Peter M. Vaglio, P.C.

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 SER Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm dedicated to investing in North American sustainable industrial, environmental and renewable businesses, in a strategic minority investment in its business by Capricorn Investment Group, a sustainable investment platform. The investment will provide growth capital to enhance SER’s infrastructure, capital base, human capital and overall resources as SER continues to execute on behalf of its limited partners. Read SER Capital Partner’s press release The Kirkland team was led by asset management M&A partner April Larkin and investment funds partner Joseph Baldwin and included investment funds partners Peter Vaglio and Matthew Nadworny and associate Misha Checkovich; and tax partners Stephen Butler and Adam Nguyen and associates Nicole Martin and Sydney Jensen.

Jan 24

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised GCM Grosvenor, a global alternative asset management solutions provider, in connection with a strategic partnership between Excolere Equity Partners, a buyout investor in the education and human capital management sectors, and GCM Grosvenor’s Elevate strategy. GCM Grosvenor launched the Elevate strategy in January 2023 to make catalytic investments in emerging private equity firms, focused on lower and middle-market buyout strategies across industries. A strategic partnership with Excolere complements GCM Grosvenor’s 25-year history of partnering with emerging and diverse firm founders. As of June 30, 2023, GCM Grosvenor had more than $18 billion of assets under management (AUM) invested with small and emerging managers and over $15 billion of AUM with diverse managers. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team was led by investment funds partners Peter Vaglio and John Berger and associate Andrew Medeiros, with support from tax partner Lee Morlock and associate Allison Bray.

Nov 8

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis counseled the senior management team of Bridgewater Associates in a landmark succession transaction in connection with the transition of Ray Dalio’s control of Bridgewater to an operating board. Dalio will remain with Bridgewater as founder, CIO mentor and operating board member. Bridgewater Associates was founded in 1975 and is one of the world’s largest hedge fund managers, with approximately $150 billion in assets under management. Read Bridgewater’s press release The Kirkland team was led by investment funds partners Peter Vaglio, Stefan Paulovic and April Larkin; tax partners Lee Morlock and Mike Conroy and associate Charlie Roarty; with assistance from corporate partners Peter Martelli and associates Don Lee and Nate Sherman.

Nov 4

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Snowhawk Partners, a newly formed private equity infrastructure firm focused on middle market companies supporting the digital transition in the cloud, connectivity and technology service sectors, on a strategic partnership with investment management firm Nuveen. The investment was announced on Tuesday, December 5, 2023. Nuveen is the $1.1 trillion asset manager of TIAA. With Snowhawk, Nuveen will have a broader access to attractive investing opportunities across the digital landscape, further building out Nuveen’s globally diversified infrastructure platform. The Kirkland team was led by corporate partner Daniel Elizondo and investment funds partners Peter Vaglio and Stefan Paulovic, and included corporate associates D. Ryan Slaugh and Gilda Sophie Prestipino; investment fund partners Matthew Nadworny, Laura Stake and associates Misha Checkovich and Adam Pile; investment funds regulatory partners Alpa Patel and Olga Kamensky; tax partners Stephen Butler, Adam Nguyen and Jacob Walley; employment & labor partners Risa Salins and R.D. Kohut and associate Mallory Elise McKenzie; employee benefits of counsel Jack Bernstein and associate Caitlin Pyrce; and executive compensation partner Jack Stratton and associate Lany Villalobos.

Dec 6

1 min