Britax purchase sees Ashurst act on its first buyout mandate for Nordic
Ashurst has landed its first buyout mandate for new client Nordic Capital since being appointed to the private equity house’s panel earlier this year.
Latham & Watkins and Travers Smith were the other firms involved on the £450m acquisition of Britax Childcare from Carlyle Group.
Ashurst global corporate chief Stephen Lloyd led an Anglo-German team acting for Nordic. London loan markets partner Jane Fissenden and Munich-based corporate partner Nikolaus von Jacobs were also involved.
Latham acted for Carlyle on the sale side, the group having bought the pushchair and childcare equipment manufacturer for £230m in 2005. Private equity partner Michael Bond led for the US firm, alongside M&A partner Rory Negus.
Travers advised the Britax management team, with private equity partner Andrew Roberts taking the lead and tax partner Russell Warren also involved.
Ashurst has acted on the banking side in Scandinavia for Nordic for a number of years after winning a place on the buyout panel following a pitch in the summer.
Lloyd said there was increasing scope for Scandinavian houses to make investments in overseas territories.
“It’s a real opportunity for us because we have the European reach they need,” he added.
Ashurst boosted its Scandinavian offering earlier this year when it hired Linklaters Swedish senior partner Martin Börresen into its corporate group.
Börresen was involved in pitching the firm to Nordic, which has generally turned to White & Case for its buyout mandates in the past.
The Stockholm-based buyout house saw off competition from rivals Lion Capital, Clayton Dubilier & Rice and PAI Partners to land the deal.
