DealWatch names HAVEL & HOLÁSEK as #1 legal advisor on M&A transactions in CEE in 2009

In the 2009 DealWatch survey, Havel & Holásek was ranked the top legal advisor on M&A transactions in terms of the number of deals both in the Czech Republic and the Central and Eastern Europe region having advised on more than 40 M&A transactions in 2009.

“The DealWatch survey is a significant indicator of the quality of services offered by law firms and M&A advisors. The fact that our law firm was the ranked as the top law firm among both Czech and CEE law firms proves that even a Czech-Slovak law firm can successfully compete with international law firms and their consortia”, says the founding partner Jaroslav Havel and continues: “The success is all the more remarkable given that our law firm is active only in two out of the fifteen countries within the region under review.”

Compared to 2009 when Havel & Holásek participated  in 44 transactions (with 31 completed), stagnation or a slight growth in the number of deals was expected for this year as a result of the ongoing worldwide economic downturn. Havel & Holásek’s most successful year so far was 2007 when the law firm advised on over 50 M&A transactions, including 9 deals with a value exceeding CZK 1 billion in both the Czech and Slovak Republics.

The ranking reflects the general view of Havel & Holásek’s clients that it is a firm with one of the most dynamically developing practices in the Czech and Slovak markets. “We greatly appreciate the trust of our clients and are fully aware that our success grows with the success of our clients not only in the Czech Republic and Slovakia but also in other CEE countries”, says Mr Havel.  “Unfortunately, our clients did not successfully close all their transactions, such as when we advised Air France-KLM on the planned privatisation of Czech Airlines and when our Indian client KSK Power Ventur contemplated acquiring a 100% share in Škoda Power, one of the largest European manufacturers of machinery for the power industry.”

As regards the value of deals, Clifford Chance was  ranked the top M&A legal advisor in the Czech Republic and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton within the CEE region.