England - London • Corporate and commercial
Bird & Bird LLP
Working across offices in Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East, the ‘fantastic team full of brilliant talent’ at Bird & Bird LLP focuses on mid-market, cross-jurisdictional matters, primarily in the life sciences, technology, energy, retail and consumer and sports sectors. Growing its concentration in the IP and digital, and natural resources spaces, the team has recently advised on a significant deal flow from US buyers. Practice head Matt Bonass - especially noted for his focus on the energy and utilities sectors - advises on public and private M&A, joint ventures, and private equity transactions. The ’solutions focused’ Neil Blundell regularly acts for US companies on tech transactions. With experience as director and board member of digital media and technology companies, the ‘standout partner’ Simon Fielder is well-placed to assist with listings on UK stock markets, international M&A, and equity and debt financings. Drawing on his experience in the New York and Abu Dhabi markets, Nick O’Donnell has been instructed by private equity and corporate clients on M&A, public takeovers, restructuring and governance matters. Clive Hopewell’s practice encompasses equity financing, IPO and M&A mandates. Other key figures include the ’superb’ Mark Rundall and James Baillieu advise clients on M&A and venture capital investments. Specialising in acquisitions and divestitures in the technology, communications, automotive and energy and utilities sector, the ‘organised and professional’ George Mason is also recommended.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Bird & Bird team was on hand at any time to take time for 1-to-1 calls, and always took their time to make sure we were all comfortable with every aspect of the transaction. They really went above and beyond.’
‘Mark Rundall was superb, being very hands-on, and always being available for a discussion at short notice. He attended every call, and coordinated a number of different disciplines across international borders. I would not hesitate to call on him again and recommend him to others.'
'Richie Lamb was Mark's right-hand-man, working tirelessly on every detail of the transaction. He had a complete view of everything that was happening, and (like Mark) was extremely commercial with the advice he gave us. I would also highlight the work of Emily Patel (tax expert) who came up with a creative and innovative way to make sure more junior members of the team gained extra value through the deal structuring. This was very important to leadership, and could easily have been missed by a less integrated firm.’
‘Neil Blundell is a solutions focused partner, and he integrates well as an extension of the internal team. George Mason is fully organised and professional across all aspects of a transaction. He is willing to go above and beyond in order to ensure successful outcome.’
‘Excellent, responsive and commercially minded team with clear lines of responsibility and accountability which meant that it was clear at any time to the client who was in control of what. Dean Rae has maturity and an approach well beyond his technical PQE. George Mason has a great manner with clients and engenders trust.’
‘The team make the working relationship very positive. The individuals are personable, knowledgeable and try to bring a commercial perspective to their advice. They are able to break down complex issues into pragmatic recommendations. They operate separately but never in contradiction of each other. Most importantly, when issues inevitably arise, they are quick to respond, take ownership of the issues and do what is required to resolve them.’
'Fantastic team full of brilliant talent. The team takes the time to understand what the key issues and needs are of the client/deal and work collaboratively to execute. Above all, the team are super friendly, considerate and very much an extension of our team. They can be summed up as being great humans. Lovely people, diligent, pro-active, quick execution and very easy to work with.'
'It is the individual leaders there that really make the difference. Our M&A transaction was led by two of the best in the business in my opinion. What they brought to the deal was personality, commercial nous, pragmatism, first class negotiation skills and an ability to make you feel like one of the team that gave us as clients great comfort that we were in safe hands as we took on the turbulent ride of the deal. The two stand out partners were Simon Fielder and George Mason. They are two brilliant professionals with whom I would have no hesitation working again or recommending them to others.'
Key clients
- TeamTek Consulting Limited
- Safex Holdings UK Limited
- Eficode Oy
- Kambi group plc
- Cero Generation Holdings UK Limited
- Railway Pension Investments Limited
- TransGlobe Energy Corporation
- Shareholders of Vohkus Limited
- Marks & Spencer PLC
- Spearhead International Limited
- Envision Pharma Group
Work highlights
- Advised long-standing Finnish client Eficode Oy on their acquisition of Clearvision, a solutions provider for Atlassian and other open-source tooling software and their acquisition of a majority interest in it by Investcorp, the global investment manager.
- Assisted Maltese listed Kambi group plc with the acquisition of Danish front end specialist Shape Games A/S.
- Advised Marks & Spencer Group Plc on the acquisition of the intellectual property, including the source code and algorithm developed by Thread, the personalised fashion marketplace.
Lawyers
Rising stars
Leading individuals
Partner, CorporateAs a partner in our International Corporate Group based in London, I head up the International Capital Markets Practice across the firm.I coordinate the capital markets practice worldwide and facilitate teams in the various offices where we have capital markets lawyers, to work closely together, share know how and look out for opportunities for each other and clients.My own securities practice involves acting for institutions and issuers in respect of listings in London and elsewhere. I have extensive experience advising clients in a variety of sectors, with a particular emphasis on energy and utilities and technology and communications.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Matt Bonass