Sean J. Hill, P.C.

Kirkland & Ellis represented Union Capital Associates on its first and final closing of its fourth fund, Union Capital Equity Partners IV, L.P., at its hard cap of $450 million of Limited Partner commitments. The fund was significantly oversubscribed. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team included investment funds lawyers Sean Hill, Ramen Costa, Charlotte Odence, Samantha Pineo, Caroline Shoopman, Zemon Lu and Noah DeRossi; tax lawyer Marguerite Lombardo; investment funds regulatory lawyer Xiao-Hong Jing; sustainability lawyer Mackenzie Drutowski; investment funds ERISA lawyers Sabrina Glaser and Joe Lifsics; and litigation lawyer Nick Niles.

Feb 12

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised secondaries firm Willowridge Partners on its Amberbrook IX fund, which was oversubscribed and closed at a size of $900 million. The firm’s ninth fund is focused on investing in mature private capital funds. Willowridge committed $50 million of the total subscriptions. With the close of the new fund, Willowridge has raised almost $3 billion in capital since 1995 and completed more than 700 transactions. Read the Wall Street Journal’s coverage The Kirkland team was led by investment funds partners Sean Hill and Scott Lenahan and associate Wilhelm Dietz and tax partner Marguerite Lombardo.

Aug 10

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis counseled Comvest Credit Advisors, a direct lending platform, on completing the final close of its latest flagship fund, Comvest Credit Partners VI (CCP VI). CCP VI raised $2 billion in equity commitments, exceeding its initial target fund size of $1.7 billion, to provide financing to mid-sized North American businesses. Read Comvest Partners' press release The Kirkland team was led by investment funds partners Sean Hill and Luzia Vaczy; tax partners Daniel Meehan and Philip Cooke; and included investment funds partners Scott Moehrke and Michael Chu and associates John Jameson, Anyela Perez, Annamarie Forestiere and Olivia Crow; and debt finance partner Brandon Elliott and associates Graham Owen and Tommy Kagerer.

Jul 27

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis announced today that Andrew J. Gershon and Semhar M. Woldai will join the Firm as partners in the liquidity solutions practice of the Investment Funds Group. “Andrew is a leader in the secondaries space, and Semhar is a talented rising star,” said Jon A. Ballis, Chairman of Kirkland’s Executive Committee. “We’re excited to have them on our leading secondaries team.” Mr. Gershon represents investors and sponsor-side clients on a variety of secondary transactions, including fund recapitalizations and restructurings, traditional acquisitions and dispositions of fund interests, leveraged and syndicated acquisitions, secondary direct and managed fund transactions and tender offers. He was previously a partner with Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. “Kirkland is the market leader for investment funds work, with the largest volume of secondaries transactions of any law firm in the world,” said Mr. Gershon. “I’m thrilled to join the premier platform in the secondaries market and to contribute to its continued growth and success.” Ms. Woldai advises private investment fund sponsors on fund formation and structuring matters, with a focus on secondary transactions, including continuation funds. She also has experience representing institutional investors in private fund investments. She joins from Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, where she was counsel. “Kirkland presented an exciting opportunity to join an unmatched platform and a team of really exceptional lawyers who value collaboration, developing talent and a team-first approach,” said Ms. Woldai. “I look forward to joining my new colleagues and contributing to the continued momentum and success of Kirkland’s secondaries team. “Andrew and Semhar are top performers in the secondaries world, and we’re delighted to bring them on board as demand for this work only continues to accelerate,” said Sean Hill, a senior investment funds partner. “They will be a seamless addition to our leading team in the secondaries space.” Kirkland also announced on May 6 the hire of Thibaut Partsch, who is joining the Firm’s Investment Funds Group in London and will help lead a more centralized, streamlined and efficient coordination with the various preeminent independent Luxembourg-based law firms for legal and regulatory matters. Kirkland is a global leader in providing sophisticated advice to investment fund sponsors, institutional investors and other market participants in the alternative investment fund space. Kirkland offers clients the unsurpassed resources of an integrated global team across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, providing advice on private fund formation, liquidity solutions, investment management and regulatory counsel and strategic advisory services. With more than 600 dedicated investment funds attorneys, few firms approach the breadth, depth and scope of Kirkland’s experience in investment funds legal services. Since January 2019, Kirkland has advised more than 1,900 funds closed and in process with total capital commitments in excess of $2.17 trillion.

May 12

2 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Vestar Capital Partners, a leading U.S. middle-market private equity firm, on the closing of a $1.2 billion single-asset continuation vehicle for its stake in Circana, a leading global advisor on the complexity of consumer behavior. Blackstone Strategic Partners and HarbourVest Partners acted as lead investors in the transaction. Read Vestar’s press release The Kirkland team was led by investment funds partners Eric Fischer, Sean Hill and Dave Stults and included corporate partners Frances Dales and Jonathan Benloulou.

Apr 24

1 min