Former CC partner Glover acts on buyout house's fundraising

Former Clifford Chance (CC) funds chief Jason Glover has completed his first deal since joining Simpson Thacher & Bartlett's City office in January, advising on a €4bn (£3.4bn) fundraising for private equity firm BC Partners.

The deal, which is the biggest fundraising in Europe since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, saw Glover advise European buyout house BC Partners alongside a team from his former firm, with corporate partner Nick Benson taking the lead role at CC.

CC was initially instructed by BC Partners on the fundraising in autumn 2009, with the firm then requesting he complete the deal at his new firm.

The fundraising exceeds the €3bn (£2.6bn) BC Partners had expected to raise and is being seen as a positive indicator for the market.

Glover said: "The success of this fundraising is testament both to BC Partners' reputation in the marketplace coupled with an upturn in interest among institutional investors in the European buyout market."

BC Partners counts gym group Fitness First, estate agents Foxtons, Turkish supermarket group Migros and satellite company Intelsat among its current investments.

Simpson Thacher hired Glover in July 2010 to launch a City funds practice for the US firm, with Glover then continuing to work at CC until the beginning of January. While at CC he acted for a raft of big-name clients including Abraaj Capital, Actis, Barclays Private Equity, Charterhouse, Duke Street Capital, EQT, Permira, Butler Capital and STAR Capital.

News of Glover's role on the deal comes after fellow Simpson Thacher London corporate partner Adam Signy took the lead advisory role for Pennsylvania Power and Light (PPL) on its £4bn acquisition of E.ON's UK power networks following a competitive auction earlier this month. That deal saw Allen & Overy and Ashurst advising PPL in support of Simpson Thacher, with Linklaters advising E.ON.