Ashurst has been awarded 'Energy Law Firm of the Year' at TopLegal
awards 2012, held on Monday 19 November in Milan. The team won the
award in recognition of its work advising F2i and Axa Private
Equity on the €2.2 billion financing of the acquisition of Gaz De
France's gas distribution grid in Italy and on the refinancing of
the previous acquisitions of Enel and E.On's gas grids. This deal
established the second largest gas distribution network in Italy
and was led by partner Carloandrea Meacci.
Ashurst Italy was also shortlisted as Best Law Firm of the Year and
Law firm of the Year in the restructuring, finance and energy
fields. Franco Vigliano was shortlisted as Managing/Senior Partner
of the Year, Francesco De
Gennaro as Restructuring Lawyer of the Year, Carloandrea Meacci
as Energy Lawyer of the Year and Paola Flora as Female Professional
of the Year.
Managing Partner Franco
Vigliano commented: "Winning this award as well as
successfully making the shortlist in so many other categories
demonstrates the great work the Italian team has been involved with
despite the economic downturn."
Commenting on the award, Ashurst's energy partner Carloandrea Meacci who led the
team on the deal added: "This is a milestone deal in terms of
deal value, clients advised and market sector, which reflects the
breadth and depth of our energy practice. The practice has expanded
its offering from renewables and conventional energy to more
innovative products such as gas distribution.
One of the most successful elements of this project was the
speed at which the team managed the complex finance documents,
allowing the clients to lock-in the key terms of the financing
before the financial markets materially deteriorated during the
summer of 2011."