A Travers Smith team led by corporate partner Helen Croke advised new client PAI Partners SAS ("PAI") on the management buyout of Vacant Property Specialists ("VPS"), the provider of security, maintenance and management solutions in respect of vacant properties.

VPS secures more than 50,000 properties and employs over 900 staff in over 50 locations across the UK, France, The Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain, operating across a wide range of customer and industry sectors.

Craig Scott and Michael Murphy from Hill Dickinson’s corporate team have advised Fishawack on its acquisition of Facilitate, the Brighton-based medical communications specialist, as part of its ongoing buy and build strategy.

Established in 2002 by Ann Deickmann and Alan Bromley, the team at Facilitate has largely been supporting global pharmaceutical clients based in the USA and Europe.

Underwood Meat Company Limited has completed its latest acquisition with the purchase of St Albans-based wholesale butcher business, Butlers, for an undisclosed amount.
 
Underwood Meat Company has been supplying the catering industry with high quality fresh meat products for more than 35 years and plans to integrate the newly acquired firm into its Southern operation in Goldaming near Guildford.
 

Ashurst has advised Xchanging plc, the business processing, procurement and technology services provider on its £64.1 million acquisition of the European operations of US-headquartered insurance software company Agencyport Software. Agencyport Europe is headquartered in London and provides software to the property & casualty and healthcare insurance markets, with a particularly strong presence in the UK.

DLA Piper advised Millward Brown, a wholly-owned operating company of WPP, on the purchase of the entire issued and outstanding share capital of EffectiveBrands Holding B.V. ("EffectiveBrands"), hold by STAK EffectiveBrands. Millward Brown is a global leader in brand, media and communications research, and operates in more than 55 countries.

DLA Piper has acted for an affiliate of Sun European Partners LLP on the acquisition of St. Neots Packaging Limited. The DLA Piper team was led by partner John Gallon, with support from senior associate Hitesh Tailor, associates James Duffy and Charlotte Sharples, and trainees Emma Smith and Heidi Thomas in the UK. A team from DLA Piper in Hong Kong also assisted, incorporating associate Winnie Lo and trainee Lemuella Ng, led by partner Polly Owen.

Fieldfisher has advised President Energy PLC ("President") on a US$17.5 million acquisition of LCH S.A, a Paraguayan company ("LCH").

LCH holds a 5% interest in an oil and gas concession known as the Pirity Block and a potential further right to a 5% interest in another concession known as the Demattei Block, both of which blocks are located in the occidental region of Paraguay and in which President already holds significant interests.

Dentons’ Paris Managing Partner Pascal Chadenet and Of Counsel Guillaume Panuel advised Wielton in negotiating the acquisition of French road hauler firm Fruehauf.

Paris—Dentons’ Paris Managing Partner Pascal Chadenet and Of Counsel Guillaume Panuel advised Wielton in negotiating the acquisition of French road hauler firm Fruehauf.

Wielton SA, the Polish leader in the manufacture of trucks and lorries has submitted a firm offer to purchase 100 percent of the capital of Auxerre-based road hauler firm Fruehauf.
 

CMS supported B2Holding, a leading European specialty finance business, in acquisition of the entire share capital of ULTIMO, a leading Polish credit management business. The value of the transaction that was signed on 1 July 2014 was not revealed. Its closing is subject to antimonopoly clearance. The current shareholders of Untimo are Advent International and Janusz Tchórzewski, ULTIMO’s founder and minority shareholder.

Slaughter and May, working as a team with Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, advised Alcoa, a global leader in lightweight metals engineering and manufacturing, on UK related elements of the $2.85 billion acquisition of Firth Rixson, a global leader in aerospace jet engine components, from Oak Hill Capital Partners.