Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Partner in Simpson Thacher’s London Office who advises on private M&A, public takeovers, equity capital markets (including IPOs), and general corporate matters, with a focus on private equity and other financial sponsor clients. Clare has particular experience in law and regulation applicable to U.K. listed companies, and handles complex cross-border transactions with international counterparties.

Adam is a Partner in the Firm’s global restructuring group heading the London based team. He specialises in advising debtors, creditors and other stakeholders in complex restructuring matters. He has been involved in a number of award winning restructurings. Adam was recognised by the Institute for Turnaround as 'Legal Adviser of the Year' in 2008 and in 2013 was named a 'leading restructuring partner' by The Lawyer's Hot 100.

Corporate Partner whose practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, particularly public company takeovers and private equity transactions, as well as equity capital markets. Represented banks, private equity firms and corporate clients across a wide range of industries.

Amy Mahon specialises in domestic and cross border M&A, domestic and international leveraged buyouts, infrastructure, private equity and consortium transactions acting for financial sponsors including infrastructure investors, private equity funds and other financial sponsors.

Antonio Bavasso

Antonio is a leading antitrust lawyer. He advises on all aspects of antitrust law, practising primarily in London and Brussels. Antonio has extensive experience in merger reviews, government antitrust investigations, antitrust litigation, and counseling on a variety of competition issues. He advises clients across a broad range of industries, including the technology, media, and telecom sector, in a wide variety of matters before the European Commission, the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority, and other global competition authorities.

Ben focuses on public and private M&A, securities and corporate restructurings. He has spent many years advising clients on complex cross-border transactions across the globe. Commercially astute, Ben is a ‘can do’ lawyer who can implement complicated deals in a straightforward manner. He has stellar experience in UK public M&A deals and asset management M&A including minority and majority transactions involving GPs.

Claire Williams

Partner in Simpson Thacher’s London Office whose practice focuses on infrastructure debt finance matters. She represents financial sponsors, funds and portfolio companies, as well as private debt investors, on complex cross-border financings across a wide range of infrastructure asset classes (including, among others, energy and energy transition, regulated utilities, transport and digital infrastructure). Claire has extensive experience on senior and subordinated financing structures for acquisition (including public-to-private), capex roll-out and refinancing transactions and regularly advises clients on multi-source and rated debt raisings.

David Edwards is co-head of Simpson Thacher’s European Disputes practice based in London and has acted in some of the world’s largest and most complex corporate and commercial disputes conducted in the English and international courts, and in international arbitration. David has advised on a vast range of high-profile strategic battles, including successfully defending several clients in respect of worldwide freezing orders (the “nuclear weapon” of the English courts). He also has advised a large number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals and ultimate beneficial owners of international business conglomerates in relation to their contentious and strategic commercial positions and has forged a practice in respect of complex international shareholder disputes. David’s experience in major international disputes spans industries and sectors including funds and portfolio company disputes, energy and natural resources, telecoms, major capital projects, asset management and financial services including offshore banking and finance, power projects, pharmaceutical, cryptocurrency, technology, commodities and trusts. He also has advised on a variety of ESG-related matters for clients.

Ed Ford spearheads the Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP secondary practice, advising GPs and LPs on the structuring and negotiation of highly complex secondary market solutions. Ed’s work is wide ranging, covering GP-led continuation funds, tenders, strip sales, NAV-financings and preferred/structured equity financings, as well as LP-led secondary activity across the capital structure. Ed is widely recognised as a leading practitioner and has received a wide range of industry recognition, including being named as a “Next Gen Leader of Secondaries” by Private Equity International (2022) and as one of Europe’s “Private Equity Rising Stars” by Legal Week (2020).

Partner who represents numerous sponsors of private equity, growth capital, venture capital, core private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate and credit funds and separate managed accounts. His practice focuses on fund formation, GP-led secondary transactions and related advisory work as well as executive carried interest, co-investment and other incentive and governance arrangements.

Gil is a Partner in the Firm’s Capital Markets Practice based in London. Gil focuses on U.S. securities laws and has extensive experience working for private equity sponsors, publicly held and privately held companies and underwriters on their high yield bond offerings, leveraged buyouts transactions, restructurings, initial public offerings and other corporate finance transactions. He also has extensive experience in infrastructure financing transactions, including project finance bonds.

James is a Partner in the Firm’s global restructuring group, based in the London team. He has extensive experience in domestic and cross-border restructurings and formal insolvency situations, advising the full spectrum of stakeholders, frequently representing debtors and creditors as well as sponsors and insolvency practitioners. James also advises clients on investments in special situations involving stressed or distressed companies.

Corporate Partner whose practice focuses on private fund formation, particularly private equity funds. He has represented many of the most prominent European and developing market private equity firms in structuring complex regional and global funds. His practice also includes structuring complex employee leveraged co-investment plans for leading private equity sponsors as well as advising fund managers seeking to establish ‘carried interest’ and other compensation plans along with the sale of minority GP stakes. Also he has advised a number of management teams on their spin outs from institutions.

Corporate Partner representing companies, including corporates, private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, and investment funds in connection with high yield offerings, IPOs, private placements, real estate bonds, infrastructure financing and other capital markets transactions, as well as acquisition financing, bridge facilities, and other financings.

Paul Hibbert is a partner in Simpson Thacher's Energy and Infrastructure Practice, based in London. Paul advises infrastructure sponsors, corporates and financial institutions on complex domestic and cross border leveraged finance transactions across a range of debt products and structures (including syndicated loans, multi-creditor platform transactions, private placements, public-to-private transactions, capex roll-outs and holdco/midco financing arrangements). Paul has extensive experience advising clients on financing arrangements in the energy and energy transition, regulated utilities, transport, digital and healthcare infrastructure sectors.

Rob Lee is a Partner in the Private Funds Practice in the London office. Rob’s practice focuses on the formation and operation of private investment funds across a variety of investment strategies, as well as related aspects of the alternative investment class, including managed accounts, co-investment arrangements and the structuring of carried interest and other incentive schemes. Rob has represented various leading sponsors of private equity, infrastructure and other alternative investment funds, including EQT, Cinven, Apax Partners, CVC Capital Partners, Oakley Capital and MidEuropa. Rob was recognised as one of the four “Rising Stars” under 40 amongst fund formation lawyers by Law360 in 2019 and has also been named as one of the “Rising Stars in Private Equity” by Legal Week.

Seema Shah is a Partner in Simpson Thacher’s private funds practice based in London. She specialises in advising sponsors of private investment funds across a range of asset classes on their fundraisings and ongoing fund-related issues. She also advises on a range of other related transactions, including the establishment of managed accounts and single investment co-investment arrangements, GP supported secondary transactions and carried interest and other incentive arrangements.

Shahpur Kabraji

Shahpur K. Kabraji is Partner in the Firm’s Banking and Credit Practice. He focuses on domestic and cross-border syndicated credit, acquisition finance and other leveraged finance transactions. He regularly advises leading sponsors and their portfolio companies in connection with a variety of corporate finance transactions, including acquisition financings, bank and bridge loan financings, unitranche financings and refinancings. His recent representations include advising TDR, Silver Lake and Five Arrows on multiple financing transactions and Flutter Entertainment in connection with certain refinancing transactions.

Stephanie Biggs

Stephanie Biggs co-leads the Firm’s European financial services and funds regulatory team and advises private funds, asset managers and financial institutions on European financial market regulations and transactions. Noted by clients as “very highly regarded in the funds regulatory space,” she has advised some of the world’s most prominent sponsors on the European regulatory aspects of major fundraises, including structuring and marketing issues, and has advised on the acquisitions of businesses subject to financial regulation, including change in control and regulatory capital matters.

Real estate finance Partner in Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s London office. Practice includes advising clients on an array of cross-border real estate finance transactions, with a focus on sponsor driven real estate loans. Tom’s clients include Blackstone Real Estate, KKR and Apollo.

Wheatly MacNamara

Wheatly MacNamara is Managing Partner of the Firm’s London office and a member of the Firm's Executive Committee. She is head of the London Real Estate M&A practice and co-head of the London Real Estate group. Wheatly concentrates her practice on real estate acquisitions, dispositions and joint ventures, particularly for private capital sponsors. She represents such leading international fund sponsors as Blackstone, KKR, KSL, Starwood, Apollo and Sixth Street. She has notably advised Blackstone in multiple transactions, including the over 200 acquisitions that became the Mileway last-mile logistics platform, as well as its €21 billion recapitalisation. She also acted for Blackstone on its $7 billion hyperscale data center development joint venture with Digital Realty, C$6.2 billion take-private acquisition of Dream Global REIT, its €12.25 billion sale of Logicor to CIC and its €630.7 million acquisition of Hotel Investment Partners and subsequent sale to GIC of its 35% stake in the company. She has acted for a range of sponsors on joint ventures and operating partner platforms, including with operating partners such as M7, Valor and Cabot.

Head of Simpson Thacher’s U.K. Tax Practice, Yash Rupal represents a broad range of U.K. and international corporate clients, financial institutions, investment funds, hedge funds, asset managers and their respective executives on complicated, often cross-border, mergers and acquisitions, investment funds structuring and tax planning matters. He also advises extensively on tax disputes, tax litigation and HMRC enquiries. Yash has more than 30 years of tax experience.