Corporate Transactions

Looking after your environmental interests within corporate transactions.

The vast majority of corporate transactions involve significant consideration of environmental issues. From the acquisition of a single-site light industrial business, to complex joint ventures of multi-national chemical companies, we have the specialist environmental expertise to protect your interests arising out of the full range of environmental issues.

Key issues have historically been (and continue to be) asbestos, contaminated land and polluted waters. However increasingly, new and complicated issues have to be assessed and dealt with (eg climate change and landfill credit issues, recycling issues such as the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive and product liability issues).

Our ability to pull together multi-jurisdictional specialist teams for complex cross-border transactions at short notice is particularly appreciated by our clients.

We have significant experience in this area including:

• Legal review of all environmental documentation including permits and compliance, environmental contracts, litigation and administrative action, technical reports, environmental and health and safety policies, management systems and environmental insurance policies
• Advising on appropriate environmental risk analysis for prospectuses for public company takeovers and other public offerings
• Instructing and liasing with appropriate environmental and other technical consultants to carry out risk reviews
• Advising on the structure of a transaction to help minimise environmental liability
• Drafting and negotiating environmental provisions to deal with anticipated or potential environmental liabilities such as warranties, indemnities, escrow account provisions, and mechanisms providing for contaminated land clean-up
• Carrying out complex risk / protection gap analysis where necessary to identify residual risks post-transaction (eg between pre-existing indemnity contracts / continuing insurance policies and transactional warranties and indemnities)
• Making or defending claims under environmental provisions in transactional documents (eg environmental warranties and indemnities)

For more information on how we can help, contact a member of the Environment Group.