Latham finance team decamps to Paul Hastings in London

Signage is seen outside of the Paul Hastings law firm in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 30, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

(Reuters) – Paul Hastings has added four London-based partners from Latham & Watkins, the firm said Monday, bringing on the team that helped arrange financing for Bain Capital Private Equity’s $2 billion (1.7 billion euros) acquisition of Rolls-Royce’s Spanish unit ITP Aero last year.

The new Paul Hastings arrivals include Ross Anderson, who was a co-chair of Latham’s global banking practice, and Mo Nurmohamed and Karan Chopra, who were both leaders of Latham’s finance department in London. Also joining is Robert Davidson, who became a partner at Latham earlier this year.

Paul Hastings has named Nurmohamed a co-chair of its global finance practice.

The team’s other past matters include arranging financing for Blackstone’s acquisition of international building materials distributor Grafton Group plc’s British traditional merchanting business for $718 million (520 million pounds) last year, Paul Hastings said.

Representatives for Latham did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the departures.

This is the second time in as many months Paul Hastings has poached a transactional lead from a rival firm. Last month, the firm added Eduardo Gallardo from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where he was global M&A co-chair.

Paul Hastings said it has seen “extraordinary momentum” in its London office, which saw a 41% increase in revenue last year. A spokesperson for the firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The moves come as global M&A activity has slowed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February and growing fears of an impending economic recession. Global M&A activity dropped 21% in the first half of 2022 compared to a year ago, Refinitiv data showed.

Read more:

Sullivan & Cromwell leads first-half M&A in slower 2022 for firm dealmakers

Paul Hastings continues NY growth with Gibson Dunn M&A co-chair

Rolls-Royce soars after hitting disposal target with $2 bln ITP sale

Grafton to sell traditional merchanting business in Britain for $718 million

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