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Ed Greene of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton calls for greater cooperation between Europe and the US to solve some of the problems afflicting world markets

Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance are reaping the rewards of one of the largest management buy-outs in Europe this year after senior executives at Irish real-estate company Green Property were successful in taking the company private last month. Green Property managing director Stephen Vernon made the bid through the Rodinheights consortium backed by Merrill Lynch International and Bank of Scotland. Rodinheights' €1 billion ($989 million) bid was announced on July 3 beating those of rival consortia like Deutsche Bank Real Estate Private Equity and Goldman Sachs & Co's Whitehall fund. Rodinheights is offering €9.80 for each of Green Property's shares and shareholders are expected to accept the offer this month.

In a month that saw the UK's FTSE 100 index fall to its lowest levels since 1997, Great Universal Stores' public sale of a 22.5% stake in clothing company Burberry was a welcome distraction for capital markets teams at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters.

Six military transport ships are to be built by a private company and manned by civilian sailors in the latest twist in the UK government's use of private finance initiative deals.

As EU member states discussed the Prospectus Directive for the first time recently, deep divisions remained. Ecofin, the EU council of finance ministers, had preliminary discussions and set out a general strategy for reaching an agreement, but conceded that the permanent representations would have to compromise before an agreement could be thrashed out.

The US SEC has proposed rules to improve accountability of auditors of public companies through a Public Accountability Board. The Board would be outside the control of accounting professionals and is expected to supplement the watchdog's oversight and enforcement aims by employing 50 full-time staff. The Commission stated that the measures would "expand the opportunities to detect and remedy ethical lapses or deficiencies in competence".

Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance and Linklaters have become the first foreign firms to win approval to open second offices in China. Although all three firms had already acquired second offices through European mergers, none of them had licences in their own names. In line with China's World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments, the Ministry of Justice had promised to relax its geographic restrictions on law firm offices. Before signing up to the WTO, China issued licences to foreign firms on a quota basis, good for five years in most cases. Even with a licence, firms could open only one office, forcing most into a decision between Shanghai and Beijing. Others, including Deacons and Stephenson Harwood & Lo, opened in Guangzhou, just across the border from Hong Kong, in Guangdong province.

Germany's national railway operator, Deutsche Bahn, concluded a whirlwind month of negotiations at the beginning of July to acquire 65% of Stinnes, the logistics and freight company, from E.ON, the energy group, for €2.5 billion ($2.5 billion). The transaction is one of the largest acquisitions to close since the German Takeover Act was introduced in January this year and its legal structure points a way forward for future acquisitions under the new laws.

By Ben Maiden, New York

By Stephen Hoare