A&O Shearman

Suzanne Horne is joining us as a partner in our Employment practice. She brings more than 26 years of experience advising on all aspects of employment law, including complex High Court litigation and transactional support. Suzanne is ranked by Chambers and Legal 500 and was named "Employment Lawyer of the Year" at the 2024 International Employment Lawyer Awards. Her appointment further strengthens our global employment and benefits team and reflects our continued commitment to supporting clients on the most complex matters. #AOShearman #EmploymentLitigation

We’ve represented the underwriters in connection with the offering of USD1.7 billion of senior notes by Omnicom Group Inc. and the offering of EUR600 million of senior notes by Omnicom Finance Holdings plc, a finance subsidiary of Omnicom Group Inc. Omnicom is the world's leading marketing and sales company, built for intelligent growth in the next era. The advising team was led by partner Lona Nallengara, alongside associates Ilya Mamin, Hunter Steitle, Colin Cantwell, and law clerk Ayako Naruke. Additional key members of the team are listed in the comments. Read more on the transaction here: https://ow.ly/1Ox850Yt20w #AOShearman #CapitalMarkets #DebtOffering

Belgium based Puratos has signed a definitive agreement to acquire U.S. based Dawn Foods Global, bringing together two long standing, family owned companies with more than a century of experience in professional bakery. The combination pairs Dawn's application led creativity in sweet baked goods, and strong North American distribution network with Puratos' research and development led ingredient technology—across bakery, patisserie, and chocolate in 87 countries. We are proud to advise Puratos on this cross border U.S. and Europe transaction, which is expected to complete by the end of 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals. Our integrated transatlantic team enabled us to deliver seamless expertise on complex issues globally. The M&A team was led out of New York and Brussels by partners, Dirk Meeus, Lara Aryani, and senior associate, Esther Remy, and associate, Mara Goodman. Antitrust was led out of Washington, DC and Brussels by partners, Dirk Arts, Noah Brumfield, and counsel, Eliana Paredis. Our financing was led by partners, Yves Van Pul and Michael Steinberg and is the largest Belgian financing year to date. #AOShearman #MergersAndAcquisitions

2025 reshaped antitrust enforcement, with record fines and a focus on consumer-facing sectors. Our report highlights emerging trends and regional differences that will shape company practices in 2026 and beyond. Key insights include: • Global antitrust fines in the jurisdictions surveyed rose to USD7.7 billion, the highest since 2021 • Global cartel fines reached USD3.3bn, with the EU accounting for USD2.6bn of the total and price-fixing and bid-rigging topping the enforcement chart • Agri-food, energy, transport, life sciences, construction, and digital markets are under the spotlight as politics and cost-of-living pressures feed into enforcement priorities • Authorities show an increasing appetite to use “soft” enforcement tools such as commitments, settlement and guidance Dive into our latest insights, based on data from over 30 jurisdictions: https://ow.ly/vjLc50Ysffv #AOShearman

Congratulations to our partners Seth Jones, Matt Hamilton-Foyn, Kate McInerney, and Tim Stevens, who have been recognized among the UK and EMEA's top M&A lawyers by MergerLinks. These rankings reflect the strength and depth of our global M&A practice and our team's ability to deliver on the most complex, high-value transactions for our clients. The recognition comes during a period of renewed momentum in big-ticket M&A activity, with our lawyers advising on some of the most significant deals in the market. Congratulations to our partners on this well-deserved recognition. Read the full article: https://ow.ly/g3QF50YrlER #AOShearman

ENGIE has completed the acquisition of UK Power Networks, a leading electricity distribution company in the United Kingdom, in a transaction valued at GBP10.5 billion. The acquisition was financed by Bank of America and BNP Paribas. Julien Roux, managing partner, commented: "This transaction illustrates our teams' ability to support clients on complex, large-scale financings. We are delighted to have advised on such a strategic transaction for ENGIE and, on this occasion, to showcase our expertise across both debt and equity capital markets." The team was led by Julien Roux, with Tristan Jambu-Merlin and Quitterie d'Andoque advising on the financing aspects. Olivier Thébault, Jade BILLERE-MELLET, and Bénédicte Cheyrou-Lagrèze worked on the capital increase, together with Mathieu Vignon and Virginie Chatté on tax matters. Learn more: https://ow.ly/BpXb50Yr816 #Financing #CapitalIncrease #AOShearman

Last week, we joined The Economist's 2nd Annual Antitrust Summit for an insightful discussion on the state of antitrust and merger control in a time of geopolitical upheaval, rapid technological advancement, and a resurgence in deal making. The summit brought together agency heads from the CMA, the FTC, and the French, German, and Mexican competition authorities, as well as representatives from the European Commission and many other jurisdictions. In her keynote address, Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, emphasized the regulator's commitment to promoting both economic growth and household prosperity, and ensuring its approach was that of a "scalpel, not a sledgehammer." This was echoed by Doug Gurr, newly appointed chair of the CMA. Key takeaways from the sessions include: • Navigating economic nationalism: Partner Dominic Long participated in a panel examining the extent to which competition agencies are facing constraints on their independence due to political pressures and priorities beyond conventional antitrust. A prominent theme was the importance of transparency and predictability: while antitrust policy can operate in concert with industrial policy, ad hoc political interventions of a case-specific nature risk undermining the credibility and effectiveness of competition regulators. • Continuity amid change in the U.S.: Partner Jessica Delbaum joined a panel exploring evolving competition theory and enforcement in the U.S. under the new antitrust administrations at the FTC and DOJ. While headline cases may garner a different sort of attention, the overriding impression is that traditional antitrust enforcement approaches prevail, with a focus on pocketbook industries and an openness to remedies. As the antitrust landscape continues to evolve, staying ahead will require understanding the extent to which geopolitical and economic priorities inform enforcement globally. #AOShearman #AntitrustSummit #CompetitionLaw

Data centers have become critical assets driving AI, data sovereignty, and the energy transition. Building them, however, means working through a maze of permits, grid limitations, and fast-changing regulations that differ sharply across countries. Our teams in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, and France collaborated to analyze the regulatory landscape for PFI International—from permitting requirements and grid-connection challenges to environmental approvals and upcoming legislative changes. Read the full feature here: https://ow.ly/mrU950YpxVj To view this article, you may need to subscribe* #DataCenters #DigitalInfrastructure #AOShearman

Portability has become a defining feature of Europe’s leveraged debt market, yet its expansion brings new challenges. Sponsored high-yield deals have featured portability in over 70% of transactions since 2023, but loan markets are playing catch-up—with syndicated TLB loans showing a notable uptick in 2025. Our latest analysis explores portability approaches across loans, bonds, and private debt in the European and U.S. markets. Read more: https://ow.ly/lcGv50YoXOv #AOShearman #LeveragedFinance

Law360 is spotlighting our Investigations and White-Collar team as a 2025 White-Collar Group of the Year. The feature highlights our cross-border capabilities, from guiding UBS AG to a settlement in France to helping crypto exchanges KuCoin and BitMEX reach favorable U.S. resolutions, and serving as counsel for Binance's outside monitor. In the article, our practice leadership—John Nathanson and Denis Chemla, global co-heads of Investigations and White-Collar; Katherine Stoller, U.S. head of Investigations and White-Collar; and Eve Giles, head of UK Investigations and White-Collar—share their perspectives on navigating complex global investigations and the evolving digital assets landscape. Congratulations to our entire team for this well-deserved recognition. Read the full article here: https://ow.ly/guzY50Yn5Fc #WhiteCollar #Law360 #Investigations #AOShearman