- Matheson has won M&A Legal Adviser of the Year for Ireland at the Mergermarket European M&A Awards 2017
- The Mergermarket European M&A awards acknowledge the achievements of the top dealmakers in Europe and recognise innovative legal advisory work for some of the region’s most complex and transformative deals during 2017
- Matheson's cross disciplinary M&A teams have advised bidders on more cross-border deals involving Ireland than any other Irish or international law firm in the last ten years.
Matheson has been named Ireland’s Legal Adviser of the Year in the prestigious Mergermarket European M&A Awards 2017 held in London last night. The awards acknowledge the achievements of the top dealmakers in Europe and recognise innovative legal advisory work for some of the region’s most complex and transformative deals during 2017. Mergermarket is a leading global business deal data intelligence provider. The shortlist for the Mergermarket M&A Awards is based on the league table data of top-ranked advisors from across Europe. Matheson was selected to win the accolade of 2017 Legal Adviser of the Year for Ireland by a panel of independent expert judges consisting of board members from leading banks and investment firms, as well as prominent academics and lawyers. The panel is charged with looking at how innovative structures are applied to complex M&A transactions.
Welcoming the news, Managing Partner Michael Jackson said:
“We are delighted that Matheson has been acknowledged for our work in the M&A sector with this prestigious and internationally recognised Mergermarket award. The judging panel highlighted the cross jurisdictional and complex nature of the transactions in which we were involved. This win reflects the high level of activity and the breadth and depth of experience within our corporate M&A team as well as our ability to draw on market leaders across all our practice areas to support M&A transactions in every industry sector.
“Matheson's cross disciplinary M&A teams have advised bidders on more cross-border deals involving Ireland than any other Irish or international law firm in the last ten years. We are proud that their excellence has been recognised through this award.”
Matheson’s M&A team led on the only two public company takeovers announced and completed in Ireland this year advising Gurnet Point on its public takeover of Innocoll Holdings plc, a Nasdaq listed global pharmaceutical and medical device company and Nasdaq listed, bio-pharmaceutical company Nexvet Biopharma plc on its public takeover by Zoetis, the leading animal health company. This trend of market leadership in the public M&A sphere followed Matheson’s award winning role in advising Worldview Capital in 2016 on its successful and widely publicised hostile takeover of Petroceltic International plc. Other deals Matheson advised on this year included acting for global insurer Aviva on its acquisition of the Irish life assurance, pensions and investment firm, Friends First and advising Scandi Standard on its acquisition of Irish family owned and Meath-based Manor Farm, Ireland’s largest chicken processor and market leader.
2017 saw Matheson continue to secure significant growth in M&A deal value following a successful 2016 during which Matheson secured a 64% increase in M&A deal value. Remarking on this success and the extent to which M&A business is booming in Ireland, Robert O’Shea, Head of Corporate and Commercial at Matheson said:
“The last two years have been very busy for us representing Irish and international companies. In 2018, we expect to continue to see a lot of growth in mergers and acquisitions and I look forward to seeing the firm have further success in that area. With offices in Dublin, London, New York, Palo Alto, and San Francisco, Matheson has a unique domestic and international vantage point on the strong level of interest in Irish mergers and acquisitions at present.”
Matheson are the corporate counsel of choice for internationally focused companies and financial institutions doing business in and from Ireland. This is evidenced by the fact that we consistently act on the most high profile and high value transactions in the market including leading on the only two public company takeovers announced and completed in Ireland this year. Our dedicated Corporate Department comprises some of the most experienced corporate lawyers in Ireland, consistently delivering strategic, commercial and sophisticated advice on a significant number of complex international cross-border and domestic corporate transactions in a wide variety of industry sectors.
Many of our recent international M&A deals have complex corporate and tax elements. Matheson’s dedicated international Tax Department, which advises on cross-border transactions in conjunction with legal and tax counsel from other jurisdictions, was both awarded International Firm in the Americas 2017 and European Financial Services Tax Deal of the Year, by International Tax Review. Our track record of success and innovative approach to achieving solutions for our clients resulted in Matheson being ranked Ireland’s Most Innovative Law Firm 2017 in this year’s Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards. In addition, the firm has been ranked in the FT’s Top 20 Most Innovative Law Firms in Europe.
Partners in Matheson’s Corporate Department are based in our Dublin, UK and US offices, allowing us to better serve our core client base of large international and domestic corporations and financial institutions - providing immediate access to Irish legal advice and support on the most complex legal matters. With five partner-led offices now in Dublin, London, New York, Palo Alto and San Francisco, Matheson is in an unrivalled position to advise both international and domestic clients.
