A&O Shearman was awarded Legal Adviser of the Year in Europe and Africa with judges impressed with the number and breadth of transactions it advised on during the judging period.  

One judge put it succinctly: “It is commendable that A&O maintained focus and executed a very large number of transactions, coterminously with its own merger with Shearman, which naturally could be distracting.” 

The submission said: “In May 2024 we completed the merger of two historic firms, Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling. The steps necessary to create the world’s third largest integrated law firm by gross revenue with nearly 4,000 lawyers across 48 offices and 29 countries came with it expected complexities. Throughout this process our main consideration was to ensure continuity for our clients through clear communication and maintaining transaction momentum. We worked hard in this area and are excited in the offering A&O Shearman can bring to the infrastructure market.” 

In Europe, during the judging period between 1 September 2023 and 31 July 2024, the A&O Shearman team was instructed on over 100 M&A mandates in the energy and infrastructure sector – one of the strongest in the industry despite challenging deal environment, one judge said.  

In Europe, the notable deals included digital infrastructure (acquisition of a stake in WindTre, investment into KevlinX, acquisition of a stake in Vantage Towers), energy transition (investment in Zenobe Energy), renewables (Ventient refinancing, Triton Knoll OFTO assets, Dogger Bank South offshore wind farm), transport (sale of shareholding in Mitsui Rail Capital Europe B.V., acquisition of Fjord1, Heathrow Airport sale, AGS Airports refinancing) and utilities and T&D (sale of an interest in NET4GAS, acquisition of Kenter).  

Meanwhile, in Africa the firm has closed M&A / funds deals across all major key sectors throughout Anglophone, Lusophone, Arabophobe and Francophone Africa. 

In Africa, one judge said they were impressed with the firm’s “involvement in several deals of significant market impact, such as the innovative carbon financing solution made available to KOKO Networks Carbon Receivables – through the advice to FirstRand Bank Limited; joint venture between Dutch for-profit investment manager Climate Fund Managers (CFM) and the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia, in relation to a 24% equity investment by their newly established fund, SDG Namibia One into Namibia’s landmark $10 billion green hydrogen project.” 

While another said: “A compelling submission of A&O’s achievements in Africa across a breadth of sectors, geographies and transactions. While there are many groundbreaking transactions, the one that stood out for me is the 1GW Green Hydrogen case study. With Hydrogen being seen a fuel for the future, the successful delivery of this Green H2 project along with solar/wind generation that powers the electrolyers is an excellent precedent on a global scale.”