DLA Piper has advised Oakley Capital on its acquisition of North Sails Europe, the exclusive licensee and distributor for North Sails’ sailing technology and products in Europe and New Zealand. This acquisition is intended to complement Oakley Capital's recent acquisition of the US-based North Sails Group, a transaction which DLA Piper also advised on.

North Sails is the sailmaker of choice for the majority of America's Cup, Vendee Globe and Volvo Ocean Racing teams and Superyachts. North Sails operates 147 sites in 63 countries, with manufacturing facilities in the United States and Sri Lanka.

The complex, multi-jurisdictional deal required a team of DLA Piper lawyers from 14 offices across Europe, the US and Asia-Pacific.

The international DLA Piper team was led by partner Anu Balasubramanian and included partners Stephen Hoyle, Roderik Bouwman and David Thompson, senior associate Oliver Williams, tax adviser Yannik Schuerman, legal director Stephen Jones, associates Nigel Cooke and Ani Grigorian and trainee Oliver Gingell.

The firm also advised on New York law governed credit facilities. A London-based Debt Finance team consisting of partner Julie Romer, senior associate Meghna Tiku and associate Mike Tanner, co-ordinated the European security package. Richard Davis, a Finance partner in the firm's Washington office, advised on the credit agreement.

Anu Balasubramanian commented: "We are delighted to have advised Oakley Capital on this complex, cross-border acquisition. The multi-jurisdictional nature of the acquisition gave us the opportunity to showcase our international bandwidth and enabled us to execute a successful transaction involving operations in so many countries across the globe."