Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (‘Freshfields’) has advised Hellman & Friedman LLC (‘H&F’) on the recommended all-cash takeover offer by Evergood 5 AS, a newly formed company controlled by funds managed and advised by H&F, for Nets A/S (‘Nets’), a leading provider of digital payment services and related technology solutions across the Nordic region. This offer was announced on 25 September 2017.
 
The recommended all-cash offer of DKK 165 per share values Nets at DKK 33.1 billion and is supported by the Nets’ board and executive committee. It is also supported by Nets’ majority shareholder, AB Toscana (Luxembourg) Investment S.à r.l., which is controlled by funds managed and/or advised by Advent International Corporation (‘Advent’) and funds managed and/or advised by Bain Capital Private Equity (Europe) LLP (‘Bain’).
 
The indirect minority co-investors in the offeror alongside certain other minority co-investors will be GIC Private Limited (investing through Eiffel Investment Pte Ltd (a nominated investment vehicle of GIC Special Investments Pte Ltd)), funds managed and/or advised by Advent, and funds managed and/or advised by Bain (through a newly incorporated company jointly controlled by both), Sampo PLC, funds managed and advised by StepStone Group LP and a fund managed by Fisher Lynch Capital LLC.
 
The Freshfields team was led by partners David Higgins, Tim Wilmot and Andrew Hutchings and senior associate Keir MacLennan. Freshfields also advised H&F, alongside GIC, on its acquisition of Allfunds Bank S.A. earlier this year which is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2017.