Chris Connolly

Kirkland & Ellis is advising Antin Infrastructure Partners, one of the world’s leading infrastructure investment firms, on the acquisition by its Flagship Fund V of Consilium Safety Group from Nordic Capital, subject to regulatory approvals. With a presence in over 55 countries, Consilium Safety has an installed base of 75,000 fire, flame and gas detection systems within the marine, transport, energy and building sectors and focuses on providing and maintaining mission-critical infrastructure in regulated end markets. Read Antin’s press release The Kirkland team is being led by corporate partners Chris Connolly and David Higgins and associates Tom Lawless, Jack Evans, Oliver Small and Izzet Hassan; debt finance partners Daniel Borg and Natasha Smith and associates Matthew Grenfell and Ross Gray; technology & IP transactions partner Emma Flett and associates Ben Zeris and Chloe Kite; and tax partner Sam Trowbridge and associate Rikesh Gandhi.

Nov 20

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis is advising the Apex Group on its acquisition of Edmond de Rothschild’s third-party asset servicing activities based in Luxembourg. As part of this agreement, Apex Group will also acquire Edmond de Rothschild's fund administration, transfer agent and custody activities for its private equity and infrastructure funds. Apex Group will then become a strategic provider for Edmond de Rothschild on these activities. Transaction closing is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals that are expected to be granted by mid-2024. The Kirkland team is led by corporate partners Chris Connolly and David Higgins and associates Dan Sarkin, Andrea Jekkels and Oliver Small; technology & IP transactions partner Joanna Thomson and associate Samantha Bradley; and tax partner Sam Trowbridge and associate Rikesh Gandhi.

Dec 19

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis, Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Paul Hastings are advising on a proposed €1.8 billion ($1.5 billion) deal that would allow London and New York-based private equity firm CapVest to tap into growing demand for investment in sustainable energy infrastructure. CapVest has entered exclusive talks to acquire HLD’s majority stake in TSG, a European technical services provider for critical energy infrastructure. Paris-headquartered TSG started out decades ago as a gas station and fueling equipment company. Since it was acquired by European investment firm HLD in 2020, the company has worked to transform itself into a provider of technical services for critical energy infrastructure and the sustainable energy transition. HLD and TSG management will retain minority stakes in the company after the sale, for about €1.8 billion, according to French press reports and Bloomberg. Kirkland's team advising CapVest includes corporate partners Vincent Ponsonnaille (London and Paris), Guillaume Nivault (Paris), and Carlos Gil Rivas and Chris Connolly (London), and debt finance partners Evgeny Zborovsky and Karen Ford in London. In October, Kirkland was on the other side of the table advising Bain Capital and Cinven in a €10 billion deal to sell their majority stake in German healthcare and pharmaceutical giant Stada to CapVest, advised by Willkie, Farr & Gallagher. Weil's Paris-based team advising the seller, HLD, includes partners Jean Beauchataud and Pierre-Alexandre Kahn on the transaction’s corporate law aspects, Marc Lordonnois on public law, and Ning-Ly Seng on competition law. Kahn has advised HLD on several other transactions, including the company's sale of online shoe retailer Sarenza and its acquisition of IPS and AMS (now Elivie), as well as the acquisition of Photonis in 2021 for €370 million, according to Weil. French firm Arsene Taxand is advising HLD on tax, while Paul Hastings' team is advising HLD and the TSG group on financing aspects of the transaction, led by partners Olivier Vermeulen and Tereza Courmont Vlkova. It's also not the first time Paul Hastings has advised HLD. In November, Vermeulen and Tereza Courmont Vlkova also advised HLD on the repricing and upsizing of their existing Term Loan B facility, increasing it from €600 million to €750 million, according to Paul Hastings. The CapVest transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

Feb 12

2 min

Kirkland & Ellis is advising CapVest Partners on entering into exclusive negotiations regarding its proposed acquisition of a stake in TSG, a European leader in technical services for critical energy infrastructure, from HLD. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team includes corporate lawyers Vincent Ponsonnaille, Carlos Gil Rivas, Guillaume Nivault, Chris Connolly, Nikhil Mohindra, Ben Seymour, Emma Luo and Gabin Beaudor; debt finance lawyers Evgeny Zborovsky, Karen Ford, Michael McNamee, Anastasis Voskos and Jin Ahn; and tax lawyers Nadine Gelli, Alan Walker and Maxime Billaut.

Feb 10

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis is advising FundRock Management Company S.A., a subsidiary of Apex Group Ltd., on its acquisition of Nikko Asset Management Luxembourg S.A. from Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd., one of Asia’s largest asset managers. This transaction is subject to applicable regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. Read Apex’s press release The Kirkland team includes corporate lawyers Chris Connolly, David Higgins and Andrea Jekkels; technology & IP transactions lawyers Emma Flett, Jenny Wilson and Samantha Bradley; and financial services regulatory lawyer Reva Raghavan.

Oct 10

1 min