Search results for

The European Company Statute (ECS) continues its tortuous progress towards implementation. On December 20 2000, political agreement was reached by the EU's Council of Ministers to establish the Statute, and on the related Directive concerning worker involvement in European companies. However, the question remains as to whether the compromise reached, which is still to be endorsed by the European Parliament, will in practice be palatable to countries such as the UK with less of a tradition of worker involvement, than other countries.

In December 2000, Kazakhstan took another major step to reform its financial sector by adopting a modern insurance law. In a region where the concept of insurance and the need for it are still widely misunderstood, Kazakhstan's Law on Insurance Activity aims to create the type of domestic insurance industry that is necessary for any market economy to function smoothly.

Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and US rival Brown & Wood have acted on the euro 17.5 billion ($15.7 billion) multi-currency bond offering by France Telecom, the largest corporate bond offering to date. Clearys, led by John Brinitzer, advised lead managers BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse First Boston, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Schroder Salomon Smith Barney. Brown & Wood advised France Telecom. Representing France Telecom out of Brown & Wood's New York office were partners Jack Kantrowitz and Nicholas Brown. Partner John Russell was advising from the firm's London office.

Clifford Chance, Shearman & Sterling and Denton Wilde Sapte have advised on two of the first deals to build own and run power stations in the Gulf State of Oman, marking a significant step forward in the privatization of the power industry in the Gulf state. At the beginning of March Clifford Chance announced the completion of the $130 million Al-Kamil gas fired power station project on which it acted for International Power, while Shearman & Sterling expects later this month to close a similar deal for AES Barka, a joint venture of US company AES Corporation and Oman company Multitech. In both cases British firm Denton Wilde Sapte acted for the government of Oman.

Legal advisers:

On February 21 2001, Uruguay enacted Law No. 17,296 which, among other things, puts an end to the state monopoly over telecommunications services and creates a regulatory entity over telecommunications operations. A summary of the main aspects of the Act follows below.

Linklaters and A&O act on benchmark Polish bond issue

Allen & Overy is advising Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) and Goldman Sachs International on the second largest initial public offering (IPO) in the UK this year. UK firm Herbert Smith is also working on the $1.25 billion London listing of UK recruitment consultant Michael Page International. Allen & Overy is advising CSFB, which is joint lead manager with Goldman Sachs International, as sponsor, global co-ordinator, sole book runner and underwriters on the UK company's IPO. Other banks involved in the offering are Deutsche Bank, Schroder Salomon Smith Barney, HSBC and West LB Panmure.

Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy hopes to attract lawyers suffering from the dot.com downturn to staff its new Palo Alto office.

Davis Polk & Wardwell and Allen & Gledhill have advised on Asia's first hybrid tier-one financing. The deal, for the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), was welcomed by investors despite launching into fragile markets. Davis Polk, advising Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs on the international tranche, and Allen & Gledhill, advising DBS on the domestic tranche, are the first firms to work on such a deal in Asia and worked closely with the Monetary Authority of Singapore to establish the regulatory structure.