Raft of Top Firms On Front Line In £4B Military Manufacturer Deal
The latest in a slew of private equity acquisitions this month - this one sees U.K. defence firm Cobham being bought.
July 25, 2019 at 06:56 AM
3 minute read
Cobham jet. Credit: Cobham.
Allen & Overy (A&O), Linklaters, Weil Gotshal & Manges, White & Case, Paul Hastings and Norton Rose Fulbright are advising on the £4 billion sale of U.K. defense and aerospace group Cobham to a subsidiary of U.S. private equity giant Advent International.
Cobham is a manufacturer based in Dorset, and employs about 100,000 people making technology and electronic warfare systems for military vehicles.
The £4 billion cash acquisition is being made by AI Convoy Bidco, which is a subsidiary of funds managed by Advent – a private equity investor focusing on international buyouts, which currently has $36 billion in assets under management.
A&O is acting for Cobham with a team led by M&A partners Richard Browne and Seth Jones, competition partner Alasdair Balfour, and employment partner Paul McCarthy.
Meanwhile, Linklaters is advising Advent and AI Convoy on the transaction, fielding a team led by corporate partners Chris Boycott and Nick Rumsby.
Weil is also advising Advent and AI Convoy on financing, regulatory and antitrust matters, with a team including banking and finance partner Tom Richards, and private equity partner Jonathan Wood.
Fellow U.S. firm White & Case is advising GSO Capital Partners – the hedge fund arm of the Blackstone Group – on "a three-tier financing package to support Advent International's offer", the firm said in a statement.
White & Case's team is led by London partner Gareth Eagles and also includes corporate partners Colin Harley, Marcus Booth, Michael Mountain, Philip Broke and Patrick Sarch.
Norton Rose is advising the financial advisers Goldman Sachs and Citigroup on the acquisition. The team is being led by corporate partner Paul Whitelock and banking partner James Dunnett.
Paul Hastings, meanwhile, is acting for Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and Citibank in their capacity as underwriters on a £2.5 billion lien financing for Advent's bid. The firm's team was led by London partner Luke McDougall and included partners Shekhar Kumar, Richard Kitchen, Ed Holmes, David Makso and Roger Barron.
It has been a big month for private equity deals, which has seen A&O, Paul Hastings and Weil advising on the $4 billion sale of British advertising giant WPP to U.S private equity firm Bain Capital.
Earlier this month, Clifford Chance and Slaughter and May advised on the sale of Irish building materials company CRH's Europe distribution business to private equity giant Blackstone in a €1.6 billion deal.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Goodwin's Singapore Private Equity Partner Leaves to Join Key Client Hillhouse Investment
Trending Stories
- 1Courts Demonstrate Growing Willingness to Sanction Courtroom Misuse of AI
- 2The New Rules of AI: Part 1—Managing Risk
- 3Change Is Coming to the EEOC—But Not Overnight
- 4Med Mal Defense Win Stands as State Appeals Court Rejects Arguments Over Blocked Cross-Examination
- 5Rejecting 'Blind Adherence to Outdated Precedent,’ US Judge Goes His Own Way on Attorney Fees
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
