The Red Knights – the group of City financiers which includes Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer London corporate head Mark Rawlinson – have put their billion-pound bid for Manchester United on hold.

In a statement, the group said that it was only interested in purchasing the Premiership club at a “sensible” price after news recently emerged that the club’s current owners had rejected a £1.5bn offer from a Middle Eastern investor last year.

The Red Knights, which also includes Goldman Sachs chief economist and former Man Utd non-executive director Jim O’Neill, launched its bid for Man Utd in March, aiming to raise over £1bn from wealthy supporters of the football club in the business community.

However, Man Utd’s owners, the US-based Glazer family, have repeatedly said that the club is not for sale, reiterating in a new statement last week (28 May) that they would not entertain any offers. The Glazers’ business is private and they are not obliged to accept any offer they receive.

The Red Knights said that media speculation has driven the club’s price tag up.

The statement said: “As we have maintained…we will only attempt to purchase the club at a sensible price, consistent with the long-term interests of the club. Persistent speculation in the media of inflated valuation aspirations has made our goals less attainable, as potential investors have strongly reinforced our views that we should not move forward at a price uneconomic for the future of the club.”

The Red Knights met at Freshfields’ City headquarters in March for its initial strategy gathering. Other members of the group include: Keith Harris, the chairman of investment bank Seymour Pierce and former chief executive of HSBC Investment bank; Richard Hytner, the deputy chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide; and Paul Marshall, the chairman of hedge fund Marshall Wace.

The Red Knights bid came amid dissatisfaction among Man Utd supporter groups about the level of debt the club has taken on during the Glazers’ tenure as owners.

Rawlinson (pictured), a Man Utd supporter, acted for the club on the Glazers’ £790m takeover in 2005, while Allen & Overy acted for the buyer and the banks instructed Latham & Watkins.

The Takeover Panel has announced that it will review the UK’s rules on corporate acquisitions amid mounting political pressure to reduce the influence of short-term investors.

The move, which has been closely followed by City professionals, was welcomed by business secretary Vince Cable (pictured), who argued that short-term speculators such as hedge funds should not determine the outcome of corporate bids.

The consultation follows criticism of Kraft Foods’ £11.5bn acquisition of UK chocolate manufacturer Cadburys. The US company controversially failed to reverse Cadburys’ planned closure of its Somerdale factory, contradicting statements made during the bid process.

The Liberal Democrats had pledged in their general election manifesto to reform the UK’s takeover regime to introduce a public interest test and reforms to favour long-term shareholders over hedge funds.

However, it remains unclear whether the coalition Government will press ahead with major reform as the Conservative Party has previously been hostile to the notion of ushering in a less liberal rulebook for M&A.

Proposals to overhaul the UK’s takeover regime have generally been unpopular with M&A lawyers, who argue that the current rules have attracted investment to the UK. Many lawyers also argue that it will be difficult to separate short-term investors like hedge funds from institutional fund managers.

Nabarro corporate partner Iain Newman commented: “Most of the points raised come out of the political dissatisfaction with short-term investors and their perceived ability to deliver a target company into a [bidder's] hands in circumstances which politicians might view as contrary to the national interest.”

Areas the review will cover include the ‘50% plus one’ voting requirement for takeovers to go ahead, whether voting rights should be withheld from shares bought during an offer period and whether the 1% disclosure threshold for dealings and positions in target companies should be reduced. It will also review whether inducement fees and other deal protection arrangements should be restricted.

Norton Rose corporate partner Paul Whitelock told Legal Week: “While proposals around the acceptance threshold and voting disenfranchisement would appear the most far-reaching, market participants will no doubt feed in strong views on a number of areas, particularly in relation to the proposed timetable changes and potential reform of the ‘put up or shut up’ regime.”

Hogan Lovells corporate partner Nigel Read said: “The consultation paper features fundamental proposals which cannot be achieved unless they come in conjunction with changes to company law. However, they are right to take the line that they have – putting out issues for discussion rather than recommending specific changes.”

The consultation period will close on 27 July.

Olswang has become the latest firm to announce its 2009-10 financial results, reporting a 38% increase in profits per equity partner (PEP).

PEP rose to £420,000 in the last financial year, up from last year’s figure of £305,000.
Meanwhile, turnover at the UK top 50 firm increased by 2% to £91m, up from £89.2m in 2008-09.

Despite the jump in PEP, the figure is still significantly down on the firm’s 2007-08 figure, when partners took home an average of £545,000. In that year, the firm turned over £92.9m.

Olswang chief executive David Stewart (pictured) commented: “I am delighted with such strong results in what has been a challenging year. Despite the economic uncertainty, we have invested in our international network – we hired a 10-lawyer team from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and more announcements will follow.”

He added: “The increase in revenues is a result of our strategic focus and a sign of our strength. The results show an above-average increase in revenue and profits, which stands us in good stead for the future. Having weathered some tough times, we are in a good position to grow, and further international expansion is on the agenda.”

A&L Goodbody has announced its annual promotions round with four of the five new partners made up in the firm’s Dublin base.

The number is an increase on last year’s figure when only one lawyer was made up to the partnership in the firm’s litigation and employment practice in Belfast.

The new partners in the law firm’s Dublin HQ are Paul Fahy in corporate tax, Kenan Furlong in litigation and dispute resolution, Alan Johnston in corporate and Niamh Ryan in investment funds. Louise Bailey joins the partnership in the banking and financial services practice in Belfast. The promotions were effective as of 1 June.

Julian Yarr, managing partner of A&L Goodbody, said: “The appointments reflect A&L Goodbody’s ongoing commitment, to provide the highest quality client service through the development and promotion of exceptional legal talent.”

The 330-lawyer firm has five offices in Dublin, Belfast, London, New York and Boston.

Loyens & Loeff has elected Maarten van der Weijden as managing partner as Pim Bertels steps down after four years at the helm.

The firm has also re-elected its two executive board positions with van der Weijden taking over as chairman from Bertels, a position automatically held by the firm’s managing partner. Hamith Breedveld has been appointed as the second new member of the board as corporate partner Hendrik van Druten completes his two year term.

The role of managing partner runs for four years, while board appointments run for two. The remaining non-executive board elections are expected to be held in the coming weeks.

Van der Weijden has been a member of Loyens’ international tax practice since 1987 and made partner in 1997. He was the resident partner at the firm’s New York branch from 1996-1999. Breedveld has been a civil notary lawyer in the firm’s real estate practice since 2002.

Van Druten told Legal Week: “It is always a very careful practice to arrive at the right set of candidates and we are confident the right decisions have been made. The firm as a whole has faired better than average this year due to careful finance cutting from 2009 and the inherent strength of our combined tax and legal services.”

He added: “Although work in The Netherlands has not been excessive we have been taking a relatively big piece of it.”

Loyens has emerged as one of the more robust performer in the Dutch legal market during the downturn, with Loyens outperforming a number of rivals in the 2008 financial year.

Allen & Overy (A&O) has elected tax heavyweight Gottfried Breuninger as the firm’s new German managing partner.

Breuninger launched the magic circle firm’s Munich office in 2008 when he joined from Shearman & Sterling, where he headed up the Munich base as well as the German tax practice. He was also the co-head of the US firm’s international tax practice.

He will take over the role for a three-year term when current managing partner Peter Stenz’s tenure finishes at the end of this year. Frankfurt-based banking partner Stenz took on the role in 2007.

Breuninger will co-lead the German practice alongside its senior partner Neil Weiand, who started a three-year term in the role in January this year, replacing Cornelius Fischer-Zernin. It is the second term in the role for Weiand, who was also senior partner between 2004 and 2007.

Fischer-Zernin and Stenz both remain with A&O as full-time fee earners.

Breuninger was one of several Shearman partners to join A&O in 2008, alongside M&A partner Astrid Krueger in Munich, as well as Duesseldorf M&A partners Birgit Reese and Hans Rolf Koerfer – the German M&A rainmaker who joined Oppenhoff & Raedler in Cologne last year.

Breuninger’s practice focuses on national and international corporate tax law, in particular M&A transactions and post-acquisition structures.

A&O has German offices in Duesseldorff, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Mannheim and Munich.

“Why is there such an exorbitant pay gap betwen newly-qualified (NQ) roles at US firms and their magic circle counterparts in the City?

“I gather that a lot of students pick the magic circle firms for their quality of training, and that it looks great on your CV, but on qualification, how do these firms manage to retain associates from US firms who pay at least £30k more on qualification?

“Surely work hours are similarly bad at magic circle firms – and surely working an extra hour or two a day can’t make a difference of £30k?

“Is the magic circle so far ahead in terms of quality of work that four-year qualified lawyers at magic circle firms are happy to be paid the same as NQs at US firms?”

“Why is there such an exorbitant pay gap betwen newly-qualified (NQ) roles at US firms and their magic circle counterparts in the City?

“I gather that a lot of students pick the magic circle firms for their quality of training, and that it looks great on your CV, but on qualification, how do these firms manage to retain associates from US firms who pay at least £30k more on qualification?

“Surely work hours are similarly bad at magic circle firms – and surely working an extra hour or two a day can’t make a difference of £30k?

“Is the magic circle so far ahead in terms of quality of work that four-year qualified lawyers at magic circle firms are happy to be paid the same as NQs at US firms?”

A number of high-flying public sector lawyers have seen their pay packages disclosed this week (31 May) after the Cabinet Office issued a list of civil servants earning more than £150,000.

First parliamentary counsel Stephen Laws is among those with the highest public income, falling into the pay bracket £225,000-£229,999. Laws, a qualified barrister, joined the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel in 1976.

A number of solicitors at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have also made the list, which features around 170 names in total. These include David Green QC, who is director of the revenues and customs division of the CPS and earns between £210,000 and £214,999, and director of public prosecutions Keir Starmer QC, who earns £195,000-£199,999.

Northern Ireland director of public prosecution Sir Alasdair Fraser QC features in the £170,000-174,999 bracket, while CPS chief executive Peter Lewis has a slightly smaller annual income, at £160,000-£164,999.

Separately, barrister Richard Alderman, the director of the Serious Fraud Office, has an annual salary of between £165,000-£169,999, and Treasury Solicitor Paul Jenkins QC earns between £155,000-£159,999.

The Ministry of Defence has the largest number of lawyers on the list, including its prosecutions director Bruce Houlder QC, whose salary is in the £150,000-£154,999 bracket.

Also included in the list in Philip Collins, the chairman of the Office of Fair Trading and a former partner at Lovells. Collins’ salary is listed in the £175,000-£179,999 range.

The Cabinet Office was the first department to shed light on its pay roll data but all Government departments are set to follow suit in the coming weeks. The move has been badged as part of a transparency drive by the new coalition Government.

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude (pictured) commented: “Transparency is at the heart of the Government’s programme, which is why the Cabinet Office, at the heart of government, is taking the lead.

“We are pulling back the curtains to let light into the corridors of power. By being open and accountable we can start to win back people’s trust.

“Transparency is key to our efficiency drive, and will enable the public to help us to deliver better value for money in public spending.”

Telefonica O2 UK has promoted Ed Smith to head up its UK legal team in a newly-created role.

Smith started in his new role today (1 June) and will work alongside Kate Jarvis, who has been Telefonica Europe’s director of legal and regulatory affairs since January 2009.

Smith was previously a senior solicitor in legal and professional services at the company.
He will take on responsibility for managing UK legal support and the company’s legal team.

The news follows the appointment of Jarvis as an executive director on the board of Telefonica Europe as of 1 February 2010.

Jarvis said: “We are delighted to have someone of Ed’s calibre leading our legal team. He has consistently made an outstanding contribution to Telefonica O2 UK as well as broader European initiatives, and relishes managing a team.

“Ed will lead the legal team in supporting not only the core business, but also our other operating businesses like Be, Manx, JAJAH, and giffgaff.”

Telefonica bought O2 for £18bn in 2006 in a deal that saw Simmons & Simmons advise Telefonica and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer act for O2. The company continues to trade as O2 in the UK.

O2 later revamped its legal division in December 2008, appointing its first-ever European legal panel including Clifford Chance, Herbert Smith and Gleiss Lutz. At the same time the company scrapped its general counsel role for the region.