Leon Ferera has over 25 years' experience advising on corporate transactions and governance matters, including takeover offers, private M&A, buyouts, and joint ventures. He was seconded for two years to the UK Takeover Panel (where he was also secretary to the Code Committee, which carries out the Panel's rulemaking functions) and for one year to Invesco's UK equities team. Leon leads the London M&A practice.
Representative matters include advising: Framatome on its acquisition of Rolls Royce's Civil Nuclear Instrumentation and Control business in France and China; Koch Equity Development on its investment into Victoria plc; Freudenberg on its takeover of Low & Bonar; The Stars Group on its £11 billion combination with Flutter; Hansteen on its £500 million takeover by Blackstone; Signature Aviation on the $1.36 billion sale of its Ontic business to CVC; Houlilhan Lokey on GVC Holdings' £3.9 billion takeover of Ladbrokes Coral; Canyon Bridge on its £550 million takeover of Imagination Technologies; Reynolds American on its $49 billion acquisition by BAT and $27.4 billion acquisition of Lorillard; GE Healthcare on the acquisitions of Rapidscan and Asymptote; STERIS on its $6.2 billion combination with Synergy Health; Euronext on its €510 million binding offer for LCH.Clearnet; Atmel on its proposed $4.6 billion sale to Dialog Semiconductor and subsequent $3.6 billion sale to Microchip Technology; WL Ross on the £1 billion Northern Rock acquisition from the UK Government; and various transactions for Essilor, Invesco, and Procter & Gamble.
Leon speaks and writes frequently on takeovers, is a member of the takeovers working group of ICAEW's Corporate Finance Faculty, and is repeatedly recommended in Chambers and The Legal 500.
Experience
Additional Publications
- February 2019
Author, The In-House Lawyer Comparative Guide on Corporate Governance, UK Jurisdiction - April 2009
Comment la crise financeière affecte-t-elle les contrats de fusions-acquisitions?, Tribune Capital Finance
Speaking Engagements
- April 17, 2019
Foreign Investment Review and Public Takeovers in the UK - Key considerations for Chinese investors, Jones Day Shanghai Outbound Seminar - April 16, 2019
Key considerations for Chinese investment into the UK, Jones Day Beijing Outbound Seminar - April 15, 2019
Foreign Investment Review and Public Takeovers in the UK - Key considerations for Chinese investors, Seminar to CAPE - 20 avril 2017
Finale de la 3ème édition du Prix Jones Day/ESSEC/Paris II - 17 novembre 2016
Atelier AFJE "Négocier un contrat de cession d'actions pro-vendeur" - November 9, 2016
Jones Day Global Life Sciences Conference – 2016 Issues & Trends - June 3, 2015
Global Insights: The Future of M&A - April 2012
In the Battle for Success, How to Win the M&A War, panelist, Merrill Datasite webinar - September 2011
CNBC/Global Finance webcast on Trends in European M&A, panelist - March 2009
The Expro International case and schemes of arrangement, Jones Day client seminar - February 5, 2009
Impacts juridiques de la crise financière sur les opérations de fusions-acquisitions, Atelier AFJE - September 2007
The Takeover Code and AIM, Presentation to Standard Bank - July 2006
The Implementation of the Takeovers Directive, Presentation to Hoare Govett - December 2003
Understanding the Takeover Panel, Presentation to M&A team and members of the European offices of UBS AG - October 2003
Understanding The Takeover Panel, Presentation to London M&A Team of Greenhill
- The College of Law, London (Legal Practice Course with commendation 1995; Common Professional Examination 1994); University of Oxford (B.A. Hons. in Modern Languages 1992)
- Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales
Chambers UK: "draws praise for his tremendous knowledge of transactional work, with particular strength in public M&A"; "receives strong endorsement from his clients...[and] is widely regarded as excellent"; "a super M&A attorney"
Legal 500: "The [Jones Day] team includes the ‘proactive and hands-on’ Leon Ferera"; "[his] understanding of the role of the Takeover Panel is crucial to the success of a transaction"
- French, German