London, 02 March 2006 - Shearman & Sterling LLP has boosted its global M&A team with the election of Laurence Levy as a partner in its London office.

Levy joins from Norton Rose, where he was head of one of the firm's three corporate practice groups in London. Educated at Cambridge University, he joined Norton Rose in 1986, qualified in 1988 and became a partner in 1996. From 1991 to 1994 he was based in Hong Kong.

Levy specializes in public and private company mergers and acquisitions and also has significant experience in equity offerings, joint ventures and corporate restructurings. High profile matters on which he has advised include: representing Drax Holdings on its £1.3 billion restructuring in 2003 and its IPO and refinancing in 2005; Corus on its Teesside plant's innovative long-term steel supply arrangements with a multinational consortium; and Eni SpA on its successful competing offer for LASMO and its takeover of British-Borneo Oil & Gas.

Peter Lyons, co-head of Shearman & Sterling's global M&A group, commented: "London continues to be an important center for cross-border M&A and finance transactions. Thus, the London M&A market remains important for any law firm with an international reach. Our outlook for 2006, both globally and in London, is very good and Laurence will help us to build on our solid international platform."

London managing partner Kenneth MacRitchie added: "Our English law M&A team has become well established and is gaining recognition in the London market, having attracted significant new clients and matters within both the investment banking and corporate sectors. Laurence is an experienced and dynamic partner who will help take us to our next stage of development."

In the London office, Levy joins Shearman & Sterling's English law M&A partners Jonathan Coppin and Peter King and US law partners Bonnie Greaves and George Karafotias, of counsel John Ellard, counsel Angus Rollo and 20 associates. 

The firm's global M&A team recently advised Viacom Inc. on the $50 billion division of its businesses into separate publicly traded companies, CBS Corporation and "new" Viacom Inc., in the largest transaction of its type ever completed; Koch Industries' $21 billion acquisition of Georgia-Pacific; Hunan Valin's $338 million sale of 37% interest to Mittal Steel; France Telecom's $7.6 billion acquisition of 80% interest in Amena; mm02's $7.74 billion capital reorganization in the UK; and SunGard Data Systems' record-breaking $11.4 billion acquisition by a consortium of leading private equity firms.