Ken Barry

Ken's experience includes advising:

Goldman Sachs:

• on the launch of their US$1.72 billion take private of Kahoot! ASA, the global learning and audience engagement platform.
• and Advania on its acquisition of CCS Media, a technology and solution specialist with over 41 years of experience delivering first-class IT solutions and services to organisations across the UK.
• on its acquisiton of Norgine, a leading European specialist pharmaceutical company.
• and Advania on its acquisition of Visolit, a corporate IT solutions and cloud services business active in Norway and Sweden.
• and Advania on its acquisition of Content+Cloud, a Microsoft-focused cloud services and digital transformation partner based in the UK.
• on forming a consortium alongside Advent, Centerbridge, CPPIB, and LGT Group, to launch a take-private offer for Aareal Bank AG, an international specialist property financing bank listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange for consideration of €29 per share, and an implied equity value of €1.8 billion.
• as lead investor in a Series D fundraising into French robotics company, Exotec. Exotec is the designer and manufacturer of the Goods to Person SKYPOD solution, which enables order preparation in retail logistics.
• on its investment in Elinvar, a leading digital platform for asset and wealth managers, in connection with its €25 million Series C fund raising.
• on its investment in the weFox Group, a Berlin insurtech platform firm specialising in digital insurance in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
• on the acquisition of a majority of the shares in Advania, a leading Nordic IT provider, alongside management, VIA Equity and other reinvesting shareholders for an EV of SEK 4.8 billion, approximately Euro 480 million.
• and other majority shareholder, on the disposal of M-Tec Holding Denmark ApS, a holding company for Trackunit Group to HgCapital. Trackunit Group is a Danish telematics manufacturer with operations in Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, UK and US.
• on its investment into and disposal of Moonbug Entertainment, a children's entertainment company that distributes audio and video content on various platforms including YouTube, Amazon Prime and Netflix.

The Carlyle Group:

• on its acquisition of Meopta Optika, a manufacturer of optical, opto-mechanical, and opto-electronic solutions headquartered in the Czech Republic.
• on its acquisition of Tescan Orsay Holding, a leading manufacturer of electron microscopes and other high-tech scientific instruments, headquartered in the Czech Republic.
• as lead investor in a c. US$55 million Series B round into Hack the Box, a gamified cybersecurity training platform, based in the UK with a presence in Greece and the US.
• on its acquisition of LiveU, an Israeli-headquartered producer of portable cellular backpacks for video streaming and live broadcasting from Francisco Partners, the manager shareholder and minority shareholders.
• on the proposed structured equity investment into Sazka.
• on its equity and debt investment in the Unifrutti Group, a leading global distributor of fresh produce and fruit, through a preference equity injection and the tap of an existing bond.
• on its acquisition of a majority stake in Memsource a.s., a leading Czech translation technology provider that assists global corporations and the language services industry in the automation of localisation relating to large volumes of multilingual content.
• on its acquisition of disguise, a global provider of live event visualisation solutions, from Livingbridge and its founders.

Triton:

• on its investment in Wavelynx Technologies, a leader in the field of secure and open mobile-first identity and access control solutions, based in Colorado, USA.
• on the ongoing acquisition of a significant US asset.
• as Sponsor, its portfolio company, ACRE Operating Group, LLC, and Spitfire Parent, Inc., as Borrower, in a term loan facility in connection with the acquisition of Feenics, Inc., an access control as a service (ACaaS) platform.

A.P. Moller Capital:

• on its long-term joint venture with Hassan Allam Utilities, a leading Egyptian engineering, construction and infrastructure company, to create an integrated logistics platform.
• on its acquisition of 100% of Vector Logistics, a wholly owned subsidiary of JSE listed RCL Foods.
• on its acquisition of a 49% stake in KEG Holdings Limited, a liquified petroleum gas business operating in East Africa, by A.P. Moller Capital and Royal Bafokeng Holdings from Emerging Capital Partners and the KEG founder.

Development Partners International, a leading African focused private equity firm:

• on its exit from its investment in B.TECH, a leading consumer electronics business in Egypt to Saudi Egyptian Investment Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
• on its US$100 million investment in its portfolio company Kazyon, one of the largest and fast growing Egyptian discount retailers.
• on a US$45 million investment in MNT Investments B.V. to attain a significant minority stake.
• on its sale of a majority of its stake in MNT (the market leading consumer finance and microfinance business in Egypt) to a consortium led by Apis Partners.

CVC Capital Partners:

• on its aborted bid for a Nordic utilities conglomerate.
• on its ongoing acquisition of a CEE-based consumer goods business.

Mid Europa, a leading buyout investor focused on the growth markets of Central and South Eastern Europe:

• on the €1.3 billion sale of Profi Rom Food (Profi) to Ahold Delhaize, a Dutch-Belgian listed multinational retail and wholesale holding company. This is the largest ever private equity grocery sale in continental Europe.
• on its acquisition of a majority stake in Optegra, a European ophthalmology platform operating in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and the United Kingdom.
• on its sale of a majority stake in Symfonia to Accel-KKR, a leading global technology investment firm focused on software and tech-enabled companies.
• in the agreed US $3.253 billion acquisition of the Allegro Group, the largest online marketplace and non-food shopping destination in Poland, from Naspers Limited (JSE: NPN.SJ and LSE: NPSN) by funds advised by Cinven, Permira and Mid Europa.
• on the sale of Zabka Polska S.A., Poland's leading convenience retailer to funds advised by CVC Capital Partners. This is the largest ever transaction in the Polish food retail sector and the largest ever private equity exit in Poland.
• on its acquisition of Sage sp. z o.o., who provide accounting software services to small and medium enterprises in Poland, from the Sage Group Plc.
• in connection with their sale of Walmark a.s., a leading consumer healthcare company in CEE with a unique portfolio of iconic brands and direct presence across nine EU countries, to STADA Arzneimittel AG.
• on the sale of Bambi, the leading biscuit producer in the countries of former Yugoslavia, to Coca-Cola HBC AG (Coca-Cola HBC).
• on its acquisition of intive S.A., a digital product and software development services business based in Poland, Germany and Argentina from Enterprise Investors.
• on its acquisition of JS Hamilton.
• in the merger of Customer Management Center (CMC), the largest independent outsourced call centre and customer management services provider in Türkiye, with the M+ Group, the largest independent business process outsourcing (BPO) company in the CEE region.

BC Partners LLP on the acquisition of an up to approximately 45% stake in SOFIMA, the holding company that controls IMA S.p.A., an Italian publicly-traded company and world leader in the design and production of automatic machines for the processing and packaging of pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food, tea, coffee and tobacco.

PPF Group, a global private equity investor:

• in the €2.8 billion acquisition of Telenor's telecommunications assets in Central & Eastern Europe.
• in the acquisition of Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (NASDAQ/Prague Stock Exchange: CETV) and its subsidiaries ("CME"). CME operates television stations in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

AS Graanul Invest, a world leader in biomass and bioenergy production, and the largest producer of wood pellets in Europe, on the sale of a majority stake to funds managed by the affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc.

Keter Group, the world's largest producer of quality resin consumer products on the acquisition by BC Partners Ltd and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board of a majority stake in the group from the Sagol family. The transaction is the biggest ever LBO in Israel and has been described as the "deal of the decade" in the Israeli press.

Petroleum Equity on the acquisition of RDG (a leading independent German oil and gas exploration company) from Rohöl-Aufsuchungs Aktiengesellschaft.

HTN Towers group, (a portfolio company of Helios Investment Partners) on its sale to IHS Towers. This was the first mobile infrastructure consolidation in Africa.

Blackstone in its $900 million acquisition of the Mivisa Group.*

Blackstone in the sale of a 30% stake in Merlin Entertainments Group to CVC Capital Partners.*

KKR on its $342 million acquisition of Versatel, a German telecommunications company.*

* Matters prior experience to joining White & Case