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The French construction materials group Lafarge has paid $4.5 billion for UK company Blue Circle, to form the world's largest cement producer.

"We looked at a lot of different people—bigger, smaller—but this is like Goldilocks: the porridge is just right."

Tweny-six lawyers have quit Brazilian firm Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice to set up a new mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring and banking boutique. The former Machado Meyer lawyers have set up Souza, Crescon Avedissian, Barrieu e Flesch in São Paulo, and are certain they can fill a niche in Brazil's legal market. Alongside the five former Machado Meyer partners — Cristiane Naomi Kaneko Flesch, Luis Antonio Semeghini de Souza, Marcos Rafael Flesch, Maria Cristina Cescon Avedissian and Roberto Barrieu — the new firm will comprise 21 former Machado Meyer associates, seven trainees and three staff.

Alessandro Varrenti White & Case has become the latest international firm to open up offices in Italy. The US firm has set up shop in Rome and Milan through a merger with Italian firm Varrenti e Associati. The combined firm will advise under the hefty title, Studio Legale White & Case Varrenti e Associati. It will have 20 lawyers and three equity partners. Alessandro Varrenti, name partner of the original Italian entity, becomes a White & Case partner, and is joined by two other partners from White & Case's international network. Ken Lee arrives from the firm's Mexico office, while Anthony Giustini is moving over from Paris.

The Amsterdam office of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has tempted over a finance partner from The Netherlands' leading independent firm, Nauta Dutilh.

Simmons & Simmons has become the latest UK firm to add a German office to its European network. The City firm has decided that Kaiser, a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) boutique with seven lawyers, will give it the foothold it needs in the German market.

Allan Leung has replaced Roddy McKean as managing partner of Lovells' Hong Kong office. McKean has returned to the London office, where a group of key partners are plotting to cool Lovells' global expansion.

Alex Bafi Herbert Smith has swooped for Davis Polk & Wardwell corporate finance lawyer Alex Bafi. Bafi will join partners Jim Wickenden and Allen Hanen (who also worked for Davis Polk) in the Spring, as part of the London firm's growing US finance practice in Europe.

Paul Geradine, the FSA's director of listing The UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) has endured a stern test of its disclosure policies for biotechnology companies, after controversial UK group Huntingdon Life Sciences avoided closure by securing a last-minute investment package. In a press release on January 17 the FSA announced a new system designed to encourage more biotech companies to list in the UK.

Australia’s financial services reforms will give it one of the most unified and advanced financial services regimes in the world. Karen Den-Toll, director of financial services at Clayton Utz in Sydney, examines how the changes will affect issuers of financial products, and advisers across both the retail and wholesale customer markets