Shearman & Sterling's strength and prominence in advising on capital markets transactions was reflected in 2009 1st half EMEA legal adviser league tables published by Bloomberg.

One of the most active areas in EMEA capital markets transactions during the first half of 2009 was rights offerings. During this period, Shearman & Sterling advised numerous clients across Europe. For example, the firm advised on six of the 12 equity capital raisings by major French corporates and represented the underwriters on HSBC Holdings plc's £12.5 billion SEC-registered rights offering-the largest-ever UK rights offering funded by private investors.

Other significant capital markets transactions handled by the firm in Europe, the Middle East and Africa during the first half of the year include: Danone's €3 billion public offering, Lafarge's €1.5 billion rights offering, Pernod Ricard's €1 billion public offering, RBS' £7 billion notes offering, Saint Gobain's €1.5 billion rights offering and Snam Rete Gas' €3.5 billion public offering.

Bloomberg's 2009 1st half EMEA legal adviser league tables rankings for Shearman & Sterling include:

• 2nd for advising managers of rights offerings by volume
• 3rd for advising issuers on equity-linked transactions by volume and deal count
• 3rd for advising Euromarket high yield issuers by volume (excluding emerging market countries)
• 4th for advising issuers on equity and equity-linked transactions by volume and deal count
• 4th for advising global bonds issuers by volume