Richard Thexton

Global law firm Freshfields has today announced the continued expansion of its global energy and infrastructure business with the appointment of finance partner Alistair McKechnie in London. McKechnie joins from Paul Hastings and follows the recent additions of internationally renowned lawyers, Jessamy Gallagher and Stuart Rowson. McKechnie has practised at some of the world’s largest firms, and specialises in infra and acquisition finance. He brings a wealth of experience advising both sponsors and some of Europe’s largest financial institutions, and was also previously seconded to the leveraged and acquisition finance department at a global banking institution. McKechnie will work closely with Freshfields’ Global Co-Heads of Energy and Real Assets, Jessamy Gallagher and Richard Thexton, partners Stuart Rowson and Jenny McIvor, and the wider private capital group at Freshfields to drive forward the strategic growth of its global advisory capabilities. Jessamy Gallagher, commented: “I am delighted to have Ally join our growing team and to work together again. He joins us at a pivotal moment when we look to expand our global offering across the full range of private capital investors in the energy, energy transition and broader infra sectors. As we continue to meet our clients’ evolving needs and demands globally, Ally’s appointment marks a strategic next step as we continue on our phase of accelerated growth across Europe, the U.S., and beyond.” Alex Mitchell, Global Co-Head of Leveraged Finance, added: “We are looking forward to welcoming Ally to the team.  His appointment demonstrates our continuing commitment to providing our private capital clients with the market-facing technical expertise and strategic guidance they need for their complex financing transactions.”

May 1

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) advises Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (‘CDPQ’) on its agreement to acquire a minority interest in Aareon, a European provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions for the property industry. CDPQ has agreed to purchase Aareon in consortium with TPG Capital from sellers Aareal Bank and Advent International (‘Advent’). Advent will continue its involvement in Aareon with the investment of new equity for a minority interest in the standalone company. The financial terms of the sale are based on an enterprise value for Aareon of approximately €3.9bn. Closing is expected to take place in the second half of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions and approvals. With its Property Management System, Aareon promotes efficient and sustainable property management and maintenance. The company’s portfolio enables seamless, automated end-to-end processes connecting property managers and owners across the residential and commercial real estate sectors. The company is headquartered in Mainz, Germany. The Freshfields team was led by Partner Richard Thexton (Corporate, London), Senior Associate Jay Swain (Corporate, London), Partner Heiner Braun (Corporate, Frankfurt) and Principal Associate Friedrich von der Heydt (Corporate, Hamburg). The Freshfields team also included: Partners: Janina Heinz (Banking Regulatory, Frankfurt), Helen Buchanan (Tax, London), Merit Olthoff (Antitrust, Berlin/Brussels) Counsel: Laurent Bougard (Antitrust, Hong Kong) Associates: Natalie Petersen (Corporate, London), Matthew Everett (Tax, London), Niccolò Piga (Antitrust, Brussels)

Jun 25

1 min

Freshfields is representing the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Prosperity (IP3) in leading the formation of a new coalition with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), KKR, and other global investors. The coalition aims to accelerate infrastructure investments in the emerging market partner economies of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. GIP and KKR will be co-chairs of the coalition. The coalition estimates that its members, taken together, have more than $25 billion in capital combined that can be deployed into Indo-Pacific emerging market infrastructure development. The coalition will initially focus on scaled infrastructure investments across the energy, transportation, water and waste, and digital sectors. The Freshfields cross-border, interdisciplinary, pro bono team was led by private equity counsel Michal Netanyahu in New York, head of US private capital Ian Bushner in New York, global head of energy and real assets Richard Thexton in London, head of Asia global transactions Simon Weller in Singapore, and associate Nicole Johnson in New York. Learn more here.

Jun 6

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) advises Deutsche Bahn on the sale of international transport business Arriva, including all of its operating businesses across 10 European markets to I Squared Capital, a leading global infrastructure investment manager. Completion of the transaction is expected in 2024, and is subject to the customary closing conditions, including the approval of the Deutsche Bahn Supervisory Board and the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport of the Federal Republic of Germany. As part of its Strong Rail Group strategy, Deutsche Bahn announced that it intended to sell Arriva to enable additional growth in rail transport in Germany and allow it to focus its resources on its core business, supporting a shift to greener transport and cleaner cities across Europe. The Freshfields team is being led by partners Richard Thexton and David Sonter and senior associate Yvonne Barry, together with associates Tim Wuttke-Henshall, Charmaine Ho and Christine Khuat, partner Nick French, senior associate Theo Souris and associate Aaron Hanif on anti-trust matters, partner Jill Gatehouse and associate Nicola Cavey on tax matters, partner Andrew Murphy and senior associate Lauren Jackson advising on pension and employment matters while separation and IP support is provided by partner Giles Pratt, senior associate Tony Gregory and associate Jamaal Jackson. A cross-border, cross-practice team at Freshfields has worked closely with Arriva and Deutsche Bahn over many months to deliver the transaction, in particular with the Deutsche Bahn legal team of Alexander Wismeth, Martin Lamm, Thomas Götze and Christian Wörz and the M&A team of Stefan Klenke, Thomas Wagner and Philipp Lohöfer and with the Arriva legal team of Scott Marshall and Helen Seeber. Alexander Wismeth, Head of Legal for DB Arriva at Deutsche Bahn said “The Freshfields team, as a whole and each of its members, was exceptional and a great pleasure to work with throughout this transaction, which forms a vital part of Deutsche Bahn’s Strong Rail Group strategy”.

Oct 19

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields has today announced the significant expansion of its global energy and infrastructure (E&I) business with the appointments of two leading E&I practitioners. Partners Jessamy Gallagher and Stuart Rowson will join the firm’s energy and infrastructure practice, based in London. Both will join from Paul Hastings. An internationally renowned lawyer, Gallagher will serve as Global Co-Head of Energy & Real Assets group alongside London partner Richard Thexton. She focuses on international public and private M&A, and global pension, infra and fund manager clients, and has also advised several FTSE listed clients. Rowson joins with more than 25 years of experience and brings a wealth of asset expertise since pivoting his practice over a decade ago to focus on advising private capital clients and lenders on financing E&I assets and complex infrastructure refinancings. Senior partner Georgia Dawson said: “Jessamy and Stuart’s arrival accelerates our continued global growth in Europe, the US and beyond. Energy and infrastructure continue to present unique and transformative opportunities for both our private capital and corporate clients and this move sees us actively supporting their needs. Our global strength continues to be recognised by recent global M&A league table results where we excel in cross-border, European, US, Asia, MENA, and private equity markets – underscored by Chambers Global recognition across 105 top tier Band 1 rankings.” Gallagher and Rowson will work closely with Richard Thexton and Freshfields’ wider E&I and private capital teams in Europe, the US, and Asia to drive forward the strategic growth of Freshfields’ global E&I advisory capabilities. Global Co-Head of the Energy & Real Assets group, Richard Thexton, commented: “Jessamy and Stuart join us at a pivotal moment when we look to expand our global E&I offering across the full range of private capital and strategic investors in the energy, energy transition and broader infrastructure sectors. We anticipate increased investment in these areas notwithstanding political policy shifts by new government administrations which are driving significant changes,  and creating challenges, across industries and sectors. There are incredibly strong synergies between Jessamy and Stuart’s client relationships and ours and we are all eager to start talking to our clients about our enhanced offering.” Charles Hayes, Global Co-Head of Private Capital, said: “Our vision is clear: to continue to build on our leading European buyout heritage and increasing US presence, while evolving to operate seamlessly across global markets. We are dedicated to delivering a differentiated, world-class client service experience, tailored to the unique needs of our private markets asset manager clients, and remain agile in supporting them across all strategies in which they deploy capital.”

Feb 28

2 min