CC, Weil secure Warburg Pincus’s £200m acquisition of Poundland

Clifford Chance corporate finance partner Spencer Baylin and private equity chief David Walker are leading on the relationship side of the deal for long-term client Warburg Pincus. Fellow private equity partner Amy Mahon is heading the transactional side, while competition partner Jenine Hulsmann is leading on antitrust matters, with regulatory approval still pending.

A Weil team led by private equity partner Marco Compagnoni advised previous owner Advent International on the sale. Compagnoni had also acted for Advent when it ­originally bought the budget retailer in 2002.

Poundland’s management turned to West Midlands firm George Green, with corporate partner Guy Green advising.

The all-equity purchase, which values the company at around £200m, reached close in a matter of weeks in advance of a proposed auction by Advent.

Commenting on getting the deal away without requiring any bank debt, Baylin said: “It’s still pretty rare, so it’s a good sign. It requires a combination of factors for it to work.”

The transaction is the third domestic acquisition by Warburg Pincus in recent months. Baylin led a Clifford Chance team that also featured private equity partner Kem Ihenacho and finance partner Taner Hassan on the £280m buyout of defence equipment manufacturer Survitec in February (The Lawyer, 8 February).

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, meanwhile, acted for the US house on last year’s acquisition of a minority stake in Hovis and Bisto maker Premier Foods.