Speechly Bircham is delighted to have acted as the legal adviser to the independent board of Northacre plc in relation to the offer by Spadille Limited for Northacre's entire issued share capital valuing the company at £25.65m.
Spadille is a wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Capital Management LLC, an alternative investment firm based in the United Arab Emirates. Northacre is a leading developer of high-end residential properties and its current flagship development is The Lancasters, Hyde Park.
Speechlys has a long standing relationship with Northacre, in particular in dealing with property development -related matters. Duncan Salmon, a partner at Speechlys, acts as company secretary to Northacre.
Commenting on the Speechlys team led by Tom Shaw that acted for Northacre's non-executive directors appointed as the independent committee to represent the company in the offer, Brian Harris, the Senior Independent Director, said:
"Directing a public company through the process of evaluating and negotiating a takeover offer so as to maximise shareholder value and to protect the company's other stakeholders, including the employees, is intense and challenging. In Northacre's case we had competing offers with executive directors supporting the different offers. Managing the inherent tensions and the potential and actual conflicts of interest was an added demand. The Speechlys team was excellent, providing clear, robust advice at pace and with authority. Thank you to Duncan, Tom and Paul for their commitment and humour and for putting themselves out to look out for us and the company's interests."
The transaction had a number of interesting Takeover Code angles, particularly due to there being two further potential bids, including a proposed MBO.
The deal will give Northacre access to significant additional funds which will allow the company to explore further development opportunities in London and potentially internationally.
Speechly's Head of Corporate Finance, Tom Shaw, acted for the committee of independent directors representing Northacre plc with corporate associates Paul Arathoon and Michelle Kpatakpa. Ernst & Young (Tim Medak, Julie Green, Charlie Allen) acted as Rule 3 Adviser to the independent board. Spadille were advised by Berwin Leighton Paisner (Raymond McKeeve and John Taylor) and finnCap (Stuart Andrews).
http://www.speechlys.com/news/news/current-news/2013/02/speechlys-advis…
