The Deal Unveils European Award Winners

NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Deal, a business unit of TheStreet, Inc. TST, announced the winners of The European Deal Awards at a ceremony at Aqua Shard in London.

The Deal is the go-to source for M&A news and analysis, covering the deals and dealmakers who set the trends; and The Deal Awards recognize the advisors and service providers who power that deal economy. The Deal Awards process began with hundreds of peer nominations, across dozens of cross-border categories. The newsroom then interviewed analysts and experts to create a shortlist of the most significant deals and dealmakers in terms of strategic vision and shareholder returns. The final winners were chosen by The Deal's top editors, based on a simple majority vote.

"We continue to be impressed by the expertise, tenacity and accomplishments of the deal community," said David Callaway, CEO of TheStreet, Inc, The Deal's parent. "We look forward to next year and celebrating more innovative and creative deals in Europe and the United States."

The winners of the European Deal Awards are listed below. More information about the awards, nominees and winners can be found here. Full coverage of the awards can be found here.

DEAL OF THE YEAR: Bayer Acquires Monsanto
Target/Seller: Monsanto Co.

• Investment Adviser: Morgan Stanley, Ducera Partners LLC
• Counsel to I-bank: Morrison & Foerster LLP, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
• Outside Counsel: Cohen & Grigsby and Redeker, Sellner & Dahs, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, Dechert LLP, Dentons
• Special Counsel: Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
• Proxy Solicitor: Morrow Sodali Global LLC
• PR Firm: FTI Consulting, Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher 

Buyer: Bayer AG

• Investment Adviser: Bank of America Merrill Lynch,  Credit Suisse Group, Rothschild
• Counsel to I-bank: Shearman & Sterling LLP
• Outside Counsel: Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Linklaters LLC, Allen & Overy LLP, Hogan Lovells, Stikeman Elliott LLP, Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP, L&L Partners
• Proxy Solicitor: D.F. King & Co.
• PR Firm: Finsbury Hering Schuppener GPG, Sard Verbinnen & Co. LLC, Brunswick Group LLP

MOST INNOVATIVE DEAL OF THE YEAR: Paddy Power Betfair Merges U.S. Operations with FanDuel
Target/Seller: FanDuel Inc.

• Investment Adviser: Moelis & Co. LLC
• Outside Counsel: Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC 

Buyer: Paddy Power Betfair plc

• Investment Adviser: Goldman, Sachs & Co.
• Outside Counsel: Blank Rome LLP, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

PRIVATE EQUITY DEAL OF THE YEAR: KKR Acquires Unilever's Spreads Business
Target/Seller: Unilever NV

• Investment Adviser: Morgan Stanley, Goldman, Sachs & Co.
• Outside Counsel: Linklaters LLP, McCarthy Tétrault LLP 

Buyer: KKR & Co.

• Investment Adviser: Credit Suisse Group
• Outside Counsel: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Dentons

DEALMAKER OF THE YEAR: Will Pearce, Davis Polk Wardwell LLP

M&A PR FIRM OF THE YEAR: Tulchan Communications LLP

EUROPEAN M&A LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR: Dechert LLP

U.K. Law Firm of the Year: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
U.K. Lawyer of the Year: Gemma Roberts, Goodwin Procter LLP
U.K. Investment Bank of the Year: Robey Warshaw LLP

Activist Adviser of the Year: Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP
Activist of the Year in Europe: Elliott Management Corp.

Middle- Market Law Firm of the Year: Travers Smith LLP
Middle-Market Lawyer of the Year: Andrew Gillen, Travers Smith LLP
Middle-Market Investment Bank of the Year: Arma Partners LLP

Private Equity Law Firm of the Year: Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP 
Private Equity Lawyer of the Year: Alex Woodward, Linklaters LLP 
Private Equity Firm of the Year: PAI Partners SAS 

Retail & Restaurant Law Firm of The Year: Clifford Chance LLP 
Retail & Restaurant Lawyer of the Year: Victoria Hills, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP 
Retail & Restaurant Investment Bank of the Year: Morgan Stanley 

Consumer, Food & Beverage Law Firm of the Year: Mayer Brown LLP 
Consumer, Food & Beverage Lawyer of the Year: Pierre-Yves Chabert, Clearly Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Consumer, Food & Beverage Investment Bank of the Year: Credit Suisse Group 

Energy, Power & Utilities Law Firm of the Year: Hengeler Mueller 
Energy, Power & Utilities Lawyer of the Year: Will Pearce, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP 
Energy, Power & Utilities Investment Bank of the Year: Lazard 

Financial Services Law Firm of the Year: Norton Rose Fulbright LLP 
Financial Services Lawyer of the Year: Alexander Crosthwaite, Latham & Watkins LLP 
Financial Services Investment Bank of the Year: Robert W. Baird & Co. 

Entertainment & Media Law Firm of the Year: Herbert Smith Freehills LLP 
Entertainment & Media Lawyer Firm of the Year: Tom Mercer, Ashurst LLP 
Entertainment & Media Investment of the Year: UBS Investment Bank 

Healthcare, Pharma & Biotech Law Firm of the Year: Kirkland & Ellis LLP 
Healthcare, Pharma & Biotech Lawyer Firm of the Year: Jörg Kirchner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP 
Healthcare, Pharma & Biotech Investment Bank of the Year: Jefferies LLC 

Industrials & Infrastructure Law Firm of the Year: De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek NV 
Industrials & Infrastructure Lawyer Firm of the Year: Sébastien Prat, Bredin Prat 
Industrials & Infrastructure Investment Bank of the Year: Rothschild & Co 

Technology & Telecom Law Firm of the Year: Allen & Overy LLP 
Technology & Telecom Lawyer of the Year: David Sonter, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP 
Technology & Telecom Investment Bank of the Year: LionTree Advisors LLC

For information on next year's awards, please contact Jonathan McReynolds at 212.321.5259 (jmcreynolds@thedeal.com).

Contact: Terri Smith, Terri Smith at thestreet.com

About The Deal 
The Deal (www.thedeal.com) provides actionable, intraday coverage of mergers, acquisitions and all other changes in corporate control to institutional investors, private equity, hedge funds and the firms that serve them. The Deal is a business unit of TheStreet, Inc. TST www.t.st))), a leading financial news and information provider. Other business units include TheStreet (www.thestreet.com), an unbiased source of business news and market analysis for investors and BoardEx (www.boardex.com), a relationship mapping service of corporate directors and officers.

SOURCE TheStreet, Inc.