UK quartet lead on US investment in Countrywide
A raft of top firms have landed roles as private equity group Oaktree Capital Management makes its first major investment in the UK with a proposal to buy a stake in the country's largest estate agency, Countrywide. Slaughter and May, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters, Ashurst and US leader Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz have all scored roles on the deal, which could see Oaktree purchase a 35% stake in the company for around £75m.The proposed transaction comes only two years after firms including Slaughters and Ashurst advised on Apollo Management's £1bn acquisition of Countrywide during the height of the property boom.
February 25, 2009 at 10:35 AM
2 minute read
US equity group purchases stakes in distressed UK estate agency
A raft of top firms have landed roles as private equity group Oaktree Capital Management makes its first major investment in the UK with a proposal to buy a stake in the country's largest estate agency, Countrywide.
Slaughter and May, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters, Ashurst and US leader Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz have all scored roles on the deal, which could see Oaktree purchase a 35% stake in the company for around £75m.
The proposed transaction comes only two years after firms including Slaughters and Ashurst advised on Apollo Management's £1bn acquisition of Countrywide during the height of the property boom.
Slaughters is advising Countrywide's holding company, Castle HoldCo, fielding a team under London corporate finance partner Gavin Brown and finance partner Sarah Paterson.
Ashurst is advising Countrywide's management, with London finance partner James Perry and corporate partner Gavin Gordon (pictured) taking the lead. Oaktree, which specialises in buying distressed assets, has turned to Linklaters for advice in the UK, with restructuring and insolvency partner Yushan Ng and private equity partner Richard Youle heading the firm's team.
Oaktree will buy the stake from Apollo, which has appointed both Freshfields and Wachtell on the deal. London-based US corporate partner Don Guiney is leading the Freshfields team, assisted by partners including banking head David Winfield.
Meanwhile, Wachtell New York corporate partner Steven Cohen is advising Apollo on all US aspects of the sale. One partner involved in the deal said: "It would not surprise me if we see more deals like this. Some investment houses are much more keen to buy into distressed companies."
The original deal saw Ashurst advising Countrywide and Slaughters advising Apollo on its takeover.
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