James Sherlock

JAMES SHERLOCK advises financial sponsors on a wide range of transactions, including private acquisitions, carve-outs, co-investments, consortium deals, group restructurings, and other general corporate matters.

Recent examples of James’ work include advising:

• Apax Global Alpha Limited on its US$1 billion recommended acquisition by Janus Bidco Limited, an investment vehicle owned by Apax Partners LLP.
• BlackRock as part of a consortium of investors, including Allianz and T&D Holdings, on the acquisition of Viridium Group at an enterprise value of €3.5 billion.
• Corient in the acquisitions of Stonehage Fleming and Stanhope Capital Group to create a US$430 billion independent ultra-high-net-worth wealth manager.
• Hg on the sale of a co-controlling stake in Azets AS to PAI Partners.
• Willis Towers Watson on its treaty reinsurance brokerage joint venture with Bain Capital.
• I Squared Capital on:
  • its acquisition of Ramudden Global AB from private equity fund Triton Partners.
  • its acquisition of Enva, a recycling and resource recovery business based in the UK and Ireland, from Exponent Capital.
• Coty Inc. on the sale of its remaining 25.8% stake in Wella to KKR for initial cash consideration of US$750 million.
• BlackRock and Franklin Templeton on the sale of Embark, an investment platform and retirement solutions provider, to Lloyds Banking Group plc.
• Bridgepoint on its sale of Pret A Manger to JAB Holdings.
• Bridgepoint Development Capital on its acquisition of Analysys Mason, a global consultancy and research firm specializing in telecommunications, media, and technology, from Datatec.
• Inflexion on its minority investment in (and subsequent sale of) Huws Gray, the largest independent builders’ merchant in the UK.
• Livingbridge on its acquisition of World of Books, the UK’s leading online reseller of second-hand books, from Bridges Fund Management.
• Marlin Equity Partners on the sale of Qualitest, a provider of AI-powered engineering services, to Bridgepoint.
• Phoenix Equity Partners on its sale of Bridge Leisure, an owner and operator of holiday parks in the UK, to Park Holidays.
• Premier Rugby Limited, the holding company of the top division of English rugby union, on a major investment by CVC.

The above matters were handled prior to joining Sidley.