Jack Donelan

• Blackstone:
  • on its $1 billion partnership with Hipgnosis Song Management
  • on the recommended £4.77 billion cash offer for Merlin Entertainments, a global leader in location-based, family entertainment
  • on its €260 million recommended cash acquisition of Taliesin Property Fund Limited to be implemented by way of a scheme of arrangement, the first acquisition by Blackstone’s newly formed pan-European Core+ unit
  • on its acquisition of the business and assets of Murka, a developer and promoter of social casino gaming applications for mobile devices and social media, based in Cyprus and Ukraine
  • on Alight Solutions’ (its portfolio company) acquisition of NGA Human Resources, a leading provider of digital HR and multi-country payroll services
• HGGC:
  • on its agreement to acquire Specialist Risk Group, a specialist insurance broker
  • on Davies’ (its portfolio company) acquisition of Ambant, a specialist insurance and professional services provider

• MRI Software:
  • on the recommended cash acquisition of Castleton Technology, a focused provider of software, IT solutions and services to the social housing, commercial and wider public sectors
  • on its acquisition of eSight Energy Group Limited, a global energy management software company serving 33,000 users across 60 countries
  • on its acquisition of Housing Partners, a specialist technology provider for the social housing sector in the UK and Ireland
  • on its acquisition of Orchard Information Systems, a specialist provider of residential agency, block management and build-to-rent solutions
  • on its acquisition of CML Software, a provider of residential agency, block management and build-to-rent solutions
  • on its acquisition of Qube Global Software, one of the world’s leading suppliers of property and facilities management software
  • on its acquisition of Real Asset Management, a leading provider of asset management solutions
• Summit Partners:
  • on its sale of approximately 52.5 million shares in Avast plc, a global leader in consumer cybersecurity
  • on its growth equity investment in OnRobot, a Denmark-based provider of end-of-arm tooling used in collaborative robot systems
• Vista Equity Partners:
  • on the acquisition of Canadian financial technology provider, DH Corporation, for C$4.8 billion
  • Solera Holdings Inc.’s (its portfolio company) £340m acquisition of Autodata, a leading UK provider of digital technical solutions to the automotive industry
• The Lycra Company on the completion of a comprehensive debt refinancing
• Knox Lane on the strategic investment in Spectrum Science
• Partners Group on the acquisition of Forterro, a leading pan-European software services provider 
• Thoma Bravo on the strategic investment in Condeco, a global leader in workspace scheduling technology
• Bain Capital and Cinven on their €5.3 billion joint public takeover offer for the German pharmaceutical company Stada Arzneimittel; to date the largest private equity transaction ever realized in the German market
• Sun European Partners on its acquisition of Vetrerie Riunite, a leading global producer of technical glass and refractory rollers
• Strategic Value Partners on its acquisition of Vita Group, a UK-based polyurethane foam manufacturer, from TPG and other shareholders
• Vitruvian Partners on its investment in CFC Underwriting, the UK’s largest independent managing general agent
• Genstar Capital and its portfolio company 2020 Technologies on the agreement to merge 2020 with Compusoft, creating a leading provider of space planning solutions
• alliantgroup, a portfolio company of Abry Partners, on its acquisition of ForrestBrown Limited, a UK-based tax credits provider
• PSAV, a portfolio company of Olympus Partners and Goldman Sachs, in its acquisition of Hawthorn, one of the largest live event production companies in the UK

Prior to joining Kirkland, Jack worked on the following matters:

• Advising a telecommunications business on a disposal of technology assets in a number of jurisdictions in the GCC and in Africa
• Advising a consumer-focused private equity fund on a cross-border capital investment in a UK-based pet food manufacturer

Simmons & Simmons LLP, London and Dubai

• Trainee Solicitor, 2014–2016