Linklaters and Freshfields scoop acquisitions awards

Quality service: US firms fail to build on gains made last year

Global giants Linklaters and Freshfields have won a key award for the quality of their merger and acquisition services, casting off competition from US firms.

Also shortlisted for the Acquisitions Monthly award were last year's winner Sullivan & Cromwell, Jones Day Reavis & Pogue and Shearman & Sterling, but the US firms have failed to capitalise on their recent successes in London, according to the awards organisers.

Other English firms shortlisted were Slaughter and May, Clifford Chance, Herbert Smith and Allen & Overy.

Linklaters won law firm of the year, with Freshfields taking the highly commended runner-up position.

Linklaters has had a good year despite the recession, acting for mining company Billiton in its $15.5 billion (11 billion) acquisition by BHP, and the Halifax in its $15 billion merger with Bank of Scotland.

Freshfields acted for Dresdner bank, acquired by Allianz last year for $19.6 billion.

Both firms were joint runners-up last year.

Henry Gibbon, editor-in-chief of Acquisitions Monthly, said: 'US firms have, to some extent, failed to develop the inroads that they made last year.'

He said the award had gone to Linklaters because it had acted on more significant transactions during the year, and 'because of the continuing success of its global alliance'.

Jeremy Fleming