Private M&A

There is no such thing as a standard M&A process. Our lawyers have genuine expertise in the full range of challenges that M&A can present, be it minority investments, financing, restructuring and reorganisations, risk management, certainty, disclosure, contract races or specific liabilities. Not only are our M&A lawyers experts in their field, they also combine commercial pragmatism with an understanding of the specialist issues across various jurisdictions that can arise as part of the negotiation process.

Clients value our ability to execute deals seamlessly and efficiently while managing the risk profile which is appropriate to their circumstances: a vital requirement in today’s deal environment.

Our corporate practice is supported by global teams of market-leading tax, real estate, employment and incentives, pensions, anti-trust/competition, regulatory and litigation experts as well as teams offering the full range of finance support including all aspects of banking, capital markets and restructuring transactions.

Recent private M&A experience includes advising:
  • Visa Europe Ltd on the  €21.2bn sale of 100% of its share capital to Visa Inc
  • Home Retail Group plc on the disposal of Homebase to Bunnings (UK & I) Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Wesfarmers Limited, for the cash consideration of £340m.
  • Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd on the US$577.7m sale of the global respiratory products portfolio to AstraZeneca AB
  • Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Limited on the US$2.2bn acquisition of GE's European private equity financing business in a competitive auction
  • LetterOne Holdings S.A. on its  €5.1bn acquisition of all shares in oil & gas company RWE Dea AG in a private auction from DAX listed RWE AG 
  • Just Eat plc on its €125m acquisition of the shares in online takeaway food businesses trading in Brazil (HelloFood Brazil), Mexico (HelloFood Brazil), Italy (PizzaBo/HelloFood Italy), and Spain (La Nevera Roja) from Rocket Internet SE.
  • Glencore Xstrata plc on the US$6bn sale of Las Bambas Copper Mine Project in Peru to a Chinese consortium comprised of MMG Limited, GUOXIN International and CITIC
  • Banco Santander Consumer Portugal SA (BSCP) and Santander Consumer Finance SA on the set up of a contractual partnership between BSCP and Banque PSA Finance, S.A
  • Yildiz Holding, Turkey's largest food and beverage company, on their acquisition of United Biscuits from Blackstone and PAI Partners and on their acquisition finance package
  • Petrochemical Industries Company on the US$3.2bn sale of MEGlobal International FZE to EQUATE Petrochemical Company K.S.C.C
  • Queijo Holding Corp. on the US$148.3m acquisition of all shares not owned by the controlling shareholders in Brazil Fast Food Corp.
  • The investment vehicle of the Dutch State for financial institutions in relation to the sale by their portfolio company SNS REAAL of REAAL, a Dutch insurer, to Anbang Insurance Group, an internationally operating insurance company from China
  • The Economist Newspaper Limited on the £469m sale by Pearson plc of its 50% stake in The Economist Group
  • Novartis in its transformational restructuring involving three strategic deals with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The deals include the acquisition of GSK’s oncology division, the sale of Novartis’ vaccines business and the creation of a joint venture involving the contribution of Novartis’ OTC business with GSK’s consumer healthcare business
  • beIN Media Group LLC on the acquisition of Digiturk, the leading pay-TV operator in Turkey