William Allen

Simpson Thacher advised Blackstone in connection with its investment (through funds managed by its private equity strategy for individual investors) in Air Control Concepts (“AIR”), previously known as Hobbs & Associates. AIR partners with and supports leading commercial HVAC equipment manufacturers and is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia. Blackstone invested alongside existing investors, funds affiliated with Madison Dearborn Partners and AIR’s management team.~~The Simpson Thacher team included: Anthony Vernace, William Allen, Theresa Scharff, Simon Teich and Sichen Zhang (M&A); Jonathan Goldstein and Zev Klein (Tax); Gregory Grogan, Joshua Stephens and Mtume Sangiewa (ECEB); Brian Gluck (Credit); Lori Lesser, Bobbie Burrows and Chandler Gerard-Reimer (Intellectual Property); and Krista McManus (Real Estate).

Jul 15

1 min

Corporate Partners Alan Klein, Anthony Vernace and William Allen were named among Variety’s Dealmakers of 2023 for their representation of Microsoft in its $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The article, which called the transaction “the most consequential gaming deal of 2023,” highlighted how the acquisition, Microsoft’s largest to date, is a major win for the software giant.~~To read the full article, please click here.

Dec 18

1 min

Simpson Thacher represented certain investment funds affiliated with Blackstone Inc. (“Blackstone”) in connection with the accelerated bookbuilt offering of approximately 25.5 million shares in London Stock Exchange Group plc (“LSEG”) by a consortium including Blackstone, an affiliate of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, an affiliate of GIC Special Investments Pte. Ltd. and Thomson Reuters (together, the “Consortium”) raising approximately £2.0 billion in gross proceeds. Concurrent with the placing, LSEG also completed an off-market purchase of approximately 9.5 million shares from the Consortium and the Consortium sold call options over, in aggregate, approximately 8.2 million shares in LSEG.~~The Simpson Thacher team for this transaction included Ben Spiers, Deborah Harris, Vishaal Patel and Oliver Heighton (Corporate – London); Elizabeth Cooper and William Allen (Corporate – New York); Jonathan Lindabury and Nathan Utterback (Derivatives – New York); Gil Strauss and Charles English (Capital Markets – London); Yash Rupal, Sarah Lindley and Sefia Jivraj (Tax – London); Sophie Staples (Tax – New York); and Mimi C. Cheng (Credit – Los Angeles).

Sep 15

1 min

Simpson Thacher is representing Cvent, Inc. (“Cvent”) in connection with its acquisition of Reposite Inc. (“Reposite”), an AI-powered online vendor and supplier sourcing platform. Reposite streamlines the meetings and event planning process with its curated database of more than 35,000 group-friendly offerings, robust request for proposal (RFP) creation tools, and AI-powered quote matching solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.~~Cvent is a leading meetings, events and hospitality technology provider that delivers a comprehensive event marketing and management platform and offers a global marketplace where event professionals collaborate with venues to create engaging, impactful experiences.~~The Simpson Thacher team includes William Allen, Malik Ladhani, Peter Simon and Amy Zhou (M&A); Drew Purcell and Ed Grais (Tax); Greg Grogan, Andrew O’Brien and Sara Mazurek (Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits); Lori Lesser, Bobbie Burrows and Margerite Blase (Intellectual Property); and Krista McManus (Real Estate).~~

Oct 6

1 min

Simpson Thacher represented certain investment funds affiliated with Blackstone Inc. (“Blackstone”) in connection with the approximate £2.7 billion accelerated bookbuilt offering of shares in London Stock Exchange Group plc by a consortium including Blackstone, an affiliate of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, an affiliate of GIC Special Investments Pte. Ltd. and Thomson Reuters.~~The Simpson Thacher team for this transaction included Ben Spiers, Deborah Harris and Vishaal Patel (Corporate – London); Elizabeth Cooper and William Allen (Corporate – New York); Gil Strauss and Charles English (Capital Markets – London); Yash Rupal, Sarah Lindley and Phoebe Adams (Tax – London); Sophie Staples (Tax – New York); and Mimi C. Cheng (Credit – Los Angeles).

May 23

1 min