Karen Davies is a partner in our corporate practice and Ashurst's Global Chair
Karen has wide experience in advising both corporate clients and investment banks on a full range of domestic and cross-border corporate finance transactions. She specialises in merger and acquisitions and equity capital markets work, advising on acquisitions and disposals as well as corporate finance matters (Official List and AIM).
In 2024 Karen was recognised by Financial News in their inaugural list of the Most Influential in European Finance. This follows being named as one of their Fifty Most Influential Lawyers, and as one of their 100 Most Influential Women in Finance, for three consecutive years (2023, 2022 and 2021). She has also been acknowledged at the Law.com Women, Influence & Power in Law UK in both 2020 and 2021, and was previously pinpointed as one of the strongest emerging female leaders in the City, featuring in The Lawyer Hot 100 in 2017 and topping the MergerMarket lawyer rankings for both the number of M&A deals in 2017 and number of deals by value in H1 2019.
Karen is ranked in Chambers UK 2023 for Corporate/M&A: High-end Capability, with clients acknowledging her 'pragmatic' judgment. The Legal 500 2023 also ranks Karen in the Hall of Fame for M&A: Upper Mid-Market and Premium Deals (£500M+).
As Global Chair, Karen is accountable for the leadership and effective functioning of the Board and for upholding the reputation of the firm and ensuring its integrity, values and governance procedures. Together with the Board, Karen is also responsible for oversight and accountability of the Executive Team and oversight and approval of the firm's strategy.
Karen has served as a member of the Ashurst Board since 2017, and prior to her appointment as Global Chair she led the firm's Corporate Division in the UK.
Latest Insights
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Legal development 
FCA publishes Primary Market Bulletin 52 – Market Abuse Regulation
20 Nov 2024
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Legal development
FCA Consultation Paper 24/12 - Consultation on the New Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations Regime
07 Aug 2024
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Legal development
FCA publishes Primary Market Bulletin 50 – Sponsor regime: FCA response to feedback
18 Jul 2024
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Legal development 
Proposed Changes to the Jurisdiction of the UK Takeover Code
24 Apr 2024
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Latest news, deals and awards
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News Ashurst advises XLMedia PLC on sale of North America business to Sportradar AG
22 Oct 2024
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News Ashurst advises Tritax EuroBox plc on £557 million takeover by Brookfield Asset Management
10 Oct 2024
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News Ashurst advises Tritax EuroBox plc on £552 million recommended all-share offer by SEGRO plc
04 Sep 2024
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News Ashurst advises Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc on £1.2 billion takeover of Ascential by Informa
24 Jul 2024
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News Ashurst advises BBOX on £3.9bn recommended all-share combination with UKCM
21 Mar 2024
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News Ashurst advises on £1.3 billion recommended takeover of Smart Metering Systems
07 Dec 2023
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News Ashurst advises on recommended takeover of The Restaurant Group plc
Ashurst advises RBC Capital Markets on recommended takeover of The Restaurant Group plc.
12 Oct 2023
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News New Board appointments at Ashurst
Global law firm Ashurst announces that partners Kylie Lane and Phil Breden have been re-elected and Carloandrea Meacci has been elected to the Board.
29 Aug 2023
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News Seventh consecutive year of growth - Ashurst announces FY23 financial results
12 Jul 2023
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Global Guide to Public M&A 4th edition
Helping you navigate the global M&A landscape with summaries of the rules applying in a range of jurisdictions and answers to your key commercial issues.
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