The time it takes to structure a private equity transaction can make or break a deal. When the stakes are high and time is short, private equity leaders turn to White & Case to quickly develop a focused and effective strategy to complete the deal. From groundbreaking, monumental acquisitions to smaller strategic deals, our Private Equity practice has implemented innovative transactions with precision and care for established institutions, entrepreneurs and smaller visionaries alike.

Adding Value to Your Deal From Start to Finish
When structuring a transaction, the private equity team begins by thoroughly evaluating the investment under consideration and acquisition proposals with value-add in mind. Our lawyers advise you on structuring and presenting bids and negotiating and drafting acquisition and financing agreements, right through to the completion of the transaction. We also have the capabilities to represent private equity firms and other parties involved in private equity deals through the complete cycle, including: 

• Formation: We assist private equity funds in initial fund raising, and building the private equity investment fund. 
• Investment: We advise private equity firms in their portfolio investments. 
• Management: We act for private equity funds in the day-to-day management of their portfolio companies, including restructurings, refinancing of existing debt, add-on acquisitions and management incentive schemes. 
• Exit: We assist private equity funds and other investors in exiting their investments, whether by sales or recapitalizations of portfolio companies or by taking them public.

Pivotal Private Equity Clients
The most respected names in private equity trust our team for sound solutions. Clients include:

Our clients benefit from our: 

• Relationships with many leading private equity firms and financial institutions around the world. 
• Teams of private equity and M&A lawyers—more than 500 lawyers in 26 countries. 
• Offices in all major financial centers and virtually every significant emerging market. 
• Deep experience delivering intricately structured transactions in virtually every leading industry in multiple jurisdictions with speed and care.

Everything You Need From One Team
You can rely on our global team to provide you with innovative, sound solutions and first-rate representation in every major area of law, industry and global jurisdiction. Our expansive capabilities across multiple practices worldwide, insights from our highly experienced, attentive and accessible lawyers and our commitment to client service and communication combine to offer you everything you need from one law firm.

Recent Experience

Ahold NV
Representation of Ahold NV in the US$7.1 billion sale of US Foodservice to a private equity consortium consisting of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP and Clayton, Dubilier and Rice Fund VII, LP.

Angel Trains
Representation of Angel Trains, a leading provider of railway rolling stock in both the UK and Continental Europe, on its sale by Royal Bank of Scotland to a consortium of investors for £3.6 billion. The consortium includes: the Babcock & Brown European Infrastructure Fund, AMP Capital Investors, Deutsche Bank and funds advised by Access Capital Advisors. This was the largest private equity transaction to date in 2008.

Allianz Capital Partners GmbH
Representation of Allianz Capital Partners GmbH in its £772.5 million acquisition of the European vending business, Selecta, from Compass Group PLC.

BC Partners
Representation of BC Partners on its €600 million acquisition of Spotless, the French maker of laundry and cleaning products.

The Blackstone Group
Representation of The Blackstone Group in the sale of its portfolio company, Great Lakes Transportation, to the Canadian National Railway Company.

The Carlyle Group
Representation of The Carlyle Group and the other shareholders on the sale of Genoyer Group, a major industrial and commercial operator for international oil, gas and water projects, to CDC Capital Investissement.

Colony Capital LLC
Representation of Colony Capital LLC in relation to an agreement between Colony Capital LLC and Raffles Holdings Limited to purchase all of the hotel interests of Raffles Holdings Limited, comprising 15 Raffles Hotels and Resorts and 26 Swissôtel Hotels and Resorts in 35 destinations, for approximately US$1.3 billion. This transaction was named "Singapore M&A Deal of the Year" at the ALB SE Asia Deals of the Year Awards 2006.

CVC Capital Partners/Pilot Travel Centers
Representation of Pilot Travel Centers LLC (PTC), a joint venture owned by Pilot Corporation and funds managed by CVC Capital Partners, in PTC's acquisition of Flying J Inc.'s (FJI's) core travel plaza and truck stop businesses, the consummation of which is expected to provide FJI with the proceeds necessary to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The acquisition, which combined the first and second largest travel plaza operators in the US, creating a new company called Pilot Flying J, with a combined value in excess of US$5 billion, was featured in the Financial Times' inaugural "US Innovative Lawyers" report as one of the most innovative M&A transactions in the United States in 2010.

CVC Capital Partners/Univar
Representation of Univar Inc. in connection with a Purchase and Sale Agreement, for the acquisition of all of the equity interests of Basic Chemical Solutions, LLC (BCS). CVC Capital Partners and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, two of the world's largest private equity firms, are the major shareholders in Univar. Univar, with revenues of approximately US$7.2 billion, is a leading global distributor of commodity and specialty chemicals in more than 100 countries. BCS, with revenues of approximately US$1 billion, is a leading global distributor and trader of commodity chemicals.

Deutsche Bank AG
Representation of Deutsche Bank Americas Holding Corp. and RREEF America LLC, an infrastructure group controlled by Deutsche Bank AG, in their acquisition of the business of Maher Terminals, Inc., one of the largest independent multi-user container terminal operations in the world.

Harvest Partners
Representation of affiliates of Harvest Partners, LP in the sale of Associated Materials, LLC to Hellman & Friedman LLC, for an enterprise value of US$1.3 billion. The transaction was named "LBO Exit of the Month" in October 2010 by Dow Jones Private Equity.

Invitel Holdings A/S
Representation of Invitel Holdings A/S and its subsidiaries in the company's acquisition by leading CEE buyout firm Mid Europa Partners, and in the simultaneous and subsequent restructuring of Invitel's debt. The series of complex transactions, with combined values exceeding US$1.5 billion, have completely overhauled Invitel's corporate governance and risk profile. We also recently advised Invitel Holdings in the auction sale of Invitel International, its international wholesale business, comprising the entire issued share capital of Invitel International AG (including its subsidiaries), AT-INVITEL GmbH, Invitel International Hungary Kft and S.C. EuroWeb Romania S.A., to Türk Telekom (Türk Telekomünikasyon A.Ş.) for an enterprise value of €221 million.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR)
Representation of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. in its US$1.3 billion acquisition of U.N Ro-Ro Isletmeleri A.S., a Turkish freight company. The transaction is the largest-ever private equity acquisition of a Turkish business.

Lehman Brothers Co-investment Partners
Representation of Lehman Brothers in connection with its participation in the recapitalization of Firth Rixson, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, and its acquisition of a 36 percent interest in Firth Rixson.

Mid Europa Partners
Representation of the owners of Invitel Távközlési ZRt., including the private equity firms GMT Communications Partners, Mid Europa Partners and senior management of Invitel, in their conclusion of an agreement to sell 100 percent of the share capital of Matel Holdings N.V., the owner of 99.98 percent of Invitel, to Hungarian Telephone & Cable Corp. for a total consideration of €470 million.

Nordic Capital and Avista Capital Partners
Representation of Nordic Capital and Avista Capital Partners in their US$4.1 billion acquisition of ConvaTec, a Bristol-Meyer Squibb business unit. The transaction was one of the largest private equity deals of 2008 and was named "LBO Deal of the Year" by Dow Jones' Private Equity Analyst.

Oman Investment Fund
Representation of Oman Investment Fund (OIF) in its private equity investment in Nimbus Communications Ltd., a media and entertainment company incorporated in India. In this landmark transaction, which marked OIF's entry into the Indian market, Nimbus attracted an investment of INR 5.52 billion (US$125 million) from 3i Group, an existing investor in Nimbus, Cisco and OIF.

The Special Committee to the Board of Directors of Interpool, Inc.
Representation of the Special Committee to the Board of Directors of Interpool, Inc. in relation to its US$2.4 billion acquisition by private equity and hedge fund manager, the Fortress Investment Group.

Starwood Capital Group
Representation of Starwood Capital Group, on behalf of certain of its investment funds, in its investment in the TPG/Apollo-led buyout of Harrahs.

Veolia Environnement
Representation of Veolia Environnement in its €1.45 billion acquisition of Sulo from The Blackstone Group and Apax Partners.