Helen Buchanan

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 Bruckhaus Deringer (“Freshfields”) is advising Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (“Ontario Teachers’”) on its agreement to acquire a majority stake in Seven Investment Management (“7IM”), a leading UK wealth manager, from Caledonia Investments plc. 7IM is a client centric, technology-driven wealth and investment manager that manages approximately £21 billion of assets on behalf of more than 2,300 financial advisory firms and 7,000 private clients across the UK. Founded in 2002, 7IM is headquartered in London and Edinburgh, and has more than 500 colleagues across the UK. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval. The Freshfields team is being led by partners Patrick Ko and Richard Johnson, together with partners Emma Rachmaninov on financial services regulatory matters; Toby Bingley, Chris Davis, Aled Batey and Richard Hart on financing; Rachael Annear and Giles Pratt on IP/IT matters; Helen Buchanan on tax matters; and David Mendel on employment matters.

Sep 5

1 min

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) advises bp on the sale to funds managed by Apollo of a non-controlling stake in bp Pipelines TAP Limited, the bp subsidiary that holds a 20 per cent interest in Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG, in a transaction valued at approximately US$1 billion. The transaction is expected to close in 4Q 2024, subject to customary regulatory and partner approvals. Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG is the owner and operator of a key infrastructure asset for meeting European energy demand - the final 880-kilometre leg of the Southern Gas Corridor pipeline system that transports natural gas from the bp-operated Shah Deniz gas field in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea to markets in Europe such as Greece and Italy. The Freshfields team was led by partners Samira Afrasiabi and Graham Watson, counsel Bukunola Alakija, and senior associate Henry Chau. Tax advice was provided by partner Helen Buchanan, and senior associates David Haughey and Joshua Critchlow. Regulatory advice was provided by partner Alastair Chapman, counsel Giorgio Candeloro and senior associate Rory Jones.

Sep 19

1 min

Freshfields is advising PSP Investments in relation to its sale of a 10 per cent. stake in Angel Trains to Arjun Infrastructure Partners (Arjun) through an Arjun managed investment vehicle. PSP Investments, one of Canada’s largest pension investors with an infrastructure portfolio of C$29.4 billion in net assets under management, will remain the majority shareholder in Angel Trains with a stake of 64.25%.  Angel Trains is the largest rolling stock company in the UK, serving the passenger rail sector with a diversified fleet of circa 4,400 vehicles, the majority of which are electric multiple units. The Freshfields team is being led by partner Richard Johnson, senior associate George Milne and associate Alex Shoferpoor, and also includes partners Richard Thexton, Helen Buchanan, Deirdre Trapp, Jenny McIvor, Andrew Murphy and James Smethurst.

Jul 4

1 min

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) is advising Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (“Ontario Teachers’”) on its agreement to sell its majority shareholding in Premier Lotteries Ireland DAC (“PLI”), the operator of the Irish National Lottery, to La Française de Jeux (“FDJ”), the largest French lottery gaming operator. As part of the transaction, PLI’s other shareholders, An Post and the An Post Pension Fund, will also sell their minority shareholdings in PLI to FDJ. PLI was awarded a 20-year licence by the Irish Government in November 2014, and under Ontario Teachers’ and An Post’s ownership has raised of €1.9 billion for Good Causes, with 2021 and 2022 being the most successful years in that regard. PLI’s core purpose is to operate a responsible world-class lottery for the people of Ireland, raising much needed Good Causes funding for the benefit of local communities throughout the country. FDJ and PLI have a long-standing partnership successfully operating the transnational EuroMillions lottery. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by the Irish Regulator of the National Lottery. The Freshfields team is being led by partners Richard Johnson and Patrick Ko and senior associate Christopher Yarrow, together with partner Helen Buchanan and senior associate Emily Szasz advising on tax matters, and partners Alex Potter and Deirdre Trapp advising on antitrust and foreign investment matters.

Jul 28

1 min