A&O Shearman

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (Brookfield), through its Financial Infrastructure strategy, has entered into a long-term strategic partnership with Barclays to grow and transform Barclays' payment acceptance business. The partnership will work to create a standalone entity over time, leveraging Barclays' extensive client relationships and experience of U.K. payments and Brookfield's global private equity expertise in payments, technology, operational transformation and corporate carve outs. This marks the first transaction for Brookfield Financial Infrastructure Partners, a dedicated strategy part of Brookfield’s private equity business, focused on investing in digital assets that enable the movement of money and form the backbone of the world’s financial economy. The M&A team advising Brookfield was led by partners Dominic Morris, Hugh Robinson and Chris Sabine as well as European co-head of private equity Neil Sinha on financing matters, together with senior associates Preethi Correa and James Funder and associate Akshita Jha. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eDSvZ_Pu #AOShearman

Dive into our latest article, Co-investing 101: shared risk, shared reward, where we explore the evolving landscape of co-investment opportunities in private markets. This insightful piece covers the fundamentals of co-investments, their resurgence across various sectors, and the strategic benefits for both fund managers and limited partners. Learn about the different structuring options, from single-investor vehicles to multi-investor pooled funds, and the importance of balancing governance, economics, and regulatory considerations. This article is a must-read for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of co-investments and navigate the complexities of this growing trend in private markets. Read the full article now and stay ahead in the competitive fundraising environment: https://lnkd.in/egGdjMsD #AOShearman #GreatFundInsights

We supported Ripple as non-U.S. counsel on due diligence and regulatory matters in its USD1.25bn acquisition of Hidden Road, one of the fastest-growing prime brokers in the world. With the acquisition, Ripple, a San Francisco-based leading provider of digital asset infrastructure for financial institutions, becomes the first crypto company to own and operate a global, multi-asset prime broker. The team that supported Ripple included partner Hugh Robinson alongside associates Andrew Pang and Natasha Rarity, and partner Nick Bradbury with associates Gregory Talbot and Adam Harwood, with support from Netherlands financial services regulatory partner Pien Kerckhaert and the wider financial services regulatory team. Read more about this acquisition here: https://ow.ly/zrAM50VyM2c #AOShearman

We advised leading alternative investment firm Stonepeak on joint venture consortium arrangements with KKR, including the bid conduct and equity investment agreements, in connection with the recommended GBP1.6 billion cash acquisition of Assura plc (Assura) by their wholly owned subsidiary Sana Bidco Limited. Assura is a FTSE 250 group which provides a crucial role in the provision of critical healthcare infrastructure in the UK.  The team is being led by private equity partner Paul Dunbar and counsel Josh Baxter. The team also includes partner Matt Hamilton-Foyn, senior associate Gina Malone and associate Caitlin Smith. #AOShearman

In today's challenging economic climate, real estate fund managers are finding innovative ways to provide liquidity to their investors. Continuation funds offer a compelling solution, allowing managers to extend the life of high-quality assets while offering liquidity to those who need it. In a recent article for PERE interviewed by Alicia Villegas, funds and asset management partner, Emma Danforth explained that in relation to liquidity solutions, “There’s been nervousness about the price realization you’re going to achieve. In that situation, a lot of my sponsor clients have been aligned with their investors, as nobody thinks it’s a good time to sell. At that point, everybody starts to explore other options. That pushes managers to offer solutions such as continuation funds.” In this article, Emma highlights the benefit of continuation funds in accessing fresh capital for business plans – in particular, for funds undergoing significant refurbishment to align with sustainability targets. Emma further observes: “A pre-baked continuation fund to a development or value-add fund can be a useful tool as it can help separate risk appetites between investors whilst offering greater certainty of a pipeline to those investors seeking exposure to stabilized core assets and a clearer route for disposals for those investing in development and value-add assets,” With market uncertainties, continuation funds are becoming an essential tool for real estate fund managers. They offer a flexible and strategic way to manage assets and meet investor needs. Read the full PERE article and see what the experts say on secondaries as a path forward: https://lnkd.in/eMHpXUP2 #AOShearman

We are delighted to announce that energy transition specialists Paul Astolfi and Katy McNeil have joined our Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure practice in the U.S. “The addition of Paul and Katy is a major step forward for our market-leading energy and alternative energy practice and overall U.S. growth plans, and we are thrilled to be bolstering our capability in the Texas and Chicago markets as well," said Adam Hakki, co-chair of the global Executive Committee and Board, and U.S. chair. Paul is a market-leading advisor with decades of experience in finance, mergers and acquisitions, and energy transition projects, specializing in renewable energy and multi-tiered financing structures. He will be based in Dallas, Texas. Katy specializes in U.S. domestic renewable energy, advising financial institutions, institutional investors, and developers on project finance, solar asset-backed securities and other complex financial instruments, mergers and acquisitions, tax credit monetization, and workout agreements. She will be based in Chicago, a critical U.S. business center, where we will be launching a presence commencing with these hires, subject to requisite approvals. Find out more about Paul and Katy here: https://ow.ly/8OO750VvGzr #AOShearman #RenewableEnergy #EnergyTransition

MidEuropa Partners, a leading private equity firm focused on investments in Central Europe, has agreed the sale of Regina Maria Group, a leading private healthcare provider in Romania and Serbia, to Mehiläinen, the largest healthcare and social care provider in Finland and a portfolio company of CVC Capital Partners. This transaction marks the largest ever healthcare services transaction in Central Europe. Closing is subject to mandatory regulatory clearances and is expected to take place later this year. Our global co-head of private equity and private equity sector lead Stephen Lloyd said: "We are delighted to have advised MidEuropa on this landmark healthcare transaction." The team advising MidEuropa was led by private equity partner Stephen Lloyd alongside senior associate Caroline Crawford and associates Caitlin Smith and Livia Gauntlett. With support from senior associates Adarsh Chhabria and Soyeon Lim, antitrust partner David Weaver, leveraged finance partner Adam Zecharia and tax partner Tim Harrop. Get an in depth look of the broader team involved and transaction here: https://lnkd.in/eQucuQHG #AOShearman

We are excited to announce our new partnership with Harvey to develop AI-based agents that can tackle complex legal tasks using cutting-edge reasoning models and agentic AI. These AI agents incorporate A&O Shearman’s legal expertise with Harvey’s best-in-class AI. The initial agents will cover: • Merger control filing analysis • Cybersecurity contractual obligations • Fund formation documentation review • Loan review They will be deployed both internally and offered to clients and other law firms. These areas demand deep legal knowledge and multi-step reasoning – ideal for transformation by our lawyers and Harvey’s technology. Winston Weinberg, CEO and Co-founder of Harvey: "For decades, the legal industry has relied on the same structure and approach to deliver results for clients. Together with A&O Shearman, Harvey is building agentic workflows that save tremendous amounts of time without sacrificing accuracy and trust. This combination presents a powerful combination with remarkable potential for the industry and for current and future clients." You can read more here: https://lnkd.in/e9-xc9Fa To view this article you may need to subscribe. #AOShearman #Harvey #AI

Our sponsor side leveraged finance team advised Providence Equity Partners (“Providence”), on the financing for its acquisition of Tax Systems from Bowmark Capital. Tax Systems is a leading specialist provider of software and solutions which digitize the tax compliance process – enabling tax professionals to automate workflows, enhance compliance, mitigate risk and generate valuable insights from their tax function. This acquisition will support Tax Systems' continued platform expansion and innovation, targeting new tax and regulatory compliance solutions in existing and new geographies. The team was led by partner Nick Hallam and associate Jack Mellett. Discover more here: https://lnkd.in/enE5h_Kq #AOShearman

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has announced its acquisition of Commonwealth Financial Network, the largest privately-held independent wealth management firm in the U.S., for USD2.7 billion. Commonwealth Financial, headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, provides integrated business solutions and services to approximately 2,900 financial advisors who manage around USD285bn in brokerage and advisory assets. “We are delighted to have supported LPL Financial in its acquisition of Commonwealth Financial, two exceptional client-centric wealth management companies,” said M&A partner Robert Cardone. “The work of the A&O Shearman team on this transaction illustrates the depth and versatility of the firm’s talented corporate practitioners.” The cross practice team advising LPL Financial was led by M&A of counsel Stephen Besen and partner Bobby Cardone, alongside associate Aaron Swartzman. With support from antitrust partner Benjamin Gris, financial services regulatory partner Hilary Sunghee Seo, tax counsel John Hibbard, debt finance partner Gus Atiyah and capital markets partner Ryan Robski. Get an in depth look of the broader team involved and transaction here: https://lnkd.in/epNH6Wbk #AOShearman