Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters have landed two major corporate mandates advising Alibaba on what Reuters describes as ‘the most anticipated IPO since Facebook’ and Vodafone on its €7.7bn (£6.6bn) acquisition of Germany’s largest cable TV operator respectively.
Amidst much market speculation over roles and particularly the levels of fees that will be commanded, Freshfields is understood to be advising the China e-commerce giant on an IPO reportedly valued at as much as $100bn (64bn), with Hong Kong equity capital markets partner and Greater China head Teresa Ko understood to be leading the team.The Magic Circle firm recently advised Alibaba, which under the helm of former CEO Jack Ma (pictured) transformed into one of the world’s largest e-commerce businesses with 24,000 employees, on its $8bn debt refinancing and buyback of half of Yahoo!’s 40% stake in the company in May last year.
