Pierre-Louis Cléro
Partner
Paris
pierre-louis.clero@lw.com
+33.1.40.62.20.21
PRACTICES
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
INDUSTRIES
- Aerospace, Defense & Government Services
- Energy & Infrastructure
- Entertainment, Sports & Media
- Technology
EDUCATION
- MBA Finance and Strategy, ESCP Graduate School of Management, 2000
- Graduate Degree Business and Tax Law, University of Paris X (Nanterre), 1999
LANGUAGES SPOKEN
PROFILE
Pierre-Louis Cléro is a partner in the firm’s Corporate Department and the Deputy Office Managing Partner for the firm’s Paris office. He represents corporate buyers and sellers in complex cross-border strategic transactions. Pierre-Louis is the former Regional Chair of Latham & Watkins' Corporate Department in Continental Europe.
Pierre-Louis has more than two decades of experience advising clients on:
- Large-cap mergers and acquisitions
- General corporate and commercial law matters
- Publicly listed companies and corporate governance
- Joint ventures
- Venture capital and private equity
- Stock exchange-related transactions
- M&A-related litigation
He draws on a keen business sense and extensive experience navigating strategic negotiations in large, multijurisdictional transactions. Pierre-Louis focuses on prioritizing his clients’ interests by leveraging his understanding of their commercial objectives and internal dynamics.
Pierre-Louis helps clients make decisions within challenging and multicultural transactional environments, guiding them through effective risk analysis and mitigation.
Recognition
Recognized as a Leading Individual in The Legal 500 EMEA 2022
Pierre-Louis is described as an "excellent legal expert" by clients. Chambers Europe 2022
EXPERIENCE
Pierre-Louis' experience includes representing:
Strategic M&A
- Teleperformance in its acquisition of Majorel, a Luxembourg-based digital business services company
- Pernod Ricard on the sale of the Becherovka brand, an iconic Czech bitter, to the Maspex group
- Inari Medical in its acquisition of LimFlow
- L’Oréal in:
- Its agreement with Swiss retail group Migros to acquire Dr.G, the South Korean skincare brand
- The acquisition of a minority stake in Galderma, the pure-play dermatology category leader
- Its proposed acquisition of Aēsop
- Saur in connection with the acquisition of Suez by Veolia, and then as purchaser of the divested assets in the context of the commitments made by Veolia
- AllianceBernstein in its joint venture project with Société Générale in order to accelerate its growth in the cash actions
- ZEPLUG, a leading European provider of electric vehicle charging services in multi-occupant and office buildings, in its €240 million fundraising and acquisition of Bornes Solutions
- Carrefour in connection with:
- The acquisition of Cajoo, a quick commerce pioneer in France, by Flink
- Its sale of a majority stake in fintech Market Pay to AnaCap
- DAMS Développement in the sale of DAMS
- Tencent in its minority investment in Alma, completed as part of the company’s c. €115 million Series C round
- Worldline, the European leader in payments services, in:
- The proposed binding offer by Apollo funds to acquire its Terminals, Solutions & Services business (TSS)
- Its €2.3 billion proposed acquisition of SIX Payment Services from SIX
- Atos in its:
- Exclusive negotiations with Lutech S.p.A. (Lutech), an Italian provider of IT services and solutions, for the sale of its Italian operations
- Sale of Worldline shares for €1.23 billion, through a placement to qualified investors by way of ABB and transfer to the Atos UK 2019 Pension Scheme
- Spin-off of 23.4% of Worldline’s share capital for €2.34 billion in total consideration
- Siemens in the combination of its mobility business, including its rail traction drive business, in a merger of equals with Alstom, representing €15.3 billion in combined revenue
- MGN in the contemplated sale of Euronews
- TA Associates and its founders in Antin Infrastructure Partners’ investment in Babilou, a leading private network of daycare facilities and early years education in Europe
- Mainstay Medical, a European medical device company focused on bringing to market an innovative implantable neurostimulation system, in delisting its shares from Euronext Paris
- L’Oréal in the sale of the Roger & Gallet brand, a French cosmetics and fragrance firm
- Shandong Ruyi Investment Holding in acquiring a controlling stake in Bally International, a Switzerland-based designer and manufacturer footwear and other related products
- Euronews in its joint venture with Comcast/NBC and Comcast/NBC’s investment in Euronews
- Lagardère Active in its investment and joint venture with marketplace Shopcade
- Shandong Ruyi Group, one of China’s largest textile manufacturers, in acquiring SMCP (Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot), a leading global luxury company, from KKR and other investors and its subsequent IPO on Euronext Paris’ regulated market
- Galeries Lafayette Group in its acquisition of La Redoute
- A consortium led by Beijing Sanyuan Foods and Fosun Group in its acquisition of St Hubert
- Vipshop International Holding in its book building of ShowRoomPrivé shares
- Alcatel-Lucent’s board of directors in Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia’s combination
- Emerson Electric in its sale of Leroy-Somer and Control Techniques, a manufacturer and supplier of alternators, drives, and motors, to Nidec
- Schlumberger, the world’s largest oilfield services company, in the sale of Schlumberger Business Consulting, its oil consulting business, to Accenture
- Vinci Construction in acquiring HEB Construction, a New Zealand-based civil construction company
- Lagardère Services Distribution in its sale of more than 900 points of sale across five jurisdictions
- Expedia in acquiring Auto Escape, a leading European online car rental reservation company, from Montefiore Investment
- A Hédiard shareholder in the food purveyor’s bankruptcy proceedings
- Chenavari Investment in its acquisition of Buy Way, a leading consumer credit company in Belgium and Luxembourg
- Lagardère in the context of:
- Selling 20% of its stake in Canal+ France to Vivendi
- A binding offer from Hearst for its international magazine business*
- Air France in its acquisition of Airlinair and in the joint venture structuring of regional airline HOP!
- JCDecaux in its acquisition of 25% of and joint venture with Russ Outdoor, an outdoor advertising leader in Russia
- Ingenico in its acquisition of Ogone, leading pan-European online payment services provider
- Recyfina in its sale of Recylux Group to Ecore*
- Schlumberger in its US$1.07 billion acquisition of Geoservices*
- Air France-KLM in its €323 million acquisition of a 25% interest in Alitalia*
- Arcelor in the attempted spin-off and IPO of its stainless steel activities*
Venture Capital Financings
- Coatue Management on the €173 million Series F financing of Alan, a leading independent digital health insurance provider in France
- A global medical device leader on the US$50 million Series D financing round of TriCares, a French medtech startup
- Lead investor a16z (Andreessen Horowitz) on the €385 million Series A financing round of Mistral AI, a French startup specializing in generative artificial intelligence
- Atomico in its investment in Sorare’s US$680 million Series B raise, the largest ever in the non-fungible token (NFT) space
- Dragoneer on France’s largest independent e-commerce site ManoMano's US$355 million fundraising
- Coatue Management in its investment in Alan, France’s leading independent digital health insurance provider
- Tencent in the context of:
- Its subscription of €36 million of new shares issued by DON’T NOD, an independent French studio that creates, develops, and publishes video games
- Its minority investment in Voodoo, the world leader in hyper-casual games
- Its investment in DONTNOD Entertainment, an independent French studio that creates and develops video games
- Carrefour in its minority investment in Cajoo, a French specialist in the express delivery of everyday shopping
*Matter handled prior to joining Latham