Overview
Rich has in-depth experience of advising clients on their most critical commercial arrangements, both on a standalone basis, and in the context of M&A and private equity transactions, business separations, restructurings, carve-outs, financings and outsourcings.
Rich has particular expertise in relation to telecoms and digital infrastructure transactions, leading on the commercial arrangements among network operators, infrastructure JVs, towercos, data centres, fibre operators and other operators of digital infrastructure, and covering the full spectrum of infrastructure development, roll-out, operation and carve-outs, as well as site sharing, colocation and portfolio management arrangements. As part of this, Rich has spent time on secondment to Three UK, a mobile network operator, during which he worked on the extension of its network sharing arrangements with its network sharing partner, and its preparations for the roll-out of 5G.
Rich also has extensive experience advising clients in the technology, healthcare, and financial services sectors, which involves navigating stringent regulations, and often requires close work with technical experts and consultants. In addition, Rich advises clients on data protection compliance matters, and spent time working in Linklaters’ Brussels office in 2018, where he helped clients across the world with their GDPR readiness.
Work Highlights
Rich has advised on many major projects and transactions. These include advising:
- CK Hutchison on (i) the merger between Three UK and Vodafone UK; (ii) the carve-out of Wind Tre’s mobile and fixed telecoms network into a joint venture with EQT, and provision of a “network as a service” through a long-term offtake agreement; and (iii) the €10bn sale of its large portfolio of telecommunications towers assets in Europe to Cellnex
- Brookfield and Data4, on the establishment of a stabilised hyperscale data centre platform across France, Spain and Italy, including all of the data centre servicing arrangements required by the new consortium investment partnership in the stabilised platform
- Audi on its entry into Formula 1, including negotiating the terms of its supply of power units to the works team, and the terms for supply of fuel and lubricants from third party suppliers
- Macquarie on its acquisition of Iberdrola’s UK smart meters business for approximately £900m, including the long-term meter rental agreement under which Macquarie provides smart metering services to Scottish Power, in support of its further roll-out of smart meters across Great Britain
- Takeda on its long-term manufacturing and supply arrangements with Corza Health, Inc.
- iCON Infrastructure on its acquisition of Alliance Medical Group from Life Healthcare, the listed South African hospital group, including servicing arrangements relating to PET-CT imaging, and the manufacture and distribution of related radioisotopes
- Arqiva on the sale of its telecoms division (towers business) to Cellnex Telecom for £2bn
- Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), on its acquisition of a 17.5% interest in Telecom Italia’s fixed line network, “NetCo”, the most extensive telecoms network in Italy, for up to €2 billion as part of a transaction which values the business at an enterprise value of approximately €18.8 billion
- Zain Saudi Arabia (Zain KSA) on the negotiation of a master tower services agreement for its portfolio of approximately 8,000 towers in Saudi Arabia
- One of the “Big 4” firms on its restructuring and development of its central technology function, including advising on technology procurement, IP ownership, software development and licensing, data localisation and more
- E.ON, on its development and procurement of a next-generation billing and customer services SaaS platform from Kraken Technologies (owned by challenger energy business, Octopus energy), which provides a full replacement of E.ON’s legacy systems for its millions of residential and SME customers
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