Victor A. Ghazal

Accenture said Tuesday it will acquire Ookla, a Seattle-based provider of internet data products, from Ziff Davis, in a deal that Accenture said will give customers insights into network metrics that are increasingly critical in the age of artificial intelligence. Both Accenture and Ziff Davis announced the deal, with the latter company stating the purchase price as $1.2 billion in cash. Ookla's network intelligence and analytics include data products like Speedtest, Downdetector, Ekahau and RootMetrics. Accenture said the acquisition will help communications service providers, or CSPs, hyperscalers and enterprises "optimize the mission-critical Wi-Fi and 5G networks that power their digital core." "Network data is no longer just a lifeline for the telecoms industry; it now creates significant value across all sectors," according to Accenture. "As AI scales, the insights captured at the network, device, and application layers are essential to enhance fraud prevention in banking, smart home analytics in utilities, and traffic optimization in retail." Ookla comes with a team of approximately 430 experts specializing in software engineering, radio frequency engineering and data science, Accenture said. By comparison, Accenture, which "helps the world's leading enterprises reinvent by building their digital core and unleashing the power of AI to create value at speed across the enterprise," said it has approximately 784,000 personnel. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of required regulatory approvals, Accenture said. In a statement, Vivek Shah, CEO of Ziff Davis, called the deal transformative, "representing a significant realization of value for our shareholders and a concrete illustration of the quality of the businesses in our portfolio." Evercore Group LLC and Citi served as Ziff Davis' financial advisers. Kirkland & Ellis LLP advised Ziff Davis, led by partners David Klein, Andrew Norwich and Daniel Wolf. Counsel information for Accenture was not immediately available.

Mar 3

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised AEA Investors Small Business Private Equity on its successful completion of a continuation fund with $384 million in capital commitments, and the continuation fund’s subsequent acquisition of a majority interest in Singer Industrial, a leading value-added distributor of industrial rubber and fluid power products, from AEA Investors Small Business Fund II LP and its other owners. The fund is anchored by AEA Small Business Private Equity Funds, Apollo S3 and LGT Capital Partners-managed funds and supported by other investors. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team was led by investment funds partners Matthew Nadworny, Kevin Wessel and Chris Kallos and corporate partners Jon Benloulou and Matt Whited and associate Stephanie Owen, and included investment funds partners Michael Belsley and Tim Long and associates Neeloy Azad, Victor Ghazal and Colin Monaghan.

Apr 18

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 counseled BPOC, a pure-play healthcare investor, on a $425 million continuation fund co-led by investment funds affiliated with Apollo S3, Blackstone Strategic Partners and Five Arrows. The continuation fund consists of five healthcare services companies previously held by Beecken Petty O’Keefe Fund IV, L.P. and Beecken Petty O’Keefe Fund IV-A, L.P. (together BPOC Fund IV), 2013 vintage funds with $503 million in combined total capital commitments. The continuation fund will provide more time and, in certain cases, additional capital to enable each portfolio company in further accelerating its full growth potential. As part of the transaction, existing investors in BPOC Fund IV were provided with the choice to receive full liquidity or to fully or partially re-invest into the new continuation fund. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team was led by investment funds partners Dave Stults, Eric Fischer and Scott Lenahan and associates Victor Ghazal, Michael Brar, Hannah Cloh and Nir Levin; corporate partners Cole Parker and Matt Whited and associates Chadney Rodgers and Emily Hartney; investment funds regulatory partner Josh Westerholm; and tax partners Mike Conroy and Dan Meehan.

Apr 14

1 min