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In June 1997 the Danish Parliament adopted a new Act on Competition (No. 384), bringing Danish competition law into line with EU competition principles. The provisions of the new Act come into force on January 1 1998.

Dr Peter Derendinger, general counsel at Credit Suisse Group, Zurich, talks to Paul Lee

The Hungarian privatization and state holding company (APV Rt) and Hungary-based pharmaceuticals manufacturer Gedeon Richter have completed a US$220 million global and domestic offering of Richter shares and GDSs. In conjunction with the offerings, Richter also increased its share capital by US$50 million. The transaction is one of the largest secondary offerings in central and eastern Europe.

German sportswear company Adidas is acquiring French rival Salomon, best known for skiing equipment, for Ffr8 billion (US$1.3 billion). The first part of the transaction is the purchase of 100% of Sport Developpement, a private family company owning 39% of Salomon shares representing 56% of the company's voting rights. A public offer will follow. Adidas will become the second largest sportswear manufacturer, behind US rival Nike.

UK firms Clifford Chance and Freshfields have both added to their US law capabilities, each hiring a senior US-qualified lawyer in September. US lawyer Peter Cleary has joined Freshfields from Chadbourne & Parke. A project finance specialist with over 15 years of experience in Asia, he joined the UK firm's Hong Kong office on September 1.

The Perth office of Australian firm Freehill Hollingdale & Page has completed its merger with Perth rival Parker & Parker. The office will use the Freehill name. "There was a very strong business case for our firms to merge," says Peter Mansell, managing partner of Freehill Hollingdale & Page Perth. "Our aim is to provide eastern states expertise and depth at Western Australian rates. There will no longer be the need for Western Australia corporates to take legal advice in the east."

The Prague office of UK firm Cameron McKenna has expanded with the addition of four Czech lawyers. This brings the total to 20 and four paralegals. The office's new senior Czech partner is Petr Skacel, formerly of UK rival Lovell White Durrant and most recently of his own firm. Skacel is a former London consul for Czechoslavakia, and specializes in company and commercial law and commercial litigation. He is joined by three other Czech lawyers: Veronika Nezvalova, Milos Mastny and Lucie Motejzikova.

Chicago-based McDermott, Will & Emery has opened a Silicon Valley office. The office will focus on high technology issues and intellectual property. It is the firm's 11th office, and eighth within the US. "The opening of a Silicon Valley office is a natural geographic extension of our high technology and intellectual property practice," says chairman Larry Gerber. "The demand for legal counsel on complex intellectual property issues and international work is so high that we felt it necessary to expand our west coast capabilities."

UK firm Linklaters & Paines is set to open its first South American office with a representative office in São Paulo. The firm has done a large amount of debt work out of Brazil but the intention is to target the potential for private sector equity work. "During the next five years we are going to see a lot of equity stuff coming out of South America so putting a team down in Brazil will put us in a very good position," says Nick Eastwell, a partner with Linklaters in London who specializes in emerging market securities.

The Allen Committee’s Final Report strikes a blow for greater transparency and accountability in corporate governance in Canada. By Thomas Allen and Andrew Fleming of Ogilvy Renault, Toronto and London