Practice areas

We have considerable expertise in all tax aspects of corporate transactions, from cross-border public takeovers to private company acquisitions and joint ventures. We play a central role in the planning and implementation of these transactions, ensuring that they are structured in a tax efficient way.

We have been involved in many high profile public takeovers. We strive to ensure that the acquisition structure meets our client's commercial objectives as well as minimising acquisition taxes. When acting for the bidder, we also ensure that the structuring facilitates any post-closing reorganisation objectives our client may have.

Tax structuring can also play a key role in private acquisitions, for example in determining the type of assets to be acquired, the purchaser's acquisition structure (including holding company jurisdiction considerations) and appropriate acquisition financing. We help our clients to focus on the key tax issues, the potential tax costs involved and the means of mitigating such costs.

Contractual protection is important to limit a buyer's exposure to historic and unexpected tax risks of the target group; producing and negotiating appropriate documentation is central to our implementation work in this area.

We also have expertise in the structuring and implementation of "public to private" transactions. The tax profile of the transaction for existing shareholders and holding structure considerations are often critical.

We recognise that our clients do not stop thinking about the tax aspects of a corporate transaction once the deal has completed. We have expertise in post-completion structuring for sellers and buyers, whether it involves sheltering gains and winding up historic holding company structures or undertaking reorganisations to optimise the corporate, debt and tax structure, and deal with any transfer pricing issues.

We regularly advise our clients on the establishment, running and winding up of joint ventures, whether they are in corporate form or involve partnership or contractual arrangements.

Much of our work on corporate transactions is international. We work together with leading independent local advisers to provide our clients with a seamless service across the relevant jurisdictions.