Our team recognises the need for clients to not only grow existing market shares, but to also expand in emerging markets. We support our clients by advising them on the best and most efficient ways of doing this.

We understand that sometimes a traditional M&A transaction is not a feasible or suitable way of meeting a commercial goal. Our corporate team has market-leading experience in acting for international corporates, assisting them with optimising their strategy and expansion by using structures which are alternative to M&A transactions.  We have helped our clients to strengthen their position in the market in which they operate and to find routes to new markets via distribution agreements, investing in minority interests to seek strategic advantage, cross-border licensing agreements, equity co-investments, franchising arrangements and joint venture arrangements. We consider any issues and challenges at the outset to ensure that opportunities are maximised whilst mitigating risks.

Our corporate practice is supported by global teams of market-leading tax, real estate, employment and incentives, pensions, anti-trust/competition, regulatory and litigation experts as well as teams offering the full range of finance support including all aspects of banking, capital markets and restructuring transactions.

Recent experience includes advising:

• Reliance Industries Limited in connection with the joint venture and IP arrangements between its wholly owned subsidiary Reliance Brands Limited and Iconix Brands Group, Inc.
• AXA on its 15-year exclusive agreement for the distribution of non-life insurance products through DenizBank A.Ş.
• Standard Chartered Private Equity Limited on its purchase of a 13.5% stake in PT Trikomsel Oke Tbk., an Indonesian mobile phone retailer listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange
• BP on the complex restructuring of the down-stream business with a volume of EUR60bn by way of founding an SE which was followed by several cross-border mergers into the SE on the basis of the Cross-border Merger Directive
• Erste Abwicklungsanstalt (EAA) on the structuring of the WestLB wind-up, in which roughly €100bn in assets are being transferred to EAA – a hitherto unprecedented transaction in Germany’s economic history