Fresh from advising Pearson on its sale of the FT and its stake in the Economist, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer corporate partner Oliver Lazenby offers his thoughts on rainmaking and the impact of the financial crisis on M&A careers.

Qualified: 2001
Made partner: 2011
Key deals:

  • Pearson on the sale of its stake in the Economist Group to Exor and the sale of the Financial Times to Japanese media company Nikkei for £844m.
  • Poundland on its acquisition of 99p Stores;
  • John Laing Group on its £600m IPO on the London Stock Exchange which completed in February (which was the culmination of a year-long dual track exit process by Henderson);
  • Mexican drinks company FEMSA’s auction of its brewing business, which was eventually sold to Heineken in return for a large equity stake