International law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges has advised long-standing client Providence Equity Partners on its agreement to invest in ATG and become a major shareholder in the company, having agreed to buy a majority share from current investors led by Exponent Private Equity.

Exponent will retain a minority stake in ATG as part of the transaction, and will continue to work with Providence and the existing management team, including ATG’s Joint CEOs and Founders, Sir Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire OBE. Greg Dyke will continue in his role as ATG Chairman.

ATG is the world’s number one live-theatre group with a total of 40 venues in Britain and on Broadway and an internationally recognised theatre producer with co-productions in New York, across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. ATG is also a leader in theatre ticketing services through ATG Tickets – issuing more than 10m tickets annually.

The Weil team was led by partners Marco Compagnoni and Simon Lyell along with associates James Harvey, Emma Robinson and Tomasz Rodzoch, all working in an expedited timeframe to agree and sign a transaction within 4 days, seeing off competition from a range of other intended buyers. Real Estate support was provided by Rupert Jones, Elizabeth Alibhai and Jacqui Shimmin.

This latest transaction highlights the strength and breadth of Weil’s private equity practice. In October alone, Weil advised Avista Capital Partners and Nordic Capital on their joint offer for Acino, the Swiss listed pharmaceuticals company, was ranked among the top five law firms for global, US, UK and cross-border M&A in third quarter league tables by Bloomberg, ranked as a top tier firm for Private Equity in the International Financial Legal Review for 2014 and was named “Most Innovative Firm in Corporate Law” by the Financial Times in their annual FT Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe 2013.