LAWYER
James Stonehill
Counsel | London
James Stonehill

James Stonehill concentrates his practice on private equity, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate finance and restructurings, with extensive experience in both the UK and internationally.

Mr. Stonehill is recognized in The Legal 500 UK, 2015 for private equity transactions: mid-cap deal capability. Sources state he shows “excellent attention to detail” and “is very calm under pressure”.

  • Warwick Capital Partners on its acquisition of a majority stake in Danforth Care Partners.
  • ARK Invest in connection with the acquisition of Rize ETF Limited.
  • Slinger Bag Inc., a leading connected sports company, on its acquisition of Flixsense Pty Ltd, trading as GAMEFACE.AI.
  • Slinger Bag Inc., a leading connected sports company, on its acquisition of Tel Aviv based PlaySight Interactive Ltd, an AI sports technology company in an all share merger valued at approximately US$100 million. Slinger trades on the US OTC market.
  • Crown Holdings, Inc. on the sale of its European tinplate business to an affiliate of KPS Capital Partners, LP for €2.25 billion.
  • Bank Audi on the sale of its Egyptian subsidiary to First Abu Dhabi Bank.
  • Gravis Capital Management Limited on the sale of a 70% equity stake to ORIX Corporation.
  • OneFootball GmbH on its acquisition of Dugout, a digital media company co-owned by 10 of the world’s biggest football clubs.
  • Hellenic Telecommunications Organization S.A (OTE) in connection with the sale of its stake in fixed telecommunications operator Telekom Romania to Orange Romania.
  • Judges Scientific plc on the acquisition of Heath Scientific Company Ltd (trading as Thermal Hazard Technology), a manufacturer of scientific instruments.
  • Investcorp, a leading global manager of alternative investments, and Tages, a leading European alternative asset management firm, in connection with a 50/50 joint venture and contribution of their subsequent merger of the Absolute Return businesses to create Investcorp-Tages Limited.
  • Bentley Systems, a leading global provider of software services in connection with the acquisition of GroupBC, a UK-based SaaS software and cloud services business.
  • TRS Group (UK) Limited, a family owned food business, on the sale of (i) TRS Wholesale Co. Limited (ii) TRS Cash & Carry Limited and (iii) TRS International Foods Limited to Cricket Bidco Limited, a subsidiary of a fund managed by Exponent Private Equity LLP.
  • ICTS International N.V. and Au10tix Technologies B.V. on (i) a US$60 million equity investment by an affiliate of TPG Global into Au10tix Technologies, a subsidiary of ICTS and the owner of Au10tix Limited, a leader in the ID documentation and know-your-customer on-boarding automation software industry; (ii) a further US$20 million equity investment by Oak HC/FT into Au10tix Technologies; and (iii) a secondary sale of preferred equity of Au10tix Technologies by TPG to GF GW LLC and Oak and all related shareholder arrangements.
  • Centaur Media plc, as part of its strategic divestment program on the sale of its financial services division to Metropolis Group.
  • Merck KGaA, as deal counsel on the restructure of its ongoing collaboration and acquisition option arrangements with F-Star.
  • Stripes Group on the sale of its portfolio company Audio Network Limited to Entertainment One Limited.
  • Centaur Media plc, a London listed business information, events and marketing provider which owns The Lawyer magazine, on the sale of its Home Interest business to Future plc, a UK listed media company and the acquisition of MarketMakers, a B2B telemarketing and lead generation company.
  • Liberty plc, the iconic Regent Street retail business, on its £71.5 million takeover by Bluegem Capital Partners a London based mid-market private equity buyer.
  • Itiviti Group (a portfolio company of Nordic Capital) on the acquisition of Ullink/Nyfix from HgCapital.
  • Centaur Media plc, a listed company which owns The Lawyer magazine, on the sale of Home Interest and the acquisition of MarketMakers Incorporated Limited.
  • Magyar Telecom B.V. on the sale of its holding in the Invitel Group to the China CEE Investment Co-operation Fund.
  • Scholastic Inc., the principal operating subsidiary of Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children’s publishing, education and media company, on the acquisition by one of its UK subsidiaries of a minority interest in Make Believe Ideas Ltd, a UK-based publisher of books for babies and children.
  • Momondo Group Limited, the operator of the websites “Cheapflights” and “Momondo”, and its shareholders on the sale of a majority interest in Momondo Group to Great Hill Partners, a private equity firm based in Boston, USA.
  • Legg Mason, Inc., an American-based global asset management firm, on its acquisition of Martin Currie (Holdings) Limited, an active international equity specialist based in the United Kingdom.
  • A seller in relation to the sale of a 50 percent interest in a company which owns and operates a port in Germany.
  • Citrus Healthcare Limited on the acquisition of a portfolio of nursing homes from Southern Cross Healthcare.
  • Phillip Green on the £770 million takeover of Arcadia Group plc (public to private).
  • TeliaSonera on its US$484 million acquisition of mobile operators Spice Nepal Private Limited in Nepal and Applifone Co Limited in Cambodia.
  • The sellers of a pensions consultancy business in relation to the sale of their business to a FTSE 100 company.
  • MSX International, Inc. on its US$205 million Rule 144A/Regulation S offering of senior secured notes through Jefferies & Company. The financing involved three separate subsidiaries of the company, including a UK-based, a Germany-based, and a France-based subsidiary, requiring an international team of Dechert lawyers from the London, Philadelphia, Munich, and Paris offices.
  • Collins Stewart and Dawnay Day in relation to the IPO on AIM of American Leisure Group, a company which develops holiday resorts in Florida.
  • A leading international fund in its competitive bid for the Hyatt Hotel, Belgrade.
  • A Dutch company in relation to the acquisition of a majority interest in an energy consultancy business.
  • Marylebone Warwick Balfour Group Plc in relation to the proposed sale of its Malmaison and Hotel du Vin hotels.
  • The UK subsidiary of a U.S. company on the global restructuring of the group.
  • Ashmore private equity in relation to the acquisition of an interest in a company which is developing a port in Turkey.
  • Martin Dawn plc in relation to the purchase of a Cypriot company which owns a property portfolio.
  • Marylebone Warwick Balfour Group plc in relation to a tender offer for the purchase of its own shares.
  • A U.S. company in the purchase of a European insecticide business.
  • A UK private equity fund in the proposed purchase of a Serbian company which owns a hotel.
  • Gourmet Holdings plc in the sale of one of its retail businesses.
  • MWB Business Exchange plc in its flotation to AIM.
  • Jumpit ASA, a Norwegian company, in relation to its flotation to AIM.
  • Travelex in its acquisition of the foreign currency resale business of Brown Shipley.
  • Acting for the sellers in the sale of Travelex to Apax.

 

Services
    • University of Leeds, B.A., History, 1996, Hons
    • College of Law, London, CPE and LPC, 1998
    • England and Wales
    • Supreme Court of New South Wales