Damani Ashton

Kirkland & Ellis advised BC Partners, a leading international investment firm, on an agreement to sell the majority of its interest in Garda World Security Corporation (GardaWorld), a global leader in the security industry. The recapitalization transaction values GardaWorld at C$13.5bn and will see Founder, Chairman, President and CEO Stephan Crétier, together with select members of management, acquire approximately 70% of GardaWorld while funds advised by HPS Investment Partners, leading a group of minority investors, will hold the remaining equity interest. Funds advised by BC Partners will also continue to hold a minority interest. Read BC Partners’ press release The Kirkland team included corporate lawyers Adam Clifford, Matt Dixon, Srinivas Kaushik and Damani Ashton; tax lawyers Ben Schreiner, Jared Rusman and Steven Cantor; and antitrust & competition lawyers Michael Thorpe, Matthew Sinclair-Thomson and Fiona Constant-Lotz.

Oct 28

1 min

Kirkland & Ells advised Ziff Davis, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZD) on a definitive agreement to sell its Connectivity division to Accenture (NYSE: ACN) for $1.2 billion in cash. Ziff Davis’ Connectivity brands are globally recognized in fixed broadband, mobile and Wi-Fi network design, intelligence, insights, testing and incident detection. These brands, including Ookla, Speedtest, Ekahau, Downdetector and RootMetrics, empower organizations to optimize networks, elevate digital experiences and ensure faster, more reliable connectivity. The transaction is currently expected to close in the coming months, subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions and receipt of required regulatory approvals. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team included corporate lawyers David Klein, Andrew Norwich and Daniel Wolf; tax lawyer Sara Zablotney; executive compensation lawyer Rob Fowler; capital markets lawyers Sophia Hudson and Zoey Hitzert; antitrust & competition lawyer Daniel Zach; and technology & IP transactions lawyer Daisy Darvall.

Mar 3

1 min

Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance Co. and multiple Florida homeowners associations have ended their dispute in Florida federal court over the associations' more than $230 million insurance claim for Pensacola Beach condominiums damaged by Hurricane Sally. According to their joint dismissal stipulation filed Monday, Westchester Surplus and the homeowners associations have agreed to permanently dismiss their claims against each other. The insurer and the homeowners associations initially told the court in February that they decided to settle their dispute and planned to file a joint dismissal stipulation. Westchester Surplus and 15 other insurers began their suit against the homeowners associations in January 2023. According to their amended suit, an appraiser picked by the defendants filed "an egregiously overinflated" hurricane damages claim for more than $230 million. The insurers alleged that the defendants asked for an appraisal after Hurricane Sally hit and filed a more than $6.4 million sworn proof of loss claim. But, according to the insurers, this claim eventually "ballooned to an amount wholly detached from any actual damage resulting from the hurricane." "In particular, the defendants' selected appraiser submitted estimates to the appraisal panel that include charges that are wholly improper, overstated, unrelated, duplicative, and attempt to turn the defendants' legitimate loss into a once-in-a-lifetime windfall at plaintiffs' expense," the insurers alleged. "Defendants' appraiser increased the value of the claim from the unsolicited sworn proof of loss by over $225 million when he submitted an outrageous $233,030,601.80 claim to the appraisal panel, which raises significant questions concerning the appraiser's interest and honesty, as well as the fraudulent nature of the claim and its supporting documentation," they further alleged. In September 2023, the defendants filed counterclaims against the insurers, alleging that the insurers breached their insurance policies by wrongfully refusing to pay for the appraised hurricane damage. However, in September 2025, the presiding court nixed the defendants' $187 million appraisal award, ruling that the defendants' appraiser failed to properly state how much the condominiums were damaged by Hurricane Sally. Counsel for Westchester Surplus and the defendants didn't respond to requests for comment Tuesday. Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance Co. and multiple other insurers are represented by Alexandra J. Schultz, Juan P. Garrido and John D. Dickenson of Cozen O'Connor. The Portofino defendants are represented by Edward P. Fleming, Matthew A. Bush and Aaron T. McCurdy of McDonald Fleming LLP, Kurtis J. Keefer of Goede DeBoest & Cross PLLC and Charles F. Beall Jr. of Moore Hill & Westmoreland PA. The case is Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance Co. et al. v. Portofino Masters Homeowners Association Inc. et al., case number 3:23-cv-00453, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.

Mar 3

2 min

Kirkland & Ellis represented Bain Capital Insurance on the launch of employee benefits and pensions administration services business Aptia. The new company was created through the purchase of the U.S. health and benefits administration and U.K. pension administration businesses of Marsh McLennan-owned Mercer. Aptia will manage a U.S. employee benefits administration platform serving employees and retirees and one of the largest defined benefit pension administration platforms in the U.K. The combination will serve more than 5 million individuals across more than 1,100 clients. Bain Capital Insurance is the dedicated insurance investing unit of private investment firm Bain Capital. Read Aptia’s press release The Kirkland team was led by corporate partners Rajab Abbassi and Aprajita Dhundia. The team also included corporate associates George Rawlinson, Marc Holloway, Damani Ashton, Jermaine Scott Cherry, Bing Yi Lim, Andrew McAlpine and Ece Osman; insurance regulatory partner Parimah Hassouri; tax partners Alan Walker, Mike Carew and Polina Liberman and associates Maria Clezy and Michael Farrell; technology and IP transactions partners Emma Flett, Joanna Thomson and Vladimir Khodosh and associates Alex Zapalowski, Samantha Bradley, Martin Schwertmann, Derek Ventling and Amani Carter Coutinho; and executive compensation partners Scott Price and Sally Ye and associate Matthew Mutino.

Jun 28

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Quantum Health, the leading creator of healthcare navigation, on the acquisition of CirrusMD, a premier on-demand virtual care company. The acquisition brings together navigation and physician-led virtual care to drive more immediate care integration and stronger outcomes for members across their healthcare journey. This acquisition builds on Quantum Health’s momentum expanding clinically-validated provider steerage through Embold Health and launching its expanded solution suite built on a new agentic AI platform, further strengthening the company’s ability to act earlier, guide members more effectively and deliver measurable savings. Quantum Health is a portfolio company of Warburg Pincus and Great Hill Partners. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team included corporate lawyers Keri Schick Norton and Alice Billmire; technology & IP transactions lawyer Daisy Darvall; healthcare transactions lawyer Robert Kantrowitz; and tax lawyers David Grenker and Vivek Ratnam.

Mar 3

1 min