Freshfields has advised Hewlett Packard Enterprise on the sale and merger of its software division with Micro Focus

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (‘Freshfields’) has advised Hewlett Packard Enterprise (‘HPE’) on the sale and merger of its software division with Micro Focus. HPE is an industry-leading technology company and Micro Focus is a global enterprise software company with a proven track record of managing both growing and mature software assets.

At completion, which is expected to occur by the second half of HPE’s fiscal year 2017, the sale will constitute a combined consideration of cash and shares worth $8.8bn. HPE shareholders will own 50.1% of the new company, which will continue to operate under the name Micro Focus, and HPE will receive a cash payment of $2.5bn prior to closing. The combined company’s product lines will span IT operations, security, information management, big data analytics, cloud, open source and development.

The Freshfields team was led by partners Ben Spiers and Stephen Hewes, with support from associates Makayla Braddy and Georgina Wood.