Vincent Ponsonnaille

Partner Transactional
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP

London M +44 78 2531 3273

Paris M +33 613 025 427

T +44 20 7469 2220

Vincent Ponsonnaille

Overview

Vincent advises private equity houses, sovereign wealth funds and corporates on leveraged buyouts, private equity acquisitions, fund investments and public-to-private conversions and has considerable experience advising on cross-border transactions. Vincent works from both London and Paris offices, providing clients with a unique perspective on these regions, with the ability to harness the full resources of Kirkland’s global reach to match a client’s global needs.

Vincent is recognised as a leading lawyer by Chambers Europe (2020) for his “long-standing experience in the private equity market”, with clients remarking that “he is strong technically, strong commercially and he is a nice guy”. Vincent is further recognised by IFLR1000 (2021) as a “Highly Regarded” lawyer for Private Equity; Mergers & Acquisitions.

Prior to joining Kirkland, Vincent co-led the Financial Sponsor Group at Linklaters LLP. 

While at Kirkland:

  • Horizon, a portfolio company of Apollo Global Management, on the the €185m sale of 7.7 million Verallia shares through an accelerated bookbuild offering to institutional investors
  • West Street Capital Partners VII and other shareholders on the agreement to sell Groupe Meilleurtaux, a French financial services provider
  • CPP Investments and a consortium of investors on the acquisition of Galileo Global Education, a post-secondary education group
  • Continental Grain Company on its investment in Ceva Santé Animale
  • Stirling Square on its sale of Siblu Villages to Naxicap
  • Apollo funds on the IPO of Verallia SA on the French Stock Exchange - the largest IPO in France in 2019
  • Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division on its acquisition of B&B Hotels
  • Banijay Group on the financing of its acquisition of Endemol Shine Group
  • Searchlight Capital on the take private acquisition of a of a majority stake in Latécoère, a French aeronautics company

Prior to joining Kirkland:

  • The consortium of Partners Group and Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP) on the acquisition of the Cerba Healthcare group
  • BC Partners on the acquisition of the Vetpartners group, the Pronovias group (and subsequent acquisition of Nicole Spose in Italy) and the Keter group (and subsequent acquisitions of ABM Italia, of Stewart Plastic in the UK and of Adams Manufacturing in the US
  • L’Oreal on the sale of the Body Shop to Natura
  • Providence Private Equity Partners and its portfolio company, Galileo Global Education, on the acquisition of institutions in Italy and Cyprus from Laureate Education and on the acquisition of French education group Studialis from Bregal
  • Montagu Private Equity on the acquisition of the French software company Maincare Solutions and the sale of St Hubert to the consortium consisting of Beijing Sanyuan Foods & Co. Ltd and Fosun International Limited
  • Apax Partners Midmarket SAS on its acquisition of Ciprés Assurance, and the acquisition of Inseec (and subsequent acquisition of French education assets of the Laureate group)
  • Apollo Global Management on its €2.95bn acquisition of Verallia and subsequent refinancing
  • AXA and AXA IM on the acquisition of European data center operator Data 4 from Colony Capital
  • Goldman Sachs PE on the acquisition of French insurance broker Meilleurtaux.com, French pharmaceutical group HRA in consortium with Astorg and French software company Talentsoft

Linklaters LLP

  • Partner (2006–2018)
  • Associate (2001–2006)

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Memberships & Affiliations

Trustee of Friends of HEC charitable fund

Credentials

Admissions & Qualifications

  • Avocat à la Cour (France)
  • Admitted to Practice as a Solicitor of England and Wales

Education

  • Paris Bar School1998
  • Université Paris-Sud, Paris XIDESS Juriste d’affaires1997
  • Université Paris-Sud, Paris XIMaîtrise droit des affaires1994–1997
  • HEC Paris Business School1993–1996