLB on its disposal of a €118 million Banque d'Orsay to Oddo & Cie. The sale of banks in France is rare and involves regulatory challenges. The transaction also includes a €2.5 billion arbitrage portfolio carve-out prior to the deal closing.

Elsewhere partner Vignial was involved in two other major transactions. One example saw him advise GDF Suez's financial advisor Blackstone in relation to the giant Franco-Belgian utility's takeover bid of British rival International Power. The transaction was valued at €6 billion.

Another highlight saw him act for the French food group Danone on a €470 million sell back of its 18.4% stake in the share capital of Wimm Bill Dann, a Russian juice and dairy company. The transaction followed Danone's strategic plan of merging with Unimilk in a bid to expand its fast-growing Russian dairy market business.

Practitioners David Chijner and Noam Ankri teamed up to advise on a number of corporate M&A deals last year. One example saw the duo act for Richmond Park Capital on the restructuring and acquisition of the pan-European group Olympia Capital, lender in the alternative management of funds of funds, with $2 billion of assets under management.

Elsewhere the duo advised Atmel Corporation on their acquisition of the silicon wafer testing activity of MHS Electronics.

Rivals admit that "Gide Loyrette has been very active" in the market; and the French firm "has very good lawyers". However some had doubts about the firm's performance compared to its closest peers. "They're not involved in the same kind of deals [as other tier-one firms]. Bredin Prat, Cleary, Darrois and Linklaters are very much involved in the jumbo deals, especially in the listed companies," says one, another one agrees: "I'm speaking of market reputation and the number of deals which we see them. We don't see them very often in the M&A transactions."

Two notable departures at the firm in the first quarter of 2011 saw corporate and regulatory partner Hugues Mathez join White and Case, whereas M&A partner Raphael Chantelot moved across to Lefevre Pelletier & Associes. Despite these setbacks the firm can still point to a strong deal list in both M&A and private equity.

Among the firm's biggest cross-border deals this year so far was its advice to Steinhoff International Holdings on its acquisition of Conforama, one of the Europe's largest home furnishing retailers. The Paris team, headed by partners Antoine Bonnasse, Antoine Lelong, and Matthieu Roy closed the €1.6 billion deal in March 2011.

Joint venture mandates have also been a good hunting ground for the firm and in another substantial transaction partner Guillaume Rougier-Brierre led the team advising PSA Peugeot Citroën on its equally-ownership automotive joint venture with Chang an automobile group from China. The purpose of the mandate, worth €935 million, is expected to produce and market light commercial vehicles in the Chinese market.

In Eastern Europe, Bonnasse has been teaming up with Roy to advise Lafarge in relation to its partnership with Strabag, in order to combine their cement activities in several Eastern European countries. Lafarge will hold a 70% holding in the new company while Strabag will hold 30%.

On the domestic front Bonnasse and Lelong were involved again advising Areva on the sale of its transmission and distribution division Areva T&D. The decision was part of a wider strategic plan to raise financing for the group's nuclear business.

Areva also called on Bonnasse and partner Jean-Marc Desaché to advise on the group's share capital increase. The mandate includes a €600 million reserve for the Kuwait Investment Authority, and a €300 million fund raising for the French state.

Partner Youssef Djehane has also been involved in an ongoing domestic mandate. He heads the team advising Groupe Canal+ on forming a partnership between the group and Orange, with the hope to create a joint venture merging the Orange cinema series and the TPS Star channels.

The largest M&A mandate that Herbert Smith advised on in the French markets last year saw a team representing the EDF Group on the French aspects of the sale of its regulated and non-regulated distribution assets in the UK to Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings valued at €5.8 billion.

A $2.3 billion transaction saw a French team led by partner Hubert Segain advising KKR on its purchase of the Capsugel business division from Pfizer. It is a high-profile mandate, which involves multi-jurisdictional operations.

In another notable transaction, Silver Lake Partners and Warburg Pincus called in the firm when a team advised them on the French law aspects of the acquisition of Interactive Data Corporation.

Hogan Lovells' private-equity reputation is on the up according to rivals: "Hogan Lovells merged recently, Lovells is more into private equity," says one partner. "If you look at the last 12 months, they should remain where they are. Surely in the coming 12 months, they'll be upgraded that's no doubt."

In private equity, Alexis Terray represented Edmond de Rothschild Capital Partners in relation to the secondary LBO of the Beaba group which was worth €92 million.

The team has also advised on a number of cross-border M&A transactions. Bénédicte Denis, Tom Whelan and Xenia Legendre advised a private-equity firm on the potential acquisition of a leading French brokerage group specialised in the distribution of loan insurance products across France, Spain and Italy. The mandate was approximately worth €700 million.

Linklater's corporate team keeps its tier-one status since last year's upgrade in the M&A table despite the big loss of the firm's M&A star Thierry Vassogne who sadly passed away early this year. "You have Linklaters in tier one, and they're right there. We saw them on the other side of the deal," says one rival, and another one agrees: "Linklaters has a very good [M&A] practice in Paris."

The team was involved in a substantial reverse takeover transaction by GDF Suez in the French energy market in early February 2011. A Paris team, led by partner Marc Loy, advised on GDF Suez's pre-takeover transaction work, including structuring issues and addressing the suspension risk of acquired company International Power's shares and issues. In addition, the firm's London and Brussels offices also cooperated in the €20 billion transaction.

Another notable deal saw a team head by partner Thierry Riguet advising Caisse de Dépôts on share capital increase of French postal service La Poste, as well as the postal service's privatisation programme. The €2.7 billion transaction will take place in three instalments made in 2011, 2012, and 2013.

Again Linklaters was also involved in the substantial Sperian Protection mandate. Partner Pierre Tourres led the Paris team advising the target company Sperian Protection on its public takeover by Honeywell International, a US conglomerate. The transaction was closed in September 2010.

In line with the market, the firm also saw a substantial amount of work coming from emerging markets. In one example lead partner Bruno Derieux advised on power company Globeleq Generation's acquisition of a majority interest in the Azito gas-fired power plant near Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire, as well as the full ownership of the plant's operator from EDF International and ABB Equity Ventures.

On the private equity side, Linklaters is no doubt among the top-tier firms "when looking at who have the biggest number of deals, clients, and reputation" says one peer.

One notable mandate saw partner Vincent Ponsonnaille led the team advising private-equity firms Permira and Axa in relation to the merger of eDreams, Go Voyages, and Opodo. Permira acquired eDreams and Go Voyages in 2010 whereas Opodo was acquired by Axa in early 2011. It is believed that the merger will create a pan-European online travel agency with geographic reach throughout Europe.

Axa Private Equity again called on the firm on another occasion when partner David Swinburne advised Axa on the sale of its portfolio company Gerflor, a specialist of flooring finishes, to Intermediate Capital Group. Gerflor and the other shareholders sold its 100% share capital to the group worth €500 million through a mezzanine financing structure.

Another highlight saw Ponsonnaille work alongside Fabrice de La Morandière advising the private-equity firm Carlyle on the acquisition of the Giannoni Group, who will invest a 65% stake in the business while another 35% will be retained by the group's co-founder Joseph Le Mer.

Mayer Brown's M&A and private equity position in the French market has been recognised by its peers. "I think Mayer Brown is fine, although they're more active in the private equity sector," says one.

A substantial M&A mandate in 2010 saw Xavier Jaspar and Thomas Philippe advising LBO France in relation to the sale of its 100% ownership of the Converteam group to GE valued at €2.5 billion.

Elsewhere corporate partner Guillaume Kuperfils led the team advising private-equity firm Activa Capital on the corporate financing aspects of the acquisition of Groupe Abrisud's share capital.

Mayer Brown's high-ranking position in the French private-equity market has been confirmed by its rivals.

The firm was involved in a number of notable deals in 2010. One example saw Benjamin Homo lead the team advising Carlyle on the €475 million acquisition of the Giannoni group.

Another notable mandate valued at €230 million saw partner Olivier Aubouin lead the team advising the FSI on share capital investment in Grimmaud group.

Elsewhere in a €190 million transaction, corporate partners Xavier Jaspar and Thomas Philippe advising LBO France on the corporate and financing aspects of the acquisition of the Materne - Mont Blanc group (MOM), a French desserts maker.

In the first quarter of 2011, a Paris team led by Guillaume Kuperfils advised Activa Capital on the corporate and financing aspects of the €75 million acquisition of Abrisud from AriA Capital Partenaires.

Norton Rose has been kept busy at the end of 2010 as the firm closed a number of mandates during that period. "Norton Rose is doing M&A deals, but for Norton Rose their core business is definitely finance deals," comments on one competitor, while another adds: "We've seen Norton Rose on the other side of the transactions."

One notable mandate saw Alain Malek and Laurence Toxé advise Label Vie on the acquisition of Metro Cash & Carry Morocco worth €120 million. Another highlight saw Malek lead the team again advising Fipar-Holding on the acquisition of 40% capital of Médi Télécom on the memorandum of understanding signed with FinanceCom and France Télécom. The mandate was priced at €640 million.

In the health care sector, Roberto Cristofolini and Marie-Aude Noury teamed up when the duo advised ORPEA, a French Euronext listed company, in relation to the acquisition of 100% French group Mediter and a 49% stake in Belgian group Medibel.

Lead partners Erwan Barre and Samia Sellam from Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker advised Acument Global Technologies in connection with the sale of its French facilities to Lisi Automotive and Agrati France in the context of the group's reorganisation. "Paul Hastings is quite active [in M&A mandates]," according to one observer.

Another highlight saw Aline Poncelet acting for Harris Associates as minority shareholder of Sperian Protection in connection with the acquisition of Sperian by Honeywell, for an amount of €1.1 billion.

Head of the M&A practice at Proskauer Rose Delia Spitzer led the team advising GMT on a bid process in the context of the sale of a company in the internet services business, though GMT's offer was ultimately not retained and the mandate was closed in July 2010. One competitor comments on the firm by saying: "Proskauer Rose's more in funds restructuring rather than M&A".

Shearman & Sterling has been taken in some big transactions, "not a lot, but big ones" according to one of the firm's peers. The key practitioners involved in the firm's corporate mandates are Cyrille Niedzielski and Guillaume Isautier, who led the team advising the major shareholders of the Louis Dreyfus group in relation to its reorganisation worth $10 billion.

Another ongoing transaction saw the duo lead the team advising the government of Algeria on its contemplated acquisition of Djezzy, Orascom Telecom Algerie's Algerian mobile phone unit.

Peers were impressed by SJ Berwin's performance in the private-equity market over the last 12 months, as one says: "They close very important deals", while another one agrees the firm should remain in its high-ranking position in private equity alongside Linklaters due to "the number of deals, clients and its reputation."

The firm's traditional strength in private equity funds has been expanded in recent years as the Paris office has made great strides on the transactional front.

Since July 2010, the firm has been involved in a number of outstanding mandates. One example saw a Paris team advise Lion Capital on the €1.6 billion acquisition of Picard Surgelés group, a French frozen food business, from BC Partners.

Another notable transaction saw a corporate team, including Thomas Maitrejean, Guillaume Rémy and Fanny de la Porte des Vaux, advise ING Parcom Private Equity on the €245 million sale of French restaurant chain Courtepaille to Fondations Capital.

One of the key partners involved in many of the mandates is Maxence Bloch. One highlight saw him work alongside the team advise Rocco Giannoni and Joseph Le Mer's families on the sale of their shareholding in a French heat exchanger manufacturer Giannoni France group, as well as Le Mer's investment in the group.

Another example saw Bloch cooperate with Isabelle Meyrier advising bidder OFI Private Equity on a further 21.61% share capital acquisition of a French hair salon chain Dessange International from the founder Jacques Dessange.

In relation to advising sellers, Maitrejean teamed up with Benjamin Garçon acting for Azulis Capital and Natio Vie Développement IV on the sale of their shareholdings in Sofibo to Montefiore Investment.

When comes to M&A, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom is similar as Sullivan & Cromwell due to its work flow mainly coming from the US, according to the firm's competitors, "Skadden, well, they get most of the deals from New York as well," says one, while another one adds: "Quite a similar practice to Sullivan & Cromwell. They've got a rather small team."

One substantial mandate which closed in August 2010 was to advise Renault on its approximately $4.2 billion sale of a stake in Volvo to institutional investors. The transaction was completed through an accelerated book building offering, and it was believed to be the largest sole bookrunner private placement ever done in Europe and the largest Scandinavian equity deal in the past ten years.

Another highlight completed in March 2011 saw Armand Grumberg advise a luxury goods conglomerate PPR on its $1.6 billion sale of Conforama, a French operator of furniture stores, to Steinhoff International Holdings. The mandate also involved South African securitie laws aspects.

Sullivan & Cromwell's M&A reputation in Paris seems to be overshadowed by its New York team, as one rival says: "I'm not quite sure about Sullivan. They're a highly reputed firm especially in New York, most of the deals originate from New York. In France, they don't have the same reputation." Another one agrees: "Sullivan's very active in some transactions coming from the US, but they don't have a very broad M&A practice in France."

However, having strong links to the US is of great benefit for the firm and its clients and the ability to draw on a strong international team is clearly a boon.

The team's key figure is Dominique Bompoint who continues to draw attention from his rivals. "Dominique is a former Clifford Chance guy and he's excellent. He's an excellent technician, and very very good," says one peer, and another one agrees: "In M&A, he's a better and well-known lawyer."

One highlight saw the Paris team, headed by partners Bompoint and Olivier de Vilmorin, advice on EDF's tender offer to buy all the shares comprising EDF Energies Nouvelles. Before the tender launch, EDF held a 50% share of the renewable energy producer and it is considered the total offer would be approximately €1.4 billion.

In the healthcare industry, Bompoint was again called in to advise on Wendel's sale of its 45.87% equity interest in Stallergenes for €358.8 million to Ares Life Sciences, an investment firm established by the Bertarelli family investing in the healthcare area.

Another standout M&A deal last year for the team saw both Gauthier Blanluet and Richard Vilanova involved as the firm advised Rio Tinto on a $3.2 million sale of its Alcan Global Packaging business. The divestment included three separate transactions and was completed from February to July in 2010. One peer commented on Blanluet: "He's a fine lawyer."

Again Vilmorin was involved in another notable mandate when his team advised Daimler's cross shareholding transaction with Renault and Nissan.

White & Case has been kept busy over the last year advising on quite a few M&A transactions and the firm's key clients include MMA, Alma Consulting Group, ABB and Hilton alike. One highlight saw a Paris team advise Unibail Rodamco in connection with the acquisition of Lehwood Montparnasse, owner of Le Méridien Montparnasse hotel, from Starman Group. The transaction was closed in September 2010.

Another notable mandate saw the team advise France Télécom on its acquisition of a 40% share of Médi Télécom's capital and voting rights from the groups "Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion" (CDG) and FinanceCom.

On the private equity side, Raphaël Richard acted for Novacap advising Société Générale, BNP Paribas and HSBC France as arrangers of the senior debt for an amount of approximately €208 million in relation to the financing of the acquisition of the chemistry group Novacap by Axa Private Equity from Bain Capital. The mandate was closed in March 2011.

At the beginning of 2011, two notable departures at the firm saw partner Stephane Sabatier join Norton Rose's corporate and finance team, whereas partner Laurent Faugérolas moved to Weil Gotshal's Paris office.

Despite these big blows, the firm's corporate department in Paris still managed to complete a number of decent mandates. One rival describes the quality of the deals as "very good".

One highlight, saw partners Eduardo Fernandez and Cédric Hajage work together advising Arkema on the acquisition of Total's resins businesses. The nature of the €550 million transaction involved a series of antitrust and environmental issues, as well as a spin-off.

Another notable deal saw partners Daniel Hurstel and Julien Mougel advise CMA CGM, a French shipping business organisation, on its $500 million investment received from a Turkish family-owned company Yildirim, in return for a 20% stake. The deal was completed in a politically sensitive environment in December 2010.

The team has also been busy in the joint venture space. Partners Annette Péron and Hajage were involved when they advised France Telecom in its 50/50 procurement joint venture transaction with Deutsche Telekom, assisted by Clifford Chance on the other side. It is expected that both parties will make substantial savings through the joint partnership.

Another highlight saw Fernandez lead the team advising on Teva's €265 million acquisition of Théramex from Merck.

On the private equity side, a key client of the firm is PAI Partner, who has been advised by a Paris team on a number of occasions. One example saw the partners Hajage and Daniel Payan head the team advising the private-equity firm on the sale of its interests in Yoplait to General Mills, worth €1.6 billion.

Another example saw Payan team up Fernandez advising on PAI's acquisition of Cerba Labs' majority stake, valued at €540 million. Christophe Garaud also advised the private-equity house in relation to its €535 million acquisition of Kiloutou through a secondary LBO.

March 2011 also saw the firm advise Bain Capital when partners Hajage and Payan acted on the sale of its interests in Novacap to Axa Private Equity. The transaction was worth €240 million.