Travers Smith, White & Case and DLA Piper have landed roles advising Bridgepoint on its sale of Oasis Dental Care to Bupa, valuing the business at £835m.
Oasis is one of the largest dental companies in the UK, with 380 practices and 1,800 dentists. The company reported annual revenue of £277m for 2015/16. It was acquired by Bridgepoint in 2013 for £187m, with Linklaters acting for the private equity (PE) firm.
Travers advised longstanding client Bridgepoint on the deal for the dentistry company. Travers’ team was led by PE head Paul Dolman (pictured) with a team including competition partner Stephen Whitfield, commercial partner Richard Brown and regulatory partner Phil Bartram.
White & Case advised healthcare and insurance provider Bupa on the deal, while DLA Piper PE partner Tim Wright advised Oasis’s management.
White & Case’s team was led by John Cunningham and Ian Bagshaw in London, and included Mark Powell in Brussels as well as City partners Victoria Landsbert, Stuart Willey, Colin Harley and Michael Wistow. The US firm also advised Bupa on its £325m acquisition of Polish healthcare provider LUXMED back in 2013.
Travers has advised on several of this year’s headline deals. Travers corporate head Spencer Summerfield acted for Micro Focus on its $8.8bn dollar acquisition by HP in September, while corporate finance head Neal Watson advised for Pinewood Studios on its £323m takeover in August.
PE specialists Travers has strengthened its grip on the upper reaches of the middle market, handling work for clients such Hellman & Friedman and 3i Group as well as Bridgepoint. However the firm lost rising star Helen Croke in May this year. Croke, who joins Travers’ former head of PE Phil Sanderson at Ropes & Gray, counted Bridgepoint as one of her main clients.
matthew.field@legalease.co.uk
For more on private equity deals, see ‘A private function – the in-house counsel making their way in the thrusting world of private equity’
Read more in: ‘The M&A Report – Private equity offers the clients for all seasons’
