Compagnoni proves his worth on Weil's Advent win

The benefits of private equity partner Marco Compagnoni's February 2006 arrival at Weil Gotshal & Manges have extended beyond the London office.

The US firm's Paris office has just completed its first deal for Advent International, a key private equity client brought by Compagnoni to Weil's London outfit when he joined from Lovells last year.

Led by corporate partner Jean Beauchataud and associate Gautier Elies, Weil advised Advent on its acquisition via a leveraged buyout of a majority stake in financial services software provider Sophis. Sophis turned to another US firm with a French presence, Willkie Farr & Gallagher.

This is the second French deal Advent has undertaken in recent months after its acquisition of discount retailer Stokomani. However, it is the first French deal it has instructed Weil on. On the Stokomani deal it turned Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw. Advent has had a French presence for a decade.

When Compagnoni arrived at Weil the firm made Advent one of the key private equity clients to align its business around. Meanwhile, Advent undertook a panel review three months after Compagnoni left Lovells, dropping Lovells from the roster in favour of Weil.