MoFo, Herbies win roles on Buy.at's sale to AOL

Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) and Herbert Smith have won instructions on the sale of Buy.at to US internet services company AOL.

UK internet marketing company Buy.at, which specialises in affiliate marketing, was sold by venture capital fund DFJ Esprit.

AOL called on Herbert Smith London corporate partner Gavin Davies, while DFJ Esprit and its shareholders were represented by MoFo corporate head Paul Claydon and partner James Gubbins.

DFJ Esprit has been a client of MoFo since 2006 when private equity houses Prelude Ventures and Cazenove merged to form Esprit. MoFo represented Prelude on the merger.

MoFo partner Chris Coulter, who is working on the current deal, said he expected to see similar acquisitions this year, with larger tech companies taking advantage of technological advances made by small UK businesses.

"We are seeing quite a lot of activity," he said. "I suspect we will see a lot more in the UK."

Herbert Smith has a long-standing relationship with AOL through Time Warner, which the firm represented during its merger with AOL in 2000. Last year corporate partners Gavin Davies and Nick Elverston advised on the proposed $1bn (£510m) sale of AOL UK.