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Clifford Chance advises Aviva plc on its £3.7 billion recommended offer for Direct Line Insurance Group plc

23 December 2024

Clifford Chance advises Aviva plc on its £3.7 billion recommended offer for Direct Line Insurance Group plc

Global law firm Clifford Chance is advising Aviva plc, one of the UK's leading diversified insurers, on its recommended cash and share takeover offer for Direct Line Insurance Group plc. The transaction values Direct Line at approximately £3.7 billion and is anticipated to be implemented by way of a scheme of arrangement.

The cross-practice Clifford Chance team was led by London Corporate partners David Pudge and Katherine Moir alongside senior associate Catherine Freeman and associates Tom Masters, Zoe Ram and Shayan Junaid.

The core M&A team were supported by London based Insurance partners Cheng Li Yow and Imogen Ainsworth and senior associates Nancy Liu, Disha Gulati and associate Grace Grant from the firm's Financial Institutions Group team, with partners Nelson Jung and Jennifer Storey and counsel Aniko Adam plus senior associates Daniel Schwarz, James Neill and Asli Kural advising on antitrust matters.

In addition, partner Sonia Gilbert and director Juliette Graham alongside associate Richard Compton advised on employee incentives with partner Chinwe Odimba-Chapman and senior associate Laura Conway advising on employment and partner Clare Hoxey and senior associate Portia Wainman advising on pensions .

Clifford Chance also advised Aviva on the financing aspects of the transaction through a team led by partner Nick Kinnersley together with senior associate Elphina Franklin and associate Tom Isola. Debt capital markets partner Simon Sinclair and senior associate Maria de Elizalde advised on the regulatory capital aspects.