Ropes Snags $1.1bn LBO from K&E
by law shucks on February 15, 2010
After years of peaceful co-existence dividing up private-equity behemoth Bain Capital’s work (US to Ropes, international to Kirkland), Ropes went and hired bank-finance partners Mike Goetz and Maurice Allen from Freshfields, then high-yield partner Jonathan Bloom from White & Case (Goetz and Allen’s firm previous to Freshfields).
As we noted, that was part of a pretty deliberate effort to pick up additional international work from Bain and others.
Now it’s paying off, as Ropes has just
handled the $1.1 billion LBO of Irish software company SkillSoft to a PE consortium that included Bain.
Details after the jump.
According to Legal Week, the consortium included Berkshire Partners, Advent International and Bain Capital. Irish firm Mason Hayes & Curran also represented the group.
The Ropes team was led by Boston corporate partner Jane Goldstein, alongside David Chapin and Jane Rogers in Boston and Steve Rutkovsky and Sunil Savkar in New York, working closely with partners in the US firm’s London office.
As we noted, Kirkland had handled most of Bain’s international work, including about
$11 billion of deals we previously identified. Being left off this one has to hurt, considering how few significant LBOs there have been recently, particularly in Europe.
The other lawyers on the deal, according to LegalWeek:
SkillSoft turned to Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, where corporate chair Hal Leibowitz led the team alongside M&A partner Patrick Rondeau and antitrust counsel Jeffrey Ayer, while Irish firm William Fry provided local law advice.
The acquisition is being financed with $605m (£385m) in debt from Morgan Stanley and Barclays Capital. Elite US firm Latham & Watkins advised the banks, fielding a team including London finance partner Dan Maze as well as finance partner Ronan Wicks, corporate partner Pete Labonski and tax partner Jiyeon Lee-Lim in New York.
A&L Goodbody advised the banks on Irish law with a team led by partners Adrian Burke and Cian McCourt.
Related posts:
- Firm Fight! Ropes v Kirkland
- DPW Snags Client from WSGR
- Counsel Cleaning up on Cosmetics Deal
- Ropes Sued for Patent App Plagiarism
- Wilmer, Ropes on ZipCar IPO
Tagged as:
freshfields,
kirkland & ellis,
latham & watkins,
M&A,
private equity,
ropes & gray,
white & case,
wilmer hale
