Cian O'Connor

Partner Tax

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP

cian.oconnor@kirkland.com

Overview

Cian is a UK corporate tax partner in the London office.

Prior to joining Kirkland & Ellis, Cian enjoyed a very broad practice at Linklaters and developed a particular interest in real estate and private equity tax structuring.

Cian has worked on dozens of high-profile cross-border transactions for major institutional investors across a broad spectrum of asset classes.

Experience

GIC:

on its establishment of a €400 million joint venture platform with Melcombe Partners, a UK-based asset manager and adviser.
on the £694 million acquisition of a 75% stake in the majority of Paddington Central assets from British Land.
on its $525 million joint venture with Equinix to develop and operate two xScale™ data centres in South Korea.
on its $3.9 billion additional joint ventures with Equinix to expand the xScale™ data centre programme.
on its joint venture with Kennedy Wilson to acquire and manage urban logistics properties in the UK, Ireland and Spain, targeting total assets of $1 billion.
on its joint venture with Melcombe Partners to acquire and develop urban logistics properties in Europe.
on the over $1 billion co-investment with Equinix to develop and operate xScale™ data centres in Japan.
on the €950 million buyout acquisition of a pan-European logistics platform from Apollo.
on the $1 billion acquisition of Equinix Inc’s pan European hyperscale data centre business.

Brookfield:

on the all-cash voluntary public takeover offer for Befimmo SA, a real estate investor focused on office buildings and co-working spaces in Brussels and Luxembourg.
on its acquisition and financing of the SACO (Serviced Apartment Company) platform from Oaktree Capital Management.

A sovereign wealth fund on the acquisition of a pan-European logistics portfolio for over €3 billion from EQT Exeter.

TPG Real Estate:

on its strategic joint venture with Gatehouse Bank.
on its c. €300 million acquisition of Témpore Properties, a Spanish Real Estate Investment Trust.

Consortium and KKR on the $15 billion all-cash acquisition of CyrusOne Inc. a premier global data centre REIT.

Cushman & Wakefield on the launch of an underwritten public offering of 12,500,000 ordinary shares.

Thoma Bravo on the strategic investment in Condeco, a global leader in workspace scheduling technology.

Eagle Street Partners on the formation of a joint venture with Harrison Street to acquire and develop a 554-residential-unit multiphase development at East Road in Dublin, Ireland

SK Capital on the formation of a consortium with Heubach Group and the subsequent acquisition of Clariant's Pigments business.

Hg:

on an innovative £455 million NAV financing of the portfolio of Hg Saturn, a 2018-vintage fund with £1.5 billion in commitments.
on the £425 million financing of Hg Genesis 8 portfolio.

Thomas H. Lee Partners and AutoStore on the $2.8 billion sale of a 40% stake of AutoStore to SoftBank

Preservation Capital on the £100 million acquisition of Parmenion Capital, a provider of investment services and technology solutions for financial advice firms.

SOF-12 Cambridge BidCo Limited, owned by Starwood Funds, on the c. £467.9 million recommended cash offer for RDI REIT.

AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets on the acquisition of the Kadans Science Partner platform.

Blackstone:

on the £4.66 billion acquisition of iQ Student Accommodation.
on the recommended £4.77 billion cash offer for Merlin Entertainments, a global leader in location-based, family entertainment.
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.
and Telereal Trillium on the £1.46 billion privatisation of Network Rail’s commercial estate.
on its acquisition of a portfolio of European logistics assets from Marathon (in partnership with Industrial Securities, part of MARCOL) for €492 million.

Orion Capital Managers on the aborted £400 million acquisition of a portfolio of seven retail parks from Hammerson plc.

Oakley Capital on the sale of WebPros to CVC.

An EQT-led consortium on the CHF 10.2 billion exclusive negotiations to acquire Nestlé Skin Health, a leading global skincare company.

A consortium consisting of Apax, Warburg Pincus, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan on the $3.4 billion take private of Inmarsat, a British satellite communications group.

Funds advised by Apax Partners on the acquisition of Genius Sports, a London based global leader in sport data technology, distribution and commercialisation services.

Ares on the acquisition of a portfolio of mixed use commercial properties across Europe.

GLP:

on its acquisition of European logistics business IDI Gazeley from Brookfield Asset Management for approximately US$2.8 billion. Gazeley is one of the leading owners and operators of logistics facilities in Europe with a portfolio of over 3 million sq metres in the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands.
on its bid for Logicor.

Goldman Sachs, Park Square and NGA Human Resources on the sale of NGA’s UK mid-market and small and medium business divisions to Bain Capital Private Equity.

TDR Capital, Sun Capital and their portfolio company Keepmoat Limited on the sale of Keepmoat’s regeneration arm to energy and services provider

Linklaters LLP, London, UK

Associate (2014–2016)
Trainee Solicitor (2012–2014)

Credentials

Admissions & Qualifications

2014, Admitted to Practice as a Solicitor of England and Wales

Education

The University of Law, London MoorgateLPC2012
University of CambridgeLL.M.2011
University College CorkB.C.L.2010

Representative Matters

Prior Experience

Credentials

Admissions & Qualifications

Education