Stephenson Harwood advising Cityfleet Networks on £270m acquisition of Addison Lee
Law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP is advising CityFleet Networks on its acquisition of Addison Lee.
CityFleet Networks, a subsidiary of the Singaporean-listed multinational company ComfortDelGro, is acquiring Addison Lee from a consortium of shareholders led by CEO Liam Griffin (part of Addison Lee's founding family) and Cheyne Capital. The deal values the Addison Lee business at £269.1 million.
Addison Lee is principally engaged in the provision of ground transportation activities, including private hire and managed vehicles, executive cars and chauffeuring services, and courier services. Addison Lee operates one of the largest fleets of private hire vehicles in London, including fully electric vehicles, zero emissions capable hybrids and black taxis.
ComfortDelGro, a multinational company with operations ranging from taxis to rail and buses, is acquiring Addison Lee as part of its plans to scale its taxi and private hire business in the UK, through expansion of the customer base and number of private hire drivers. Addison Lee is expected to complement CityFleet Network's existing operations in London, north-west England and Scotland. On completion the 7,500 drivers and 5,000 vehicles of the Addison Lee network will join CityFleet Networks' existing private hire and black taxi fleets elsewhere in the UK including Liverpool, the Wirral, Chester and Aberdeen.
Completion is currently scheduled for on or around 7 November and is not subject to any further regulatory approvals or clearances. As part of the deal, certain amounts arising from legal claims that Addison Lee is currently pursuing will form part of the consideration if the group is successful in its claims in the future. Any such amounts are not guaranteed and will be subject to the prior reimbursement of all costs and expenses incurred by Addison Lee in pursuing them. These litigation amounts are currently estimated to be in the range of between 2% and 4% of the consideration being settled at completion.
Corporate finance partner David Dowding is leading the Stephenson Harwood team, supported by associates Charmaine Yuen, Bryton Chin, and Alex Goodman. The corporate finance team have been further supported by a cross-practice team from across the London office, including private equity partner Chris Manning and managing associate Alex Stevens (advising on rollover and incentive arrangements, as key management will be retained as part of the deal), litigation partner Richard Garcia and associate Peter Sequeira, tax partner John Meehan, managing associate Byul Han and associate Ruth Hainsworth, employment partner Richard Freedman and associate Emily Daly, who is based in the firm's Dubai office, IP partner Rob Jacob and associate Alice Routh.
Client relationship partner Tammy Samuel, who has long been involved in ComfortDelGro's efforts to establish itself as a leading reputable provider of land transport services in the UK transport market, commented: "No stranger to the UK transport market, the ComfortDelGro group already successfully operates services in the UK including the Megabus inter-city coach service and, through its Metroline business, nearly a fifth of the London bus network as well as newly won contracts for bus operations in Manchester. The acquisition of Addison Lee not only represents an expansion of ComfortDelGro's footprint in the UK, but specifically it will enable the group to deepen and scale its premium point-to-point capability both in the UK and globally. Their largest ever corporate acquisition, this is an exciting development for a very important client and I am delighted David and the team are advising them on this transformational deal for ComfortDelGro."
