Private M&A transactions present unique challenges and opportunities for international and domestic companies seeking to grow, restructure or enter new markets. Each deal requires a tailored approach, with careful attention to commercial drivers, risk allocation and the demands of cross-border execution.
We can provide support with all aspects of the private M&A lifecycle - from initial strategy and due diligence, through deal structuring and negotiation, to post-completion integration. Navigating regulatory frameworks, protecting data and intellectual property, and managing employment and tax considerations are central to achieving a successful outcome.
We partner with clients to deliver bespoke solutions for private M&A transactions, drawing on deep sector knowledge and a collaborative, hands-on approach. Our team works seamlessly across jurisdictions, leveraging firm-wide expertise to address complex, multi-faceted issues and coordinating with trusted local counsel where necessary. Whether acting for buyers, sellers or management teams, the focus remains on delivering efficient execution and maximising value.
Clients rely on us for pragmatic advice, commercial insight and responsive support at every stage of the transaction.
Our Services
Expertise in multi-billion-pound mergers, acquisitions and complex cross-border deals.
- WindAcre Partnership
Advised WindAcre Partnership on its participation in a private equity consortium which acquired the US$16bn UK-incorporated, NYSE-listed Nielsen Holdings. - Arriva Plc
Advised the management team of leading pan-European passenger transportation operator Arriva Plc on its €1.6bn sale to I Squared Capital. - LXi
Advised on the £4bn merger of LXi with Secure Income REIT plc. We advised on all aspects of the merger including the substantial real estate due diligence exercise and the £385m acquisition finance facility. - The Ardonagh Group
Advised the management team of the personal lines broking business of The Ardonagh Group (Atlanta) on its merger with Markerstudy Group to create a major new player in the UK insurance industry with the transaction valuing Atlanta at £1.2bn - Acadia Healthcare
Advised Acadia Healthcare, a US based provider of inpatient behavioural healthcare facilities, on a US$662m agreement to acquire Partnerships in Care and the £1.5bn acquisition of Priory Group, a leading provider of behavioural healthcare facilities in the United Kingdom.
Advising on high-value acquisitions, disposals and investments across major sectors.
- Addison Lee acquisition
Advised CityFleet Networks, a subsidiary of Singaporean-listed ComfortDelGro, on its £270m acquisition of Addison Lee. - Brockwell Energy
Advised the management team of Brockwell Energy on its hive out from Hargreaves Services Plc in a deal backed by private equity investors Pioneer Point Partners and Davidson Kempner, to develop an £800m portfolio of renewable energy projects. - BGC Partners
Advised the management of BGC Partners’ insurance broking operations on its sale to The Ardonagh Group for headline cash consideration of US$500m. - Citic Europe Holdings
Advised Citic Europe Holdings A.S. on the €250m sale of Invia Group. - Intercontinental Hotels
Advised Intercontinental Hotels on the £300m sale and manage back of the Intercontinental Hotel, Park Lane.
Supporting mid-market transactions and investments for dynamic growing businesses.
- City of London Investment Group
Advised City of London Investment Group, a global fund manager, on its £78.4m acquisition of Karpus Management Inc. in an all-share merger. - OneCom Group
Advised the founders of OneCom Group, the UK’s largest independent business telecoms provider, on a £100m investment by LDC and Ares. - Schroders UK Real Estate Fund
Advised on a £45m purchase and forward funding agreement for One Cambridge Square, a development site in Cambridge, UK. - KFin Technologies Limited
Advised KFin Technologies Limited, a listed Indian fund services provider, on its US$34.7m acquisition of a 51% stake in Ascent Fund Services, a Singapore-based full-suite global fund administrator. - Sutton Winston
Advised the individual selling shareholders on the sale of Sutton Winson to Acrisure for approximately £88m.
Advising on financial sector M&A, investments and strategic partnerships worldwide.
- Ardonagh Group
Advised insurance company, The Ardonagh Group, on a number of UK bolt-on acquisitions in recent years, including Oxford Insurance Group, UK motorcycle insurance specialist, Carole Nash and specialist UK insurance brokers Mastercover, Bennett Christmas, Saffron and Professional Fee Protection. - Alwen Hough Johnson
Advised the shareholders of Alwen Hough Johnson (AHJ) on its sale to Miller Insurance, forming a major new intermediary in the reinsurance broking and MGA sector. - Liberum Capital
Advised Liberum Capital on its merger with Panmure Gordon to create the UK's largest independent investment bank, Panmure Liberum. - Lilley Plummer Risks
Advised the shareholders of Lilley Plummer Risks on its sale to Goldman Sachs-backed insurance intermediary, The Clear Group. - Zedra
Advised on multiple deals for PE backed Zedra, a Switzerland-based financial services group, including on its majority investment in RBB Business Advisors, a French audit, consulting, and accounting firm.
Guiding clients through energy deals, renewables and infrastructure investments.
- Apollo-managed funds
Advised Apollo-managed funds in relation to their acquisition of maritime liquified natural gas carrier infrastructure platform, Hav Energy LNG Holding AS. - Siem Industries/Subsea7
Advised Siem Industries (the largest shareholder of Subsea7) on the merger of Subsea7 and Saipem under the EU Merger Regulation, to create a global leader in energy services listed on the Milan and Oslo stock exchanges. - Inspirit Capital
Advised Inspirit Capital on the sale of portfolio company CWind Limited to All Energies Services Group. - Base Resources
Advised AIM-listed mineral sands producer Base Resources in connection with its successful A$375m acquisition by Energy Fuels Inc, the US-headquartered global producer of rare earth elements. - Arcola Energy
Advised the sellers of Arcola Energy, a systems engineering company, on the company's acquisition by Canadian listed company Ballard Power Systems.
Advising on tech M&A, growth capital and digital transformation transactions.
- S&P Global
Advised S&P Global on its acquisition of TeraHelix Ltd, a financial technology firm specialising in advanced data modelling, linking and reconciliation services, leveraging AI technology. - Kroll
Advised S&P Global on its acquisition of TeraHelix Ltd, a financial technology firm specialising in advanced data modelling, linking and reconciliation services, leveraging AI technology. - RELX Group
Advised FTSE 100 data analytics company, RELX Group plc, on several transactions including the acquisition of the Snowflake Software aviation data business and the Migacore Technologies travel analytics business. - Augmentum Fintech
Advised Augmentum Fintech on its investment into Pemo, an innovative expense management solution serving customers across the Middle East. - Andera Partners
Advised Andera Partners and the founders of TXCube on the acquisition of TXCube by Alliance Electronics.
Supporting M&A and investments in pharmaceuticals, healthcare and life sciences.
- EMAS Pharma
Advised the management team of EMAS Pharma on Kester Capital's acquisition of EMAS Pharma. - Dr. Falk Pharma
Advised Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH on its acquisition of Kynos Therapeutics. - Blandford Capital
Advised Blandford Capital on the acquisition of UK adult education and residential home provider, Hesley Group, from Antin Infrastructure Partners. - HC-One
Advised HC-One on its arrangements with AXA to operate UK based care facilities on behalf of AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets. This was following AXA IM – Real Assets’ acquisition of the Retirement Villages Group. - GE Healthcare
Advised GE Healthcare on the acquisition of Zionexa, an innovator of in-vivo oncology and neurology biomarkers that help enable more personalised healthcare.
Expert advice on real estate acquisitions, disposals and portfolio transactions.
- LXi REIT plc (LXi)
Advised on the £4bn merger of LXi with Secure Income REIT plc. We advised on all aspects of the merger including the substantial real estate due diligence exercise and the £385m acquisition finance facility. - M&G Real Estate
Advised on its acquisition of nine multi-let industrial assets from Patrizia for £165m. - Tristan Capital Partners
Advised Tristan Capital Partners on the acquisition of Stirling Square, a prime office building just off Pall Mall in London, from WELPUT. - Schroders Capital Real Estate Fund
Advised Schroders Capital Real Estate Fund on the £268m sale of Two Ruskin Square, Croydon to Pension Insurance Corporation. - Kensington Forum hotel
Advised on the disposal of the Kensington Forum hotel for a major private investment firm (which was operated by the client as an IHG franchise hotel). We also advised on franchising and other operational matters in connection with the disposal..
Advising on consumer sector sales, acquisitions and strategic restructurings.
- Ragleth Limited
Advised Ragleth Limited, the parent organisation of Anglia Maltings (Holdings) Limited, on its sale to Richardson Malting (UK) Limited, a subsidiary of Richardson International Limited. - Phoenix Beverages Ltd
Advised Phoenix Beverages Ltd (PBL) on its acquisition of a 54.4% stake in Seychelles Breweries Ltd (Seybrew) from Diageo Holdings Netherlands B.V. and Guinness Overseas Limited, members of the Diageo Group. - General Mills
Advised General Mills on the complex restructuring and sale of its Häagen-Dazs business, and other assets, to various manufacturing and cold-chain distribution companies and franchisees in South East Asia. - Pho
Advised on all the site acquisitions for this Vietnamese fusion cuisine group, including One New Change centre in the City of London, Balham, Chiswick and Covent Garden. - Bernard Matthews
Advised the family shareholders on the sale of Bernard Matthews to Rutland Partners following an auction process.
Supporting major transport sector M&A, investments and management buyouts.
- CityFleet Networks
Advised CityFleet Networks, a subsidiary of Singaporean-listed ComfortDelGro, on its £270m acquisition of Addison Lee. - Abellio UK
Advised the management team of Abellio UK on its MBO from the Dutch state, together with the new equity and incentive arrangements for the team. - Arriva Plc
Advised the management team of leading pan-European passenger transportation operator Arriva Plc on its €1.6bn sale to I Squared Capital. - BW Group
Advised BW Group, a global maritime company involved in shipping, floating infrastructure, deepwater oil and gas production, and new sustainable technologies, on its acquisition of 100% of Hawaiki Submarine Cable and International Connectivity Services. - The Simpson Group
Advised the Simpson Group on the sale of Interamericana Trading Corporation to Inchcape PLC, the global automotive distributor.
Guiding industrial sector clients on acquisitions, investments and global expansion.
- Iluma Alliance
Advised Iluma Alliance, a global agricultural and food technology conglomerate, on its acquisition of Anitox Group. - Industrial Physics
Advised Industrial Physics, a global packaging, material test and measurement provider, on its acquisition of Torus Technology Group from several individual sellers. - Archean Chemical Industries
Advised Archean Chemical Industries on its subscription for and acquisition of shares in Clas-sic Wafer Fab Limited along with a debt investment. - Union Park Capital
Advised Boston based private equity firm Union Park Capital and its portfolio company, Industrial Physics LLC on the acquisition of testing equipment manufacturer Systech Illinois (with businesses in the UK and the US). - Andera Partners and the founders of TXCube
Advised Andera Partners and the founders of TXCube on the acquisition of TXCube by Alliance Electronics, a French company with expertise in the design and industrialisation of electronic products.
Advising US clients on UK acquisitions, investments and cross-border transactions.
- Industrial Physics
Advised KKR portfolio company, Industrial Physics - a global packaging, material test and measurement provider, on its acquisition of Torus Technology Group from several individual sellers. - Elemica
Advised Elemica, a US-based digital supply chain network for the global manufacturing sector, on its acquisition of OmPrompt, a UK-based technology company. - Kroll
Advised Kroll, a global provider of services and digital products related to governance, risk and transparency, on its acquisition of Redscan, a UK-based cyber security services provider. - URS Corporation
Advised NYSE-listed URS Corporation on its £161m offer for Scott Wilson Group plc. - Corporation Service Company
Advised Corporation Service Company, a global provider of business, legal, tax and digital brand services, on a number of transactions, including its acquisition of FirstCorp Pte. Ltd and the share sale and purchase of Easily Limited by CSC Administrative Services Limited to Touch Local Limited.
Awards and Recognition
Our People
Jonathan Bridcut
Partner - Head of Corporate Finance, London
London
Guillaume Briant
Partner - Head of Corporate, Avocat au Barreau de Paris
Paris
Melissa Forbes-Miranda
Partner
Dubai
Tom Platts
Partner - Head of Corporate, Singapore
London
Joanna Jiang
Partner at Wei Tu Law Firm*
Simon Chen
Managing Partner Shanghai at Wei Tu Law Firm*
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