William Fry, one of Ireland’s leading law firms, has topped the mergermarket Irish league table of legal advisors on mergers and acquisitions for 2010. The company advised on over US$ 6.6bn worth of deals including the Ardagh Glass €1.7bn acquisition of Impress Group, ESB’s €1.2bn acquisition of NIE, and more recently Northern Foods €475m merger with Greencore which will become Essenta Food.  The Firm also advised on the US$1.25bn Skillsoft takeover earlier this year.

Commenting on the No.1 rankings, Bryan Bourke, Head of Corporate, stated, “The top ranking confirms William Fry’s position as Ireland’s leading M&A law firm and is a testament to the hard work put in by our excellent team and to our clients. While 2010 was a difficult year for Ireland, there has been a notable increase in M&A activity over the last number of months. I am hopeful that this is an indicator for 2011. Our team have advised on  the largest deals in Ireland during the year and we look forward to an equally successful performance in 2011. This activity further bolsters the experience we have gained from years of involvement in the most complex and challenging transactions in the Irish market.”

With a staff of over 380, William Fry is Ireland’s corporate law firm of choice and offers unrivalled corporate and commercial expertise and experience across the full breadth of the business sector. The Firm’s clients include many of the  leading global and domestic companies operating in Ireland, Irish government bodies,  financial institutions and entrepreneurs.

For further information contact:
Sinead Hennebry, William Fry. 086-6027930
James Dunny, Fleishman Hillard. 086 388 3903