Private equity work continued to feed elite law firms this year, even in a slow overall M&A deals market.The biggest private equity transactions spanned industries and featured large asset managers and investors, like Blackstone Inc. and Mubadala Investment Co. Legal work on the deals helped propel firms to the top of the Bloomberg Law M&A league tables. Competition to land lucrative advisory roles steering private equity deals also sparked recruiting wars among law firms courting high-end partners. The pressure trickled down to smaller players increasingly looking to gain scale to try to increase their pieces of the pie.Here are five of the largest private equity deals guided by top law firms over the year. Home Depot – SRSHome Depot Inc. in March announced its biggest acquisition ever, a deal to buy SRS Distribution Inc. for about $18.25 billion. The transaction is expected to close by early 2025. Home Depot will purchase SRS Distribution from investment firms Leonard Green & Partners and Berkshire Partners, which became majority owners in 2018. Weil, Gotshal & Manges served as legal counsel to Home Depot. SRS was guided by Latham & Watkins.Novo – CatalentNovo Holdings in February announced its plan to purchase drug manufacturing company Catalent Inc. for $16.5 billion. The deal came as producers scramble to keep up with increasing demand for diabetes and obesity drugs Wegovy and Ozempic. The acquisition is meant to increase Novo Nordisk’s capacity.Goodwin Procter, a firm steeped in the life sciences sector, guided Novo Nordisk’s largest shareholder, Novo Holdings. Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, a top dealmaker among Big Law firms, assisted Catalent Inc., while Jones Day advised Catalent’s board.Blackstone – AirTrunk Australia took center stage in the private equity deals market in September with this massive deal. Blackstone Inc. announced its proposed purchase of Australian data center operator AirTrunk, a deal valuing the company at A$24 billion ($16.1 billion). The acquisition is Blackstone’s biggest-ever in the Asia-Pacific region. The private equity giant is joined by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in buying AirTrunk from Macquarie Group Ltd. and PSP Investments. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett steered longtime client Blackstone. The transaction also helped land Australian firm Allens, which guided CPP Investments, on Bloomberg Law’s global league tables. Nord Anglia Education In October, Swedish private equity firm EQT, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Neuberger Berman Private Markets agreed to acquire schools operator Nord Anglia Education in a deal worth $14.5 billion. Latham & Watkins, Debevoise & Plimpton, Ropes & Gray, and Cravath Swaine & Moore guided parties involved in the deal. Nord Anglia Education is an international schools organization which operates more 80 schools in 33 countries. Truist In February, Truist Financial Corp. announced its plans to se
Mer. Dic 25th, 2024
