Private Equity
About
Transactions are increasingly complex and competition is intense among private equity firms and other investors. Experience, speed and the ability to innovate have become more important than ever.
The amount of time it takes to structure a private equity transaction can make or break a deal. When the stakes are high and time is short, private equity leaders turn to us to develop creative strategies to help them win auctions, mitigate risks and close deals quickly. From groundbreaking, monumental acquisitions to smaller strategic add-on deals, our private equity teams have implemented transactions with precision and care for established institutions, entrepreneurs and emerging visionaries alike.
Adding value to your deal from start to finish
When structuring a transaction, we begin by thoroughly evaluating the investment under consideration and acquisition proposals with value-add in mind. Our lawyers advise you on structuring and presenting bids, negotiating and drafting acquisition agreements and financing documents, offering guidance and insight right through to the end of the transaction. Our team supports clients through all stages of a deal, including:
- Initial fundraising, formation and building the private equity investment fund
- Investment decisions
- Day-to-day management of portfolio companies, including restructurings, existing debt refinancing, add-on acquisitions and management incentive schemes
- Exit from investments, whether by sales or recapitalizations of portfolio companies or by taking them public
Everything you need from one team
Our clients rely on us to provide them with sound solutions and first-rate representation in every major area of law, industry and global jurisdiction.
Our teams support private equity clients everywhere in the world – in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. We have offices in all major financial centers and virtually every significant emerging market.
We know the private equity world. We are experienced at all levels of the capital structure, and offer clients dedicated "sponsor focused teams", regardless of where in the capital structure you are investing or exiting. We offer access to all US and European forms of debt financing and will shape our team to meet our clients' needs.
Dedicated team beyond the deal
We are the original innovators of the dedicated portfolio company team concept. We have a team of private equity lawyers who help support the relationship between sponsor and portfolio company by advising portfolio companies on all aspects affecting their capital structures, management incentive structures, strategic issues and other advisory work. This team, which is staffed with corporate and finance lawyers, is responsible for delivering our full service capability to portfolio companies on a one-stop-shop basis.
A one-stop-shop for private equity
Our private equity team is a highly integrated, multi-disciplinary group with lawyers who know how to get deals done. We are collaborating from across our network of offices to provide clients with seamless service and deep industry experience, even on the most complex of mandates involving multiple specialties and jurisdictions. Our private equity practice works closely with professionals across the Firm including:
- Leveraged finance, including traditional acquisition finance and high yield bonds
- Tax structuring
- Employment, compensation & benefits
- Financial restructuring & insolvency
- Funds
- Antitrust/Competition
- Equity capital markets
- Dispute
- Real estate
- Intellectual property
- Regulatory & compliance
View all lawyers in Private Equity
View our Investment Funds capabilities
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
#1 APAC Private Equity by value
Bloomberg M&A League Tables FY 2023
#1 Europe M&A by value
Mergermarket LSEG M&A League Tables Q1 2024
#1 Europe exits by volume
Mergermarket M&A League Tables FY 2023
#2 Europe exits by value
Mergermarket M&A League Tables FY 2023
#2 Europe Private Equity by value
Bloomberg M&A League Tables Q1 2024
#3 Europe exits by volume
Mergermarket M&A League Tables Q1 2024
Top 5 Global exits by volume
Mergermarket M&A League Tables FY 2023
Top 10 US Private Equity by value
Bloomberg M&A League Tables Q1 2024
Ranked among the top tier law firms for PE Buyouts: Large Deals in the United States
The Legal 500 US, 2023
Ranked among the "Elite" law firms in the United States and New York for M&A
Chambers USA, 2023
Private Equity Deal of the Year
Bayobab–Africa50 East2West partnership
IFLR Africa Awards 2024
International M&A Firm of the Year
China Law & Practice Awards 2023
Experience
Advent International
Advent's sale of stake in a leading premium sleep solution provider in China.
Bridgepoint
Bridgepoint's US$2 billion sale of Diaverum to M42, a newly created healthcare joint venture between G42 Healthcare and Mubadala Health, valued at US$2 billion.
Brookfield
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners' US$775 million acquisition of Cyxtera Technologies, Inc., a global leader in data center colocation, interconnection services, and digital infrastructure.
BC Partners
BC Partners' US$3.03 billion co-controlling investment in Fedrigoni S.p.A., together with Bain Capital Private Equity.
The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group's acquisition of Meopta, a manufacturer of optical, opto-mechanical, and opto-electronic solutions headquartered in the Czech Republic.
Cobepa
Cobepa's acquisition of majority stake in Smart SD, a distributor of solutions in camera security, access control, intrusion and fire detection.
CVC Capital Partners
CVC Capital Partners' €1.5 billion acquisition of Partner in Pet Food.
CVC Capital Partners' €1.5 billion equity investment in France's Ligue de Football Professionnel.
CVC Capital Partners' proposed acquisition of Scan Global Logistics, a freight and logistics provider.
DigitalBridge
DigitalBridge's US$750 million carve-out acquisition of data center assets in Hong Kong and Malaysia from PCCW.
Funds affiliated with the investment management platform of DigitalBridge's joint venture with IFM Investors on the US$11 billion acquisition of all outstanding common shares of Switch, Inc., a leader in exascale data center ecosystems, edge data center designs and industry-leading telecommunications solutions.
EIG
EIG and its portfolio company MidOcean's proposed acquisition of Origin Energy Limited in consortium with the Brookfield Transition Fund, valuing Origin at over AUD 18 billion.
EQT
IFS and its shareholders, including EQT's investment by Hg. This transaction will make Hg a significant minority investor in IFS and WorkWave, in a transaction valuing the companies at US$10 billion.
EQT and Mubadala's acquisition of Envirotainer from Cinven, Novo Holdings and Sjätte AP-fonden – AP6. The enterprise value amounts to around €2.8 billion.
EQT/BPEA EQT's acquisition and privatization of Benesse Holdings, Inc., Japan's leading education and nursing care provider.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Goldman Sachs's US$2 billion acquisition of Norgine, a leading European specialist pharmaceutical company valued at US$2 billion.
Goldman Sachs' US$1.72 billion take-private of global learning and audience engagement platform Kahoot!
I Squared Capital
I Squared Capital's growth capital investment in RPower LLC, a distributed energy resource platform, with a target of up to US$400 million of equity capital to fund the development, construction and ownership of distributed energy resources that provide resiliency and services to both the electric grid and commercial and industrial users.
Macquarie Asset Management
Macquarie's acquisition of National Grid for a total value of £4.2 billion.
Macquarie's acquisition of Reden Solar for €2.5 billion.
Macquarie's acquisition of DTG Recycle, Washington State's leading independent vertically integrated non-MSW recycling business.
Nordic Capital
Nordic Capital's sale of Consilium Safety Group to Antin Infrastructure Partners.
Nordic Capital's sale of Macrobond, Swedish fast-growing global technology platform providing economic and financial data, to Francisco Partners.
Providence Equity Partners
Providence Equity Partners' sale of Globeducate for an enterprise value of €2 billion.
Providence Equity Partners' €1.3 billion sale of Superstruct Entertainment.
Quad-C Management Inc
Quad-C Management's acquisition of QED Technologies International, Inc. from Entegris, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENTG, "Entegris"), a leading supplier of advanced materials and process solutions for the semiconductor and other high-technology industries.
Triton Partners
Triton Partners' acquisition of Clinigen Group, a global specialist pharmaceutical services and products platform for £1.3 billion by way of public takeover.
