Jacob Traff

Kirkland & Ellis is advising funds advised by Apax Partners on the acquisition of the Zellis Group, a leading provider of payroll and HR software solutions to customers in the UK and Ireland, from Bain Capital. Read Apax’s press release The Kirkland team is being led by corporate partners Jacob Traff, Stuart Boyd and Andrew McAlpine and associates Steven Hunter, Talodabioluwa Olu-Odugbemi, Shaun Boyle, Matthew Barbato and Marcus Dashper; technology & IP transactions partner Jennifer Wilson and associate Luke Vaz; financial services regulatory partners Ramya Juwadi and Adam Skinner and associate Stefan Nesic; and tax partners Alan Walker and Rob Sharpe and associate Hugo Coleman.

Apr 16

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis is advising Blue Wolf Capital Partners, a middle market private equity firm specialising in the industrial and healthcare sectors, on its acquisition of Synerlab, a contract development and manufacturing organisation based in Strasbourg, France, with six operating facilities in France and Spain. Following regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close in Q4 2024. The Kirkland team includes corporate lawyers Louis Gosset, Laurent Victor-Michel, Nick Appleton, Jacob Traff, Amanda Levi Acobas and Jack Evans; and antitrust & competition lawyer Aakarsh Narula.

Oct 11

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Zellis Group, a portfolio company of the Apax Funds providing HR, payroll, and benefits administration software, on reaching a definitive agreement to acquire Benify, a provider of employee benefits administration software, from Vitruvian Partners. As part of the transaction, Benify will be combined with Zellis Group’s benefits administration software and employee engagement business, Benefex, and Vitruvian Partners will become a minority investor in the Zellis Group alongside the Apax Funds. Read Zellis Group’s press release The Kirkland team was led by corporate partners Jacob Traff, Stuart Boyd and Andrew McAlpine and associates Rebecca Pearce, Oliver Small, Rika Hayashida and Steven Hunter; tax partners Rob Sharpe and Alan Walker and associates Hugo Coleman and Bryan Leighton; technology & IP transactions partner Jenny Wilson and associate Luke Vaz; and financial services regulatory partners Daniel Fallon and Ramya Juwadi.

Sep 4

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis is advising Gryphon Investors-backed Vetnique Labs on its acquisition of Lintbells, a globally recognized leader in pet supplements sold under the YuMOVE brand. YuMOVE is the UK's number one joint mobility supplement for dogs and cats and offers supplements that support digestive health, anxiety, dermatological and dental needs. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024. Read Vetnique Labs’ press release The Kirkland team is led by corporate partners Jacob Traff, Dana Abdulkarim, Benjamin Clinger and Kat Murphy and associates Yoana Georgieva, Talodabioluwa Olu-Odugbemi, Josh Jones and Jacob Reichman; debt finance partners James Dickson, Nisha Kanchanapoomi and Byron Nicol and associates Jay Kim, Nick Parker, Preston Loh and Annie Zhao; and tax partners Peter Abbott, David Morris and Sam Trowbridge.

Jul 10

1 min