Paul Hastings Acknowledged By IFLR For Role On European M&A Deal Of The Year

March 22, 2005

Paris (March 22, 2005) - Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker (Europe) LLP (Paul Hastings), a leading international law firm, is pleased to announce today that the firm has been acknowledged by International Financial Law Review for its role as an advisor to AMF on the merger of Aventis and Sanofi, named "European M&A Deal of the Year" by IFLR.

Paul Hastings represented Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), the French equivalent of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, before the Paris Court of Appeals in an appeal brought by Aventis against the AMF after the regulator's approval of the Sanofi initial bid for the company. The transaction, which was eventually approved by Aventis shareholders and took effect on December 31, 2004, was valued at around €55 billion ($65 billion USD).

"We are pleased that IFLR has acknowledged our firm for the work of our Paris team in advising AMF on this significant and highly complex transaction, which resulted in the creation of the largest pharmaceutical group in Europe, and the third largest in the world," said Dominique Borde, corporate partner and Chair of Paul Hastings' Paris and Brussels offices.
"We have a deep bench of talent and expertise in European M&A," said Seth Zachary, Chairman of Paul Hastings. "Our first-class global transactional team has grown significantly over the last year, and will continue to grow as we strengthen and expand our transactional capabilities to meet the evolving needs of global companies."

IFLR's sixth annual European awards recognize the most innovative and complex deals, and the deals' legal advisors, across such categories as M&A, equity, debt and equity-linked, securitization, project finance and insolvency and restructuring.

Paul Hastings Corporate Department: Paul Hastings has 350 corporate attorneys located in 15 global offices. The Corporate Department acts as counsel to public and private companies, financial institutions, investment funds and private investors. The Corporate Department represents these clients in all aspects of their business including mergers and acquisitions, financings, cross-border transactions, leveraged buyouts, and general corporate work.
Paul Hastings Paris Office: The Paul Hastings Paris team comprises 60 highly qualified lawyers, including former judges and former in-house counsel, renowned for their knowledge in all areas of French and International business law. Our core activity is advising clients on complex legal and tax issues related to national and international transactions, in particular cross-border mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations and privatizations. We frequently represent clients in proceedings involving French and European regulatory authorities and participate actively in debates and discussions organized by, and with, governmental authorities and professional bodies, therefore playing an active role in the development of French law.

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, founded in 1951, is an international law firm representing Fortune 500 companies, with nearly 1,000 attorneys located in 15 offices: Atlanta, Beijing, Brussels, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, Paris, San Diego, San Francisco, Shanghai, Stamford, Tokyo and Washington, DC.