Edward Barnett
Partner
London
edward.barnett@lw.com
+44.20.7710.1884
PRACTICES
- Communications
- Connectivity, Privacy & Information
- Emerging Companies & Growth
- Israel Practice
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- Public Company Representation
INDUSTRIES
- Entertainment, Sports & Media
- Healthcare & Life Sciences
- Hospitality, Gaming & Leisure
- Technology
EDUCATION
- Postgraduate Diploma in Law, College of Law,
- CPE, College of Law,
- BA, University of Leeds,
LANGUAGES SPOKEN
PROFILE
Ed Barnett is Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins' London office.
Ed advises clients on a variety of cross-border M&A and corporate finance transactions, including public takeovers, takeover defense, joint ventures, and private company and business acquisitions and divestments, with a particular focus in consumer, technology, pharmaceuticals, and entertainment, media, and sports sectors. He also represents clients on company representation work, including advising on a range of corporate governance matters. He is a former Global Co-Chair of the firm's Mergers & Acquisitions Practice.
EXPERIENCE
Ed’s experience includes advising:
- Anglo American on the:
- Sale of its Australian steelmaking coal business to Peabody Energy Corporation for US$3.775 billion
- Sale of its 33.3% minority interest in Jellinbah Group Pty Ltd to Zashvin Pty Limited for A$1.6 billion
- MSD UK Holdings Limited, lender to West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, in connection with the indirect sale of 87.8% of West Bromwich Albion Football Club to Bilkul Football WBA, LLC
- Manchester United plc on its agreement with Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Chairman of INEOS, under which he will acquire up to a 25% shareholding in the company
- Farfetch on various transactions, including on:
- Its sale to Greenoaks and Coupang via a UK pre-pack administration process, as well as the negotiation of a committed first lien delayed draw term loan facility of up to US$500 million
- The proposed acquisition of 47.5% of YOOX Net-a-Porter from Richemont
- Its global strategic partnership and joint venture with Alibaba Group and Richemont
- Its acquisition of certain operating assets of Style.com
- Block M shareholders on bp’s agreement to acquire the 50.03% interest it does not already own in Lightsource bp, one of the world’s leading developers and operator of utility-scale solar and battery storage assets
- TechnipFMC plc on various transactions, including on:
- Its entry into an agreement to sell its Measurement Solutions business to One Equity Partners
- The spin-off of its onshore/offshore business to create Technip Energies, listed on Euronext Paris
- Its tax-free spin-off into two publicly traded companies
- Dynasty Equity, a global sports investment firm, on its strategic minority investment in Liverpool F.C.
- One of the lead financial advisors to UBS on its proposed takeover of Credit Suisse
- Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital consortium on its £4.25 billion acquisition of Chelsea Football Club
- Whirlpool Corporation on its strategic joint venture with Arçelik A.Ş (Arcelik), as part of its portfolio transformation
- AllianceBernstein on its joint venture with Societe Generale
- 888 Holdings plc on various transactions, including on:
- Its US partnership with Sports Illustrated
- Its £2.2 billion acquisition of William Hill international
- Silver Lake on various transactions, including on:
- Its investment in Australian A-League
- Its acquisition of stakes in City Football Group, parent company of, among others, Manchester City Football Club
- TotalEnergies on various transactions, including on:
- Its agreement with Adani Enterprises Limited to acquire a 25% interest in Adani New Industries Limited
- Its agreement to acquire a 20% minority interest in Adani Green Energy Limited
- The sale of TEPKRI Sarsang to ShaMaran Petroleum
- The sale by TOTAL Deutschland of a stake in Großtanklager-Ölhafen Rostock to EUROPORTS
- Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. on various transactions, including on:
- Its US$1.2 billion acquisition of OpenBet
- The acquisition of Madrid Open tennis tournament and the Acciona Open de España golf tournament
- NVIDIA on its proposed US$40 billion acquisition of ARM from SoftBank
- NRG Energy on its US$3.625 billion acquisition of Direct Energy, from Centrica plc
- Venator Materials plc, on various matters, including on:
- The sale of its iron oxide business to Cathay Industries
- Its acquisition of European TiO2 paper laminates business from Tronox
- Meta Platforms, Inc. on various transactions, including on:
- Its acquisition of Unit 2 Games
- The acquisition by Oculus VR
- Its acquisition of Papers with Code
- GlaxoSmithKline plc on various transactions, including on:
- The financing for Sitryx Therapeutics Limited
- The sale of the North American rights for Keri® to Crown Laboratories
- The sale of its Prevacid®24HR business to Perrigo Company
- The sale of OTC brand portfolio including Baldriparan, Formigran, Spalt, and Kamol, to PharmaSGP
- The sale of OTC brands including Breathe Right® Nasal Strips to Foundation Consumer Healthcare
- London Stock Exchange group plc on its US$1.1 billion sale of BETA+ to Clearlake Capital Group and Motive Partners
- Swingers (indoor golf experience) on its financing round led by Cain international and Knighthead Capital Management
- Threads, on its divestment of a majority stake to Chalhoub
- Delivery Associates on its sale to Trill Impact
- Easybrain, on its acquisition by Embracer Group
- Celsius Network on an investment led by WestCap and CDPQ
- Ascential plc on various transactions, including on:
- Its acquisition of Shenzhen 4KMiles Technologies
- Its acquisition of Sellics
- Authentic Brands Group on its US$2.5 billion acquisition of Reebok
- Stormlight Holdings in a significant investment into Swansea City Football Club
- BDT Capital on its acquisition of Fox International
- SENT Entertainment Ltd on its acquisition of Como 1907, an Italy-based football club
- Cain International on its equity investment in the Beverly Hills Hilton and the Waldorf-Astoria Beverly Hills
- Israel Chemicals Limited on its US$1 billion sale of its fire safety and oil additives business units to SK Capital Partners
- KSL Capital on the acquisition by Apple Leisure Group
- The sellers on the disposal of Method and Ecover to SC Johnson
- Big Bus Tours shareholders on the sale to Exponent*
- Coca-Cola Iberian Partners on its three-way merger with Coca-Cola Enterprises and Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetränke*
- Kop Football Limited on the acquisition of Liverpool Football Club plc*
- Manchester United Football Club on corporate finance matters and significant commercial matters*
*Matter handled prior to joining Latham