Emily Szasz

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has announced the appointment of 23 new partners with effect from 1 May 2024. The newly promoted partners represent all five practice groups and regions reflecting Freshfields’ global strategy and ongoing commitment to invest in talent around the globe. Freshfields’ Senior Partner Georgia Dawson said: “We’re delighted to welcome these colleagues into the global partnership. They represent the best of Freshfields through the excellence of their work and the values they uphold. Their talent and expertise will enrich our bench of market-leading lawyers globally for the benefit of our clients and the wider firm. I look forward to working with them in the years ahead.” The full list of new partners is set out below: Antitrust, Competition and Trade Dominic Divivier, Düsseldorf Ilka Oberländer, Munich Vanessa van Weelden, Brussels Dispute Resolution Mark Egeler, Amsterdam Stefanie Fay, Berlin Jonathan Kelly, London Jennifer Loeb, Washington Tobias Timmann, Düsseldorf Alexandra van der Meulen, Paris Kristina Maria Weiler, Hamburg Global Transactions Oliver Board, New York James Chapman, London Emma Gateaud, London Claire Harrop, London Janina Heinz, Frankfurt Eric Johnson, Hanoi Maria Ledeneva, London Saad Mian, Dubai Tomas Rua, New York Jan-Philip Wilde, Hamburg Taryn Zucker, New York People & Reward Satya Staes Polet, Brussels Tax Emily Szasz, London

Apr 17

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields advised the selling shareholders on the sale of all of Adevinta’s shares in Distilled Limited (“Distilled”) to Blacksheep Fund Management Ltd (“Blacksheep”). Blacksheep has acquired all of Adevinta’s shares in Distilled, Ireland’s leading online classifieds company, in a control transaction. The management team, led by Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Eamonn Fallon, will continue to lead Distilled. Distilled is best known for its platforms Daft.ie, DoneDeal.ie, and Adverts.ie, which provide a trusted ecosystem for primarily buying and selling cars and real estate, catering to millions of users. This transaction follows Freshfields’ role as lead transaction counsel for Permira and Blackstone on the take-private of Adevinta, one of the largest European buyouts announced in 2023. Freshfields’ cross-practice team is led by private capital partner James Scott and Markus Paul, senior associate Chris Yarrow and principal associate Carsten Haak, with partner Emily Szasz advising on tax aspects and senior associate Tom Hingley advising on transition and separation matters.

Nov 26

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) is advising CVC Capital Partners (‘CVC’), one of the world’s leading investment firms, on its carve-out acquisition of the Therakos business from global specialty pharma company Mallinckrodt. Therakos is a fully integrated extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) delivery system for autologous immunomodulatory therapy. With approvals for use in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia and Latin America, it is the platform-of-choice among healthcare providers and patients to treat a range of immune-related diseases. CVC Capital Partners IX will acquire Therakos for an enterprise value of $925m, subject to customary adjustments. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024. The Freshfields team advising longstanding client CVC is led out of New York by Global Co-Head of Private Capital Neal J. Reenan, Head of US Private Capital Ian N. Bushner, and with support from Global Co-Head of Private Capital Charles Hayes in London. The Leveraged Finance team is led by Head of US Leveraged Finance Allison Liff. Specialist Life Sciences advice is being provided by Head of US Life Sciences Transactions Adam Golden. The team includes partners Mena Kaplan (New York), Joe Soltis (New York), Jill Gatehouse (London), Emily Szasz (London), Lori Goodman (New York), and Bruce McCulloch (DC), counsel Michal Netanyahu (New York), senior associates Edmund Haxby (New York), Daniel Spencer (DC), Madeleine Tavcar (New York) and Kelsey Avery (New York), and associates Connor Smith (New York), Allison Caramico (New York), Laura Zhu (New York), Oscar Berry (London) and Charlotte Bourne (London). Details of the transaction can be found here.

Aug 5

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields is advising Permira on its significant minority investment in the Carne Group (“Carne”). Carne is Europe’s largest independent third-party management company and a leading provider of fund regulation and governance solutions. The deal is subject to customary regulatory approvals and implies a valuation for Carne of approximately €1.4 billion. Founded in 2004, Carne supports asset managers through every element of the fund lifecycle. Carne partners with more than 700 clients, supporting funds distributed in over 160 countries. The cross-practice Freshfields team is being led by partners Charles Hayes and Patrick Ko and senior associates Chris Yarrow and Zoe Walker. Tax advice was provided by Emily Szasz.

Jan 30

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields has advised CVC Capital Partners (‘CVC’), on the completion of its previously announced carve-out acquisition of the Therakos business from global specialty pharma company Mallinckrodt. The investment in Therakos from CVC Capital Partners Fund IX will provide the resources and expertise to further develop the business and its services which improve the lives of patients. Therakos is a fully integrated extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) delivery system for autologous immunomodulatory therapy. With approvals for use in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia and Latin America, it is the platform-of-choice among healthcare providers and patients to treat a range of immune-related diseases. The Freshfields team advising longstanding client CVC is led out of New York by Global Co-Head of Private Capital Neal J. Reenan, Head of US Private Capital Ian N. Bushner, and with support from Global Co-Head of Private Capital Charles Hayes in London. The Leveraged Finance team is led by Head of US Leveraged Finance Allison Liff. Specialist Life Sciences advice is being provided by Head of US Life Sciences Transactions Adam Golden. The team includes partners Mena Kaplan (New York), Joe Soltis (New York), Emily Szasz (London), Lori Goodman (New York), and Bruce McCulloch (DC), counsel Michal Netanyahu (New York), senior associates Edmund Haxby (New York), Daniel Spencer (DC), Madeleine Tavcar (New York) Andrew Herman (New York) and Kelsey Avery (New York), and associates Connor Smith (New York), Allison Caramico (New York), Laura Zhu (New York), Meilun Chen (New York), Anup Nandra (New York), Matt Sieben (New York), Xavier Chitnavis (London), Meghan Arapakis (London), and Charlotte Bourne (London), and Tosin Owoka (New York). UBS is serving as CVC’s financial advisor, together with Freshfields (legal counsel), PWC (financial) and Candesic (commercial).

Dec 4

1 min