Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co has advised dnata on its acquisition of the entire issued share capital of UK-based Stella Travel Services.

dnata, part of the Emirates Group, is one of the world's largest air services providers offering ground handling, cargo, travel and flight services across five continents.

Stella Travel Services, one of the UK's leading travel businesses, includes five brands: TravelBag, Travel2, Sunmaster, Global Travel Group and Triton Rooms. The acquisition will strengthen dnata's position as a global travel services provider.

The Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co legal team was led by corporate partner Julian Henwood - described by legal directory Legal 500 2014 as 'client-aware, honest, frank, and engaging' - and included fellow corporate specialist solicitor Daniel Shilvock.

Julian Henwood said: "We're very pleased to have worked with dnata on a second strategic acquisition for the company in the space of nine months. We're seeing a number of consolidation opportunities within the travel sector and, because of our experience and knowledge of this industry, we can utilise these different opportunities to create the best results for our clients."

Geoff Wood, Business Development at dnata, said: "This was a multifaceted deal which required a team with significant experience of similar transactions within this sector, and where good communication was paramount to a successful completion. Julian, Dan and the Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co team ticked all of those boxes; they were efficient, knowledgeable and kept us regularly informed, as we navigated our way through the many complexities."

Prior to its merger in May, legacy Wragge & Co advised dnata on its £45 million acquisition of Gold Medal International Limited from the Thomas Cook group. Gold Medal is a distributor and retailer of long-haul scheduled flights, hotels and car hire. Based in Preston, it employs approximately 470 people.

The 60-strong Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co team has extensive experience across the full spectrum of corporate advice including equity capital markets on AIM and the Full List, investment funds, private equity and both public and private mergers and acquisitions.

Clifford Chance advised Stella Travel Services. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer provided EU merger control advice to dnata.