Public Takeovers and Mergers

We are widely recognised as one of the leading public M&A practices in the UK. We advise clients on all aspects of public M&A transactions in all market sectors.

Much of our work is complex, high-value and cross-border in nature and in recent years we have acted on some of the most high-profile public transactions in the market. We advise some of the world's most successful and ambitious businesses and business leaders. Our clients range from UK and international corporations to private equity houses, investment banks and wealthy individuals.

Success in public M&A depends on more than executing the deal. It requires careful timing, clear communication and the ability to manage the needs of multiple stakeholders, often under intense public or regulatory scrutiny. We help clients anticipate potential issues and find solutions that support their commercial and strategic goals.

Our advice and support for clients includes:

• public-to-private transactions and de-listings;
• recommended and hostile takeovers;
• cross-border bids;
• anti-raid planning and bid defences; and
• break-up and asset separation strategies.

Our public M&A offering is enhanced by the depth of our expertise in a number of complementary areas, including financing, anti-trust and other regulatory issues, tax and structuring, share schemes, employment and pensions.

Work highlights include advising:

• Peter Hargreaves, the co-founder and largest shareholder of FTSE 100 company Hargreaves Lansdown plc, in respect of the £5.4bn recommended takeover of Hargreaves Lansdown by the buyout consortium led by CVC, together with Nordic Capital and Platinum Ivy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority;
• Pandox AB on its recommended €1.4bn offer for Dalata Hotel Group plc;
• Joshua Alliance on the £408m take-private of AIM-listed clothing and footwear retailer N Brown;
• NortonLifeLock Inc., a NASDAQ-listed consumer cybersecurity solutions provider, on its $25bn cash and stock merger with Avast;
• Dana on its proposed $6.2bn merger with GKN’s Driveline business, as part of GKN’s (ultimately unsuccessful) defence against Melrose Industries’ hostile takeover;
• a consortium consisting of SPWOne V Limited, Castelnau Group Limited and Phoenix Asset Management Partners on the acquisition of Dignity plc, the UK’s leading end-of-life services business, with an implied enterprise value of £789m;
• the largest private shareholder in AVEVA Group plc on the £9.86bn takeover by Schneider Electric; and
• Robey Warshaw, as financial adviser, in respect of the £1.2bn recommended cash offer for EMIS Group plc by UnitedHealth.