Mergers & Acquisitions

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Click here to view Shearman & Sterling's Global M&A Offices Overview.

Practice Overview

Ranked among the world’s leading M&A advisors, Shearman & Sterling (established 1873) draws upon decades of experience in sophisticated global markets to deliver integrated strategic, tactical and technical advice to its clients.

The Global M&A Group

• Comprises almost 200 lawyers worldwide  
• Advised on 223 M&A transactions valued at US$404.9 billion worldwide in 2011 
• Has a strong base in key North American, European, Middle Eastern, Asian, and Latin American markets

The Global M&A Group’s unique characteristics include

• Integrated Global Approach:
  • Operates as a single unit, delivering multi-jurisdictional and multi-disciplinary representation on some of the most complex transactions
  • Seamless integration with M&A support practices such as Capital Markets, Bank Finance, Competition, Employment, Tax, Intellectual Property, Environmental, Foreign Investments and Dispute Resolution
• Depth of M&A Experience:
  • Has completed a wide variety of transactions in a large number of industries across the globe, advising sellers, buyers, minority investors, shareholders, joint venture partners and financial advisors
  • Often brought in for structuring and execution experience to work with local counsel in jurisdictions where the firm does not have offices
• Exceptional Client Service:
  • Able to leverage the global platform to mobilize teams quickly to address clients’ needs when and where required
  • Many clients have been clients of the firm for decades, valuing the firm’s experience and dedication to client service

Notable Global Representations

A selection of our notable, global M&A transactions includes representations of:

• Aabar Investments in its $2.7 billion acquisition of a 9.1% interest in Daimler AG
• Advanced Technology Investment Company in its $3.9 billion acquisition of Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing
• Anglo American in its $5.39 billion sale of 24.5% interest in Anglo American Sur to Mitsubishi and in its $1.08 billion sale of Moly-Cop and AltaSteel to OneSteel Limited
• Ardagh Glass in its $2.3 billion acquisition of Impress Coöperatieve U.A.
• Boston Scientific in its $1.5 billion sale of its Neurovascular Business to Stryker Corporation
• Cadbury in its $19.4 billion acquisition by Kraft
• China Investment Corporation in its acquisition of a 40% stake in CITIC Capital Holdings
• China Netcom in its $23.8 billion merger with China Unicom
• Citigroup in various matters related to its pending $2.2 billion sale of EMI's music publishing business to Sony
• Daimler in various transactions involving Chrysler
• Dow Chemical in its $15.7 billion acquisition of Rohm and Haas and divestitures of Morton Salt and Styron
• Ecopetrol, S.A. in its $1.9 billion joint acquisition with Talisman Energy of all the outstanding shares of BP Exploration (Colombia)
• Gambro in its $2.62 billion sale of CaridianBCT to Terumo Corporation
• The German Government regarding legal matters related to the restructuring of the General Motors Group and Adam Opel GmbH
  Grupo Sura in its $3.8 billion acquisition of ING’s Latin American pension, life insurance and wealth management operations
• JBS Brazil in its $2.8 billion acquisition of a majority stake and certain assets of Pilgrim’s Pride through a US bankruptcy proceeding
• Merrill Lynch in its $50.0 billion acquisition by Bank of America
• Mubadala in its $8.0 billion global business partnership with General Electric
• NASDAQ OMX in its $11.3 billion bid, along with IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), for NYSE Euronext
• Novartis in its €925 million acquisition of the specialty generic injectables business of EBEWE Pharma
• Psychiatric Solutions in its $3.1 billion sale to Universal Health Services
• Qatar Holding LLC in connection with its $2.8 billion cornerstone investment in Agricultural Bank of China
• Qatar Investment Authority in its €7 billion investment in Volkswagen AG and in Porsche Automobil Holding SE
• Shiseido in its $1.7 billion acquisition of Bare Escentuals
• Sony as part of a consortium, in the $4.5 billion acquisition of Nortel’s patents portfolio
• STMicroelectronics in its $3.1 billion JV with Intel and Francisco Partners and its $1.27 billion sale of Numonyx to Micron
• Suncor Energy in its $15.8 billion merger with Petro-Canada
• SunGard Data Systems Inc. in the $1.8 billion sale of its Higher Education businesses to affiliates of Hellman & Friedman
• Sybase in its $5.8 billion sale to SAP
• Synthes, Inc. in its pending $21.3 billion acquisition by Johnson & Johnson

Please refer to Representative Transactions for more examples of our experience.

Global Market Recognition

• Ranked among the top five law firms in the “Who Represents Corporate America” list for corporate transactions for 2010 — The National Law Journal
• Named “Most Innovative US Law Firm Operating in Europe” — IFLR European Awards 2009 and 2010
• Named “International Law Firm of the Year in China” — Chambers Asia Awards 2010
• Ranked 4th in Global Announced Deals by value for Q1-Q3 2011 — Factset
• Ranked 4th in Cross Border Announced Deals by value for Q1-Q3 2011 — Bloomberg
• Ranked 4th in Europe Announced Deals by value for Q1-Q3 2011 — Bloomberg
• Ranked 5th in US Announced Deals by value for Q1-Q3 2011 — Dealogic
• Ranked as a leading law firm for Corporate/M&A in the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America — Chambers Global 2011

Please refer to Rankings and Awards for more examples of our commendations.