Michael's practice extends across a broad range of company and commercial work which includes mergers, acquisitions and disposals, joint ventures, demergers and corporate reconstructions, privatisations, equity and debt offerings and Stock Exchange and Takeover Panel issues. His clients have included British and foreign companies and corporations, large and small, public and private, quoted and unquoted, engaged in a variety of businesses and market sectors.
Credentials
- Bradford & Bingley throughout its recent fundraising: including its original rights issue, restructured rights issue with investment by TPG, Resolution's alternative fundraising proposal and TPG's withdrawal and enlarged rights issue; and then on its nationalisation and the related transfer of its savings business and branches to Abbey National
- a syndicate of investment banks providing equity to the bidding consortium formed by KKR and Stefano Pessina in connection with the recommended takeover of Alliance Boots PLC
- QinetiQ on its £1.3 billion listing on the London Stock Exchange
- Bank of Scotland on its £28 billion merger with Halifax and prior to this on its two £27.6 billion hostile takeover bids for National Westminster Bank , and its merger discussions with Abbey National
- KPMG UK on the €657 million sale by KPMG UK and Netherlands of their consulting business to Atos Origin of France
- De Beers in relation to the US$19 billion takeover by a consortium comprising CHL, Anglo American and Debswana
- The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (an executive agency of the Ministry of Defence) on its partial privatisation by HM Government
- Lonmin in relation to the disposal of its interest in Ashanti Goldfields Company, and related issues
Other significant UK client relationships for which Michael is responsible include HBOS, HSBC, Scottish Media Group, Bradford & Bingley, H.R Owen and James Fisher. International corporate relationships include Martin Marietta, Gazprom, Anglo-American, Gannett, and McAfee.