Legal Business

White & Case bags another deal for Bridgepoint on Zenith buy

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Corporate Weil, Gotshal & MangesWhite & Case

White & Case, Squire Patton Boggs and Weil, Gotshal & Manges all played key roles in private equity group Bridgepoint’s £750m buyout of vehicle business Zenith from HgCapital.

White & Case’s head global private equity Ian Bagshaw led Bridgepoint on the deal, with Squires partner Jonathan Jones leading for Zenith. Weil corporate partner Jonathan Wood represented HgCapital alongside Simon Saitowitz, Jamie Holdoway and banking partner Reena Gogna.

Zenith is the largest independent vehicle leasing and fleet management business in the UK, and supplies cars for companies such as Greene King, Asda and Santander.

Bagshaw (pictured) said: ‘The complex Zenith acquisition happened swiftly and its success demonstrates the way in which our clients benefit from the strength and in-depth capabilities of our deal teams, and also our increasingly prominent role advising on market leading deals.’

White & Case has now advised Bridgepoint twice in January, with a combined deal value of approximately $2bn. Earlier in the month, Bagshaw advised Bridgepoint and Stockholm-based Nordic Cinema Group Holding AB on the $929m sale of Nordic to AMC theatres.

Weil also took key roles as Advent International and Bain Capital Private Equity agreed to purchase German firm Concardis for $745m.

In November 2016, Bagshaw led White & Case as the firm represented Bupa as part of a deal that saw Bridgepoint sell Oasis Dental Care to the healthcare and insurance provider. While working for Linklaters, Bagshaw also represented Bridgepoint in January 2012 during the PE firm’s acquisition of wealth management business Quilter.

tom.baker@legalease.co.uk

 

Legal Business

Private equity: Advent and Bain return to Weil for latest payments acquisition

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Finance Hogan LovellsWeil, Gotshal & Manges

Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Hogan Lovells have taken key roles as Advent International and Bain Capital Private Equity have agreed to purchase Concardis for a reported $745m.

The acquisition of the German firm is the latest in a run of purchases of payment providers including Worldpay. Concardis’ transaction volume grew 20% in the past two years from €35.2bn to €41.9bn.

Concardis was owned by a group of German private banks, co-operative banks, savings banks and DZ Bank. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank coordinated the selling shareholders and were advised by Hogan Lovells. Hogan Lovells’s team was led by corporate partner Tim Brandi in Frankfurt.

Weil acted for Advent and Bain again, with a team comprising both German and London partners. In Germany managing partner Gerhard Schmidt acted on the deal with partners Stephan Grauke, Christian Tappeiner, Barbara Jaegersberger, Uwe Hartmann and Tobias Geerling. In London Advent’s go to man Marco Compagnoni and Tom Richards acted on the purchase.

Compagnoni said: ‘[Advent and Bain] have had a series of excellent deals in the transactions sector, such as Worldpay, this is yet another.’

Other recent Weil mandates for Advent and Bain include the acquisition and subsequent exit by IPO of Worldpay, the €2.15bn acquisition of Italian payment services provider ICBPI in 2015 and the €1.1bn purchase of Italian payment processing company Setefi in 2016 from Intesa Sanpaolo.

The US firm recently acted on OMERS first European private equity exit as it sold V.Group to Advent. Weil acted for the private equity arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer took a spot acting for Advent with London private equity head Adrian Maguire taking the lead.

victoria.young@legalease.co.uk

Read more: ‘The M&A Report: Private equity offers the clients for all seasons’

Legal Business

Private equity: Weil and Freshfields act as OMERS sells V.Group to Advent

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Corporate Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerWeil, Gotshal & Manges
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Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have won roles on OMERS Private Equity’s first European exit as it sells V.Group to Advent International.

The private equity arm of pension fund Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System plans to reinvest in V.Group while the company’s management team will retain a minority stake in the maritime firm. V.Group manages over 1000 vessels out of 70 international offices on behalf of its customers across commercial shipping, cruise, energy and defence sectors.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed. OMERS originally bought V.Group in 2011 for $520m, with Weil also advising on the purchase.

Weil co-head of private equity Marco Compagnoni (pictured) advised OMERS on the deal. The firm also acted for OMERS and its portfolio company DTI earlier this year on its agreement to buy Epiq Systems together with Harvest Partners for $1bn.

Travers Smith advised V.Group management on the deal with a team led by private equity partner Adam Orr.

Freshfields’ London private equity head Adrian Maguire advised Advent alongside finance partners Denise Ryan and Sean Pierce also acted on the deal. Ince & Co provided specialist maritime law advice to Advent with a team led by global head of corporate Stephen Jarvis.

Maguire also acted for Advent on its sale of the Priory to Acadia Healthcare alongside corporate partner Julian Pritchard for £1.3bn, after buying it in 2011 for £925m.

The deal comes as Maguire readies himself to become head of the firm’s global financial investors sector group taking over the role from heavyweight David Higgins. The firm’s GFI group, one of its eight sector groups, covers private equity funds, pension funds, infrastructure funds, sovereign wealth funds and alternative capital providers.

He will take over the role in January working alongside fellow co-head Markus Paul who is based in Frankfurt.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

Read more: ‘ABC – the brutally simple world of a private equity lawyer’

Legal Business

US partner promotions: Weil and Simpson Thacher promote two each in London

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Partnership promotions Simpson Thacher & BartlettWeil, Gotshal & Manges
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Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett have both promoted two new London partners in their latest partnership rounds. Weil made up 13 across the firm while there were promotions 11 at Simpson Thatcher.

Simpson Thacher increased this year’s round by 22% overall, but promoted one fewer partner in London than last year, whilst Weil increased its round by 63% and also promoted one fewer in the City.

New York-based Weil added James Sargent and Nitin Konchady as partners in London. Sargent is in the private funds practice and specialises in advising fund managers in the UK, Europe and globally and counts Hastings Fund Management, InfraRed Capital and Castleforge Partners among his clients.

Konchady joins the banking & finance practice and is a member of the European high yield team. Significant deals include advising on the bridge and bond financing of Hellman & Friedman’s acquisition of TeamSystem, an Italian software firm and the bridge and bond financing of the acquisition by HomeVi (a PAI Partners portfolio company).

Fellow US firm Simpson Thacher strengthened its City bench with Shahpur Kabraji and Tom Lloyd, both in the banking and credit practice. Kabraji focuses on domestic and cross-border syndicated credit, acquisition finance and other leveraged finance transactions, and Lloyd advises clients on credit transactions and financial instruments, as well as cross-border finance issues with a focus on sponsor-driven real estate investments.

Simpson Thacher also made up seven partners in New York across a variety of practice areas, one in Washington DC and one in Hong Kong. Weil promoted across 11 offices around the world including four in New York, one in Frankfurt, one in Princeton, two in Washington DC, one in Dallas, one in Boston and one in Silicon Valley.

Last month, Wall Street leader Simpson Thacher made a high-profile London hire after recruiting Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Ben Spiers to boost its M&A practice, while Weil landed Herbert Smith Freehills’ London head of private equity James MacArthur in May this year as the US firm looks to ramp up its infrastructure coverage in the City.

All partnership promotions are effective 1 January 2017.

georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk

London partner promotions:

Simpson Thacher

Shahpur Kabraji – banking and credit practice, London

Tom Lloyd – banking and credit & real estate practices, London

Weil, Gotshal & Manges

Nitin Konchady – banking & finance practice, London

James Sargent- private funds practice, London

Legal Business

Ashurst misses out as Gibson Dunn and Pinsents take front row seats on $1.2bn Odeon deal

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Corporate Gibson, Dunn & CrutcherPinsent MasonsWeil, Gotshal & Manges
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City firm Ashurst has missed out to former partners at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher on the $1.2bn sale of London-based Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group by private equity owner Terra Firma.

Wanda-owned American cinema chain AMC Theatres resurrected a deal for Odeon & UCI, having previously stated the deal would be off if the UK voted to leave the EU, in one of the biggest European deals following the Brexit vote. The deal makes AMC Theatres the largest cinema operator in the world, with 627 theatres and 7,600 movie screens in eight countries.

Terra Firma, which had long been an Ashurst client, instructed former Ashurst partners Charlie Geffen and Nigel Stacey on the sale.

The corporate partners, who both joined Gibson in 2014, acted for Guy Hands’ Terra Firma on its original deal for Odeon back in 2004 and merged it with rival UCI.

Pinsent Masons acted for AMC Theatres, with a team led by private equity partner Tom Leman with partners John Tyerman and Tom Johnson.

Pinsents worked with Husch Blackwell which advised on US elements of the transaction with a team including partners Jim Ash and Kirstin Salzman.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges advised on financing aspects of the deal with a team lead by Courtney Marcus in Dallas. Weil partner Corey Chivers in New York also acted on the deal.

Osborne Clarke acted for the management of Odeon & UCI cinemas.

Leman said: ‘It was a short and intense process with the small hiccup of a Brexit vote along the way. After that we had to work hard to deliver a deal that worked for both parties, however the evidence is there that the UK remains open for business.’

The deal is subject to competition clearances.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

US firms take roles as Melrose becomes first post-Brexit acquirer with $2.81bn Nortek purchase

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Corporate Simpson Thacher & BartlettWeil, Gotshal & Manges
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In a post-Brexit referendum takeover which has seen turnaround group Melrose’s shares soar, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Weil, Gotshal & Manges have secured advisory roles as Melrose purchases US ventilation manufacturer Nortek in a deal worth $2.81bn.

In the first transaction after the referendum with a UK acquirer, Melrose will acquire the manufacturing business, which has more than 90% of its turnover in North America.

Turning to its long-time adviser, Simpson Thacher guided Melrose through the acquisition while Weil acted as legal counsel to Nortek.

Melrose had been on the lookout for new businesses to acquire following its purchase of Elster Group, which Simpson Thacher also advised the buyout group on. German Gas, electricity and water meter manufacturer Elster, advised by Allen & Overy, was sold for £3.3bn to American international conglomerate Honeywell last year.

Other mandates which Simpson Thacher has led on include acting for Melrose in 2011 on its contested public offer for Charter International, which Melrose eventually pulled out of.

Weil’s team on the deal includes US corporate partners Frederick Green and Michael Francies, with public company advice from Lyuba Goltser. Also advising from New York are partners Paul Wessel, Marc Silberberg and Charan Sandhu. Banking and finance partner Chris McLaughlin acted on the deal from London.

Earlier this year Weil had advised the Nortek as it faced a class action alleging defects in its products, which was thrown out by a Florida judge.

Alongside Weil and Simpson Thacher, Nomura International, JP Morgan Cazenove and Bank of America Merrill Lynch also advised Melrose on the deal while Barclays, Citi and RBC Capital Markets advised Nortek.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Weil makes key infrastructure hire with appointment of HSF’s London head of private equity

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Strategic recruitment Weil, Gotshal & Manges
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Weil, Gotshal & Manges has landed Herbert Smith Freehills‘ London head of private equity James MacArthur as the US firm looks to ramp up its infrastructure coverage in the City.

With buyout houses scoping investment opportunities in the oil and gas sector as oil giants look to raise cash amid the oil price slump, MacArthur’s move adds energy and infrastructure M&A ammo as law firms increase investment in this space. Indeed, MacArthur recently advised Antin Infrastructure Partners on its £562m purchase of BG Group’s 63% stake in the Central Area Transmission System (CATS) gas pipeline in the UK North Sea in 2014.

MacArthur also counts private equity houses the Carlyle Group and Cabot Square Capital as clients. Hannam and Partners, the boutique merchant bank fronted by former JP Morgan banker Ian Hannam, is another client.

MacArthur’s exit comes as a blow to HSF, which has focused heavily on growing its energy and infrastructure group since the merger between the UK’s Herbert Smith and Australia’s Freehills in 2012. MacArthur returned to HSF in 2010, having started his career at the firm some eight years earlier. He left the firm the first time around in 2006 to join White & Case as an associate, before joining Kirkland & Ellis where he made partner in the Chicago-bred firm’s City corporate group.

While HSF has never been a force in the City leveraged buyout market, MacArthur has built up a strong reputation for handling private equity investments into the energy and infrastructure space. He also acts for sponsors across TMT, manufacturing, real estate and consumer products sectors.

After a relative lull in the London lateral hiring market, there has been a string of big-billing private equity partner moves from UK to US firms in the past week, with Helen Croke departing Travers Smith for Ropes & Gray and David Holdsworth leaving Linklaters for Kirkland.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Latham and Weil Gotshal advise as CVC takes majority stake in betting firm Tipico

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Corporate Latham & WatkinsWeil, Gotshal & Manges
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Latham & Watkins and Weil, Gotshal & Manges landed leading roles on the sale of a majority stake in Germany’s largest sports betting operator Tipico Group to CVC Capital Partners for an undisclosed sum.

Privately-held Tipico, which sponsors clubs including FC Bayern and Hamburg SV, was put up for sale by its founders in a recent auction.

CVC would not disclose the purchase price, although sources told Reuters the deal valued the company at about $1.4bn, and CVC’s stake amounted to 60% of that.

The private equity firm’s previous investments in sports betting providers includes British betting firm Sky Bet, William Hill and the IG Group, a digital trading and betting platform.

Latham & Watkins advised CVC on the transaction with a Frankfurt-based corporate team led by partner Oliver Felsenstein and Munich-based tax partner Stefan Suess. Weil’s Germany managing partner and private equity specialist Gerhard Schmidt advised Tipico alongside partners Stephan Grauke, Volkmar Bruckner, Barbara Jagersberger, and Tobias Geerling.

The current owners will remain shareholders in the company and the transaction, subject to the approvals, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016.

The deal is Felsenstein’s fifth since his arrival from Clifford Chance (CC) last year. Felsenstein departed with fellow corporate partner Burc Hesse just a few months into his four-year term as head of CC’s Germany corporate practice.

Since joining Latham, he has advised Chequers Capital its purchase of signage supplier Spandex AG from funds advised by Gilde Buy Out Partners; as well as HgCapital on the acquisition of a majority investment in Eucon group last year.

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Weil and DLA take lead roles as retailer BHS enters administration

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Corporate DLA PiperWeil, Gotshal & Manges
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Weil, Gotshal & Manges has advised British department store chain BHS as it filed for administration today (25 April), with DLA Piper expected to work on behalf of the administrators.

An attempt to secure a rescue package last week failed, putting around 11,000 jobs at risk. With 164 stores across the UK, the retailer has a total debt of £1.3bn and a pension deficit of £571m which could be bailed out by the government-backed Pension Protection Fund.

The company was sold by Arcadia Group chairman Sir Philip Green in 2000 for just £1 to a group of city investors called Retail Acquisitions as the brand struggled against more fashionable high street competition from the likes of Primark and H&M. Green had originally bought the chain for £200m in 2000.

Weil London head of restructuring Adam Plainer has advised BHS alongside restructuring partner Mark Lawford.

Duff & Phelps has been named as administrators to BHS. DLA Piper will advise the restructuring firm led by Leeds-based partner Colin Ashford.

The firm is a longstanding adviser to Duff & Phelps, working alongside administrators on the sale of tourist attraction Fantasy Island in Skegness as a going concern to the international leisure group Mellors Group earlier this year.

DLA also advised Duff & Phelps on the restructuring and sale of a group of five property owning companies to Starwood Capital Group in 2015 and the sale of Sceptre Leisure to the Gauselmann Group in the same year, in a transaction which saved over 350 jobs.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

New York slowdown: Weil Gotshal revenue flat again as Davis Polk’s strong run comes to an end

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US firms Davis Polk & WardwellWeil, Gotshal & Manges
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New York elite firms Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Davis Polk & Wardwell struggled to achieve meaningful growth last year, with Weil’s haul of $1.16bn in 2015 still behind what the firm generated in 2011.

Similarly, growth at Davis Polk stuttered in 2015 after notching double-digit growth in 2014 to break the $1bn barrier. Impacted by the drop-off in financial crisis-related litigation and a cooling in the capital markets space at the back-end of 2015 following the stock market turmoil in China, revenue dipped slightly to $1.07bn.

This equates to a $20m fall in revenue, ending a rapid period of growth for Davis Polk that saw it increase revenue by 27% between 2009 and 2014.

New York rival Weil posted a 1% rise in revenue to $1.16bn in 2015, continuing a period of slow growth. While last year saw a marked increase in activity levels within its cornerstone bankruptcy practice, turnover at the firm is down 5% over the past five years, having generated $1.23bn in 2011.

The number of lawyers at Weil, which laid off more than 150 people in 2013, shrunk for the third consecutive year to 1,063 in 2015. A reduction in the number of equity partners at the firm also helped to push up profitability, with profits per equity partner (PEP) up by 5% to $2.52m.

PEP at Davis Polk, meanwhile, was 1% up on 2014 to $3.33m last year.

Other US firms to post results this reporting season include White & Case, which also reported flat revenues up 1% to $1.524bn, while Cooley’s financials for 2015 show revenue has risen 14% to $912m. Hogan Lovells continues to post modest financial growth as its results showed revenue for the calendar year increased by 2.3% to $1.82bn.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk