Taylor Wessing has advised PA Group on the sale of its full-service weather business, MeteoGroup, to General Atlantic. MeteoGroup is Europe's largest independent weather service, providing high quality weather intelligence to businesses from the shipping industry and energy traders, through to construction companies and the media. MeteoGroup is also the developer of WeatherPro, Europe's leading paid-for weather app.
Hogan Lovells has advised Advent International on the sale of Oxea, one of the largest global manufacturers of Oxo chemicals. Oman Oil Company (OOC), a commercial company wholly owned by the Government of the Sultanate of Oman, has acquired Oxea to strengthen its position in the global chemicals sector. The transaction closed at the beginning of December. The purchase price was not disclosed.
Travers Smith private equity partner Paul Dolman has advised the shareholders of Matrix-Data Limited on the sale of 60% of the company to FactSet Research Systems Inc (NYSA:FDS) for £12,000,000 with the ability for Factset to acquire the remaining 40% interest for an aggregate consideration for 100% of the share capital of £20,000,000.
International TMT law firm Olswang has advised the shareholders of Encore Tickets, the UK's leading independent ticket supplier of theatre, restaurant and attraction tickets, on the sale of the company to ECI Partners, in a secondary buyout.
ISIS Equity Partners invested in Encore in 2010 as part of a founder led management buyout with a deal value in excess of £20m. Since that time, the business has evolved significantly and delivered strong growth, both organically and through acquisition. The exit has delivered a return of 2.8x for ISIS' institutional clients, ISIS IV.
DWF has advised the majority shareholders of Europa Support Services Limited, a property and infrastructure support services company, on its sale to Bilfinger, the engineering and services group, in a deal which sees Bilfinger significantly expand its facility services activities in the UK.
Europa Support Services Limited was previously majority-owned by two private equity funds; minority stakes were held by the founder's family and management and in the deal Bilfinger will acquire all shares.
DLA Piper represented EdgeCast Networks, a Los Angeles-based content delivery network, in its acquisition by Verizon Digital Media Services. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, subject to customary closing conditions.
Founded in 2006, EdgeCast has more than 6,000 accounts and serves some of the world's leading web brands for global media delivery and acceleration services.
DWF has advised the management team of 20:20 Mobile, the mobile phone distributor with an annual turnover of almost £1bn, on its sale to US business Brightstar Corp, one of the world's largest wireless distribution companies.
King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin has advised Chris Giles, founder of Giles Insurance, in relation to the sale of the companies that comprise Giles Insurance to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
Giles Insurance is an independent retail broker in the United Kingdom with over 1,100 employees operating out of 43 offices in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
Latham & Watkins advised Siemens AG on the sale of Siemens Water Technologies Group, a supplier of facilities, components and services in the water and wastewater treatment sector, to the US financial investor AEA for €640 million.
AEA Investors LP is acquiring the solutions for treating and processing municipal and industrial water and wastewater that are bundled in the Siemens Water Technologies Business Unit, as well as the related service activities. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
DLA Piper has advised the shareholders of Garwyn Group Limited, the UK's largest specialist liability adjuster, on its acquisition by insurance claims service provider, Davies Group Ltd.
Garwyn will join forces with Davies’ existing liability business to form a full service liability & specialty offering in both the UK and Ireland, to complement Davies’ property claims management businesses.
The company will deliver a range of market leading solutions to insurer, MGAs, Brokers, the Lloyds market, and large corporate’s.