When M&T Bank announced earlier this week that it had agreed to acquire Hudson City Bancorp for $3.7 billion, it was Sullivan & Cromwell and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz that grabbed the lead outside counsel roles on the biggest M&A transaction in the banking sector so far this year. But they weren’t the only Am Law 100 firms involved in the matter.
Working in tandem with S&C is an Arnold & Porter team led by partners W. Edward Bright and Robert Azarow, who are advising Hudson City on all relevant aspects of its proposed merger agreement with M&T. A&P also reviewed and commented on how the merger could affect executive compensation arrangements and employee benefits plans, as well as “some difficult issues regarding the [employee stock ownership plan],” according to an email from Alan Dee, an outside spokesman for the firm. The A&P lawyers also helped prepare disclosure schedules to support representations and warranties and collaborated with the S&C team on the structuring and documentation of the transaction, Dee said.
