Press Release

Kirkland Tops Mergermarket’s League Tables for European Buyouts and European M&A in 2019

Kirkland & Ellis ranked first for European buyouts by value and first for European M&A by value in 2019, according to the latest legal advisor league tables released by Mergermarket.

Kirkland advised on 42 European sponsor-backed buyouts throughout the year valued at over $55 billion.

Kirkland also topped the European M&A league tables by value, advising on 162 deals valued at over $224 billion.

Kirkland’s European rankings in the Mergermarket 2019 tables include:

#1 – Europe buyouts by value

#1 – Europe buyouts + exits by value       

#1 – Europe M&A by value

The figures include a number of high-profile public to private transactions for financial sponsors in France, Germany, Spain and UK, including:

  • Advising on Thoma Bravo’s £3.140 billion take private of Sophos Group Plc.
  • Advising on Bain Capital and Carlyle Group’s £3.420 billion consortium bid for the take private of Osram GmbH.
  • Advising on TDR Capital, and its portfolio company, Stonegate Pub Company’s £1.27 billion recommended cash offer for Ei Group.
  • Advising on Blackstone, Kirkbi and CPPIB’s recommended £4.77 billion take private of Merlin Entertainments plc.
  • Advising on Apax, Warburg Pincus, CPPIB and OTPP’s recommended $3.4 billion take private of Inmarsat plc.
  • Advising on Searchlight’s €400 million voluntary public takeover offer for Latécoère SA.
  • Advising on KKR’s €600 million takeover offer for TelePizza Group SA.

Selected 2019 European private deals on which our London, Munich and Paris teams also advised include:

  • Advising on Lone Star Funds’ $2.69 billion acquisition of BASF SE (Construction Chemicals business).
  • Advising on EQT’s consortium CHF 10.2 billion acquisition of Galderma.
  • Advising on GLP’s $18.7 billion disposal of its U.S. logistics business to Blackstone.
  • Advising on Hg’s £1.7 billion acquisition of P&I Peronal & Informatik AG.
  • Advising on BC Partners acquisition of Synthon International Holding.
  • Advising on Thomas H. Lee Partners’ €1.6 billion acquisition of AutoStore. 
  • Advising on GS PIA’s £1.9 billion acquisition of the B&B Hotels chain.
  • Advising on GIC’s $1 billion acquisition of Equinix Inc’s pan European hyperscale data centre business.

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