Leading Finance Partner to Join Kirkland & Ellis International LLP

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP is pleased to announce the hiring of Stephen Gillespie, a leveraged finance partner with Allen & Overy.  Mr. Gillespie will join Kirkland’s London office as a partner.

At Allen & Overy, Mr. Gillespie concentrated in international finance, with an emphasis on leveraged and event-driven finance.  Cited as a leading finance lawyer in a number of legal directories, including Chambers Global, The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2006 and the Legal 500, Mr. Gillespie is recognized as a key figure in the UK acquisition finance field.

Recent significant transactions by Mr. Gillespie include the financing of the BSN Medical Management GmbH buyout, the Yellow Brick Road directory businesses financing, financings for the acquisition of Esselte AB by JW Childs and the bid by Gas Natural SDG, SA for Iberdrola.

“I am delighted to be joining Kirkland & Ellis” said Mr. Gillespie.  “I am looking forward to joining the finance practice in the London office and contributing to its expansion.”

“Stephen possesses the skill, stature and experience that makes him a perfect fit for our rapidly-growing transactional practice.  We are delighted to have him as a partner,” said Thomas D. Yannucci, Chairman of Kirkland’s Firmwide Management Committee.

James Learner, a private equity partner at Kirkland’s London office added “We are very pleased to have Stephen join our partnership.  With Kirkland’s pre-eminent private equity practice, the addition of Stephen to our finance team will be an excellent asset to our Firm in the continuing growth of this area.”

“With the imminent arrival of private equity partners, Graham White and Raymond McKeeve, to the Firm, Stephen will be a tremendous addition to our finance group at a critical time,” added John Markland, finance partner in the London office.

Some notable transactions by Kirkland’s London finance practice in recent months include the €3.8 billion leveraged financing of the Jefferson Smurfit and Kappa Packaging merger; the acquisition finance on Bain Capital’s €1.07 billion acquisition of FCI Framatome (the largest French LBO of 2005); Vestar Capital’s €375 million buyout of Seves SpA; and Mid Europa Partners’ €412 million acquisition of Aster City Cable (the largest LBO in central and eastern Europe in 2005).

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a 1,100-attorney law firm representing global clients in complex corporate, restructuring, tax, litigation, dispute resolution and arbitration, and intellectual property and technology matters.  The Firm has offices in London, Chicago, Los Angeles, Munich, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.