Clifford Chance
As you embark on an M&A transaction, you need commercial, pragmatic and solutions-orientated legal advisors by your side. Our global M&A team has everything covered.
Strategic business opportunities are important milestones for any organisation. Your deal may be a major acquisition, merger, divestment, joint venture or other transformational deal. Equally it may be a smaller but strategically important minority investment or partnership. At Clifford Chance we have the multi-disciplinary expertise and market knowhow to tackle every aspect of your M&A deal – large or small – from beginning to end.
We will provide strategic, legal, regulatory, sector and market practice advice, wherever you need it in the world. Increasingly M&A deals are across borders, with different regulatory and legal regimes causing additional complexity. Our global team will help you navigate this complexity and provide you with a first-class, tailored M&A deal experience.
Our multi-disciplinary experts will work together seamlessly and deploy market-leading technology solutions, always ensuring you get what you need and are expecting. We are holistic, pragmatic and grounded in our approach and have a good sense of what is possible and what is not. We value our relationships with clients above all else, and will work hand in hand with your in-house legal team to support and partner you throughout.
How Clifford Chance will help you
At all stages of the M&A cycle
Evaluating your M&A deal
We will help you to assess the feasibility of your proposed transaction, recognising the commercial backdrop, the political environment and wider risk and reputational considerations. We regularly draw on our global network to ensure we are fully plugged in to the dynamics of the M&A landscape globally, and are up to speed with foreign investment trends and the latest market, industry and regulatory developments.
Structuring and diligence
As you move ahead with your deal, our cross-practice team will assist you with structuring advice, tax considerations and ownership structures. We will help you assess your fundraising and financing options, and give guidance on securities laws and disclosure issues. Our integrated cross-practice team will work hand-in-hand to structure your deal for maximum benefit and impact.
We will conduct legal due diligence on your business partners or target businesses, focusing on identifying red flags and reporting on areas most relevant to you.
Negotiating the deal and legal advice globally
Our core M&A expertise is in drafting and negotiating your deal documentation, including the latest market deal norms. On public M&A we will provide comprehensive advice on local takeover rules and bid strategy, including liaison with regulators and drafting public M&A documentation; On private M&A and joint ventures we will document the deal and negotiate hard on your behalf. We regularly draw on our broad team of experts including our Tech, Employment and Pensions, IP, Environmental, and Tax teams.
Antitrust, FDI and industry regulation
Our cross-jurisdictional antitrust team will guide you through the increasingly complex antitrust and competition landscape, from initial desktop analysis to detailed filings required to get your deal through. Our global team also has its finger on the pulse of the evolving foreign investment landscape, which includes political risk trends as well as new regulatory thresholds.
We will advise or lead negotiations with industry and regulatory bodies, using our deep sector experience and knowledge of these regulators.
Integration, restructuring and onward support
As well as contracts to ensure smooth transitional arrangements, we will help you to integrate businesses post-M&A (key services, risk and compliance, personnel, technology).
We will implement any post-completion corporate re-organisation, as required by the nature and scope of the transaction.
