Top Tier Trio Play Matchmakers in $3B Dating App Deal
The deal sees the co-founder of Tinder become the new boss of MagicLab.
November 12, 2019 at 04:25 AM
2 minute read
Baker McKenzie, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Davis Polk & Wardwell are advising on the sale of a majority stake in dating and social networking app-owner MagicLab to management fund Blackstone Group.
MagicLab, which owns a family of dating and social networking apps including Badoo, Bumble, Lumen and Chappy, is selling a majority stake to New York-headquartered funds manager Blackstone in a deal that would value the company at approximately $3 billion.
The company's founder and current chief executive officer, Andrey Andreev, is selling his stake and will step away from the business. He is to be replaced by founder and CEO of Bumble, Whitney Wolfe Herd.
Baker McKenzie is acting for the company on the transaction. The firm is fielding a team led by London M&A partner David Scott, with the support of a Silicon Valley team led by corporate partners Leif King and Lawrence Lee, according to a firm statement.
Blackstone turned to Simpson Thacher for advice, with New York corporate partner Anthony Vernace and Palo Alto M&A partner Robert Langdon leading, according to the firm.
The team is further supported by U.K. corporate partner Clare Gaskell; Palo Alto-based intellectual property litigation partner Harrison Frahn; and in New York, corporate partners Alden Millard, Steven Klar and Jonathan Karen, private equity partner Peter Gilman, tax partner Andrew Purcell, employee benefits partners Jeannine McSweeney and Gregory Grogan, litigation partner Lori Lesser and antitrust partner Peter Guryan.
Meanwhile, Davis Polk is providing advice to Wolfe Herd with a team led by London corporate partner Will Pearce and corporate counsel William Tong, as well as New York corporate partner Evan Rosen.
This is the second big-value deal for Davis Polk's Pearce in a week, having last week picked up the mandate for the financial advisers to housebuilding giant Bovis Homes' £1.1 billion acquisition of housing rival Galliford Try.
This content has been archived.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
© 2024 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‘Are You Not Profiting From Postmasters’ Misery?’—Politicians Grill HSF, Dentons on Post Office Conduct
'Not a Good Look'—FCA Fines Barclays £40M But Accused of Incompetence
Gibson Dunn Sued by Crypto Client After Lateral Hire Causes Conflict of Interest
Australian Corporations More Concerned About Class Actions Risk, HSF Report Finds
3 minute readTrending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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