Christopher Shield

Kirkland & Ellis is advising Advent on its sale of V.Group, the global provider of mission critical services to the maritime industry, to a consortium led by STAR Capital, including Ackermans & van Haaren (Euronext: ACKB) and others. The transaction is subject to regulatory consents and is expected to complete in early Autumn 2024. Read V.Group’s press release The Kirkland team is led by corporate partners Dan Clarke, Vincent Bergin and Adrian Maguire and associates Jack Evans and Bing Yi Lim; debt finance partners Leon Daoud and Christopher Shield and associate Tilly Kersley; tax partner Mavnick Nerwal and associate Hugo Coleman; and antitrust partner Alasdair Balfour.

Jun 17

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis is advising Morrisons and its shareholder Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) on entering into an agreement to sell 337 Morrisons petrol forecourts (including fuel, convenience retail kiosk and ancillary services) and more than 400 associated sites across the UK for Ultra-Rapid electric vehicle charging development to Motor Fuel Group (MFG). The transaction is valued at £2.5 billion and will form a new strategic partnership between Morrisons and MFG. Read Morrisons’ press release The Kirkland team is led by corporate partners Adrian Maguire, Vincent Bergin, Jessica Corr and Nick Appleton and associates James Whybrow, Callum Alder, William Blakeney and Raphael Khoo; technology and IP transactions partner Max Harris and associates Ben Zeris and Lana Khoury; tax partners Mavnick Nerwal and James Seddon; debt finance partners Christopher Shield and Suroop Kandola and antitrust & competition partner Alasdair Balfour.

Jan 31

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP is advising Advent International on the financing aspects of its €1.919 billion acquisition of leading European generics business Zentiva from global biopharmaceutical company Sanofi. Headquartered in Prague in the Czech Republic, Zentiva services over 40 million patients in 25 European countries. The transaction, which was announced on April 17, 2018, is expected to close by the end of 2018. More information is available here. The Kirkland team, in London, is being led by debt finance partners Christopher Shield and Hugh O’Sullivan and capital markets partner Matthew Merkle.

Apr 19

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Blackstone on the recommended cash offer for Merlin Entertainments plc, valuing Merlin at £4.77 billion. Blackstone was part of a consortium of long-term investors comprising KIRKBI Invest A/S (“KIRKBI”), a wholly owned subsidiary of KIRKBI A/S, the ultimate owner of the LEGO® brand, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPPIB”). A global team from Kirkland & Ellis advised on all aspects of the transaction including public M&A, corporate, financing, capital markets, compliance, employment, real estate and tax drawn from our London, New York, Hong Kong, Washington, Chicago and Shanghai offices. The Kirkland team was led by London transactional partners David Holdsworth, David Higgins and Dipak Bhundia, and associate Kathryn Alexander; debt finance partners Leon Daoud, Christopher Shield and Stephen Lucas; high yield partner Matthew Merkle and antitrust partners Mike Robert-Smith and Paula Riedel. Merlin is a global leader in location-based, family entertainment. As Europe's number one and the second largest visitors attraction business globally, Merlin now operates over 130 attractions, 19 hotels and seven holiday villages in 25 countries and across four continents. Merlin’s purpose is to deliver memorable experiences to its 67 million guests around the world, through its iconic brands and multiple attraction formats, and the commitment and passion of its c.28,000 employees (peak season).

Jun 28

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Nexi S.p.A. and its majority selling shareholder, Mercury UK Holdco Limited, the consortium vehicle of Advent International, Bain Capital and Clessidra, with respect to English law and debt financing matters in connection with the initial public offering of the ordinary shares of Nexi S.p.A., for the purpose of listing on the Mercato Telematico Azionario organized and managed by Borsa Italiana S.p.A. The transaction was announced on 12 April 2019. This was the largest IPO in Europe thus far in 2019. The Kirkland team was led by London-based capital markets partner Matthew Merkle and finance partner Christopher Shield, and included partners Hugh O’Sullivan and Michael Taufner and associates Lloyd Jones, Evgeny Scirto Ostrovskiy, Dinush Wickremanayake and Shayan Hasan.

Apr 16

1 min