Squire Sanders has announced that it has advised on one of the first investments by a private equity house in a law firm structured through an Alternative Business Structure under the Legal Services Act 2007. Duke Street, which has been investing in the UK and France for the past 20 years and has over six generations of funds and more than €2 billion of committed capital in a range of 10-year funds, has invested in the Parabis Group, which focuses on providing legal and complementary services for the insurance, travel and other related industries. The transaction values Parabis at circa £150 million. Contracts were exchanged in late December 2011 and completion is expected in March 2012.
Squire Sanders has acted for Parabis for a number of years. The team, which represented the Sellers and Management, on this transaction was led by London corporate partners Mark Robson and William Downs, supported by Tim Stead, Grace Higginson and Charlotte Bhania. The complex tax structuring advice was undertaken by Leeds partner Tim Jarvis, assisted by Peter Morley.
William Downs, Global Leader of the Corporate and Corporate Finance Practice Group, said: “This deal is the culmination of months of careful and painstaking hard work by all involved. It is a milestone in the legal business sector in the UK and we are pleased to have been involved at the cutting edge of innovative corporate transactional and investment work.”