Kirkland Advises Thomas H. Lee Partners on $2.8 Billion Investment by SoftBank in AutoStore

Kirkland advised Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL), a premier private equity firm, in connection with SoftBank’s acquisition of 40% of AutoStore from funds affiliated with THL and EQT Private Equity, among other shareholders, for $2.8 billion. The transaction values AutoStore at an enterprise value of $7.7 billion. AutoStore is a Norwegian-based warehouse automation company that utilizes robot-enabled technology to optimize storage and warehouse capabilities. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in April 2021. 

Read the AutoStore press release

The Kirkland team was led by corporate partners Ted Frankel and Christopher Elder and associates Kyle McHugh and Ziyad Ziyadzade, and also involved capital markets partners William Burke and Robert Hayward, tax partners Dean Shulman, Sehj Vather, Timothy Lowe and Cian O'Connor and associate Simon Kwong, international trade and national security partner Mario Mancuso and associate Luci Hague, and antitrust partners Ian John, Jeffrey Ayer, Sarah Jordan and Matthew Sinclair-Thomson.