EXPERIENCE

Kanesh has extensive experience advising clients on European and U.S. debt and equity financings, including transactions involving senior secured credit facilities, high yield bonds, private placements and other acquisition and holdco instruments and liability management and sports financing transactions. Kanesh’s private equity clients include Bain Capital, BC Partners, General Atlantic and Hg Capital, among many others. He is recognized as one of the top lawyers in the United Kingdom, earning a ranking in The Lawyer’s “Hot 100” list. He also serves on the Board of Pratham UK, one of India’s largest not-for-profit organizations.

Kanesh’s representative matters have included advising:

• Bain Capital:
  • on the multi-billion financing for its acquisition of a majority stake in European recruitment specialist House of HR
  • House of HR in connection with a €150 million Term Loan B (TLB) add-on to its existing €1.02 billion TLB financing facility
  • and BC Partners on the €3 billion financing for Fedrigoni
  • Fedrigoni, portfolio company of Bain Capital and BC Partners, in its offering of €665 million of high-yield bonds
  • and Cinven, and their portfolio company Nidda Healthcare, on financing matters
  • as part of a consortium, on the financing for their investment in Italian Serie A club Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio S.p.A.
  • and its consortium partners on the €2.1 billion proposed public takeover of Ahlstrom-Munksjö Oyj
  • on the €955.3 million public takeover offer for Caverion Corporation
• General Atlantic on its acquisition of a majority stake in Joe & the Juice from Valedo Partners
• BC Partners:
  • United Group, a portfolio group of BC Partners, on its issuance of more than
    €1.4 billion of senior secured fixed and floating rate notes; €300 million of senior holdco pay-if-you-can PIK, or payment-in-kind, notes; and the upsize and maturity extension of United’s existing revolving credit facility
  • in the euro financing to acquire a majority stake in Havea, the French leader in natural healthcare with a major presence in the European market, from 3i Group
  • on the sale of IMA Group to BDT & MSD Partners
  • in its acquisition of Keesing from Ergon Capital and Mediahuis
  • and Davies Group on the strategic acquisition of Asta and the acquisition of Sionic Group from Livinbridge and management
  • on the sale of UK based mental healthcare provider Elysium Healthcare to Ramsay Health Care
  • and CPP Investments on the financing for the acquisition of global MedTech platform CeramTec
  • on the sale of European pharmaceutical company Pharmathen to Partners Group
  • on the acquisition of a significant stake in Valtech
  • on the financing aspects of its acquisition of a majority stake in Davies
  • and United Group on the financing aspects of United Group’s c. £1 billion acquisition of Vivacom, and on United Group’s definitive agreement to acquire Tele2 Croatia
  • on its acquisition of a majority stake in United Group, a leading media and communication services provider across Southeast Europe, from KKR
  • on its investment in Advanced, a provider of business software solutions
  • on the financing aspects of its acquisition of a majority stake in Synthon International Holding, a global market leader in the development of complex Generics
  • on the financing aspects of its £700 million acquisition of VetPartners from Ares Management and August Equity
• Hg Capital:
  • TA Associates and the Access Group on Europe’s largest ever unitranche financing on record
  • on the £425 million financing of Hg Genesis 8 portfolio
  • on the financing for its majority investment in Visma, a leading provider of business-critical software, in a transaction valuing the business at an enterprise value of $12.2 billion
  • on the financing aspects of its acquisition of a majority stake in P&I
  • on its majority investment in Nomadia
• PAI Partners:
  • and its portfolio company Albéa Beauty Holdings Sarl on the successful amendment, extension and refinancing of Albéa’s existing facilities
  • in connection with the offering by Leather 2 S.p.A. of €340 million Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due 2028 and the entry into a new super senior revolving facility to finance the acquisition of Conceria Pasubio S.p.A.
  • and Baring Private Equity Asia on their successful bid to acquire World Freight Company International
  • on the debt financing of their €3.3 billion public takeover of Refresco N.V, which will create the world's largest independent bottler
• Oakley Capital:
  • on the financing aspects of its investment in Steer Automotive Group
  • on the financing for the investments in Phenna Group and CTS Group in transactions valued at over £1 billion
  • and IU Group NV on its refinancing
  • on the acquisition of a majority stake in TechInsights by Oakley Capital IV, alongside CVC Growth
  • on its investment in ICP Education, a leading independent group of UK nurseries
• Investindustrial:
  • on the financing aspects of its acquisition of Neolith
  • Guala Closures S.p.A., a portfolio company of Investindustrial, in connection with an issuance of €350 million of senior secured floating-rate notes due 2029 and upsize of its existing revolving credit facility
• Thomas H. Lee Partners:
  • and its portfolio company AutoStore on its $12.4 billion IPO on the Oslo Stock Exchange
  • on the acquisition of Bynder Univar on a Global ABL Credit Facility
  • on the acquisition of AutoStore from EQT
• Transcom Holding AB, a portfolio company of Altor Equity Partners, in the issuance of €65 million of senior secured floating rate notes to certain institutional investors
• L Catterton on its agreement to acquire a majority stake in BIRKENSTOCK Group
• EQT Infrastructure and Covanta on the carve-out of Covanta’s European operations to create a standalone Waste-to-Energy platform
• The Carlyle Group on the financing for the acquisition of Jagex PAI Partners
• Thoma Bravo on the £3.1 billion recommended cash offer for Sophos, a global leader in next-generation cybersecurity solutions
• A consortium consisting of Apax, Warburg Pincus, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan on the $3.4 billion take private of Inmarsat, a British satellite communications group
• TA Associates and Inspired Education on the financing aspects of the acquisition by Inspired Education of ACG’s schools unit and refinancing of existing debt
• Parthenon Capital on the strategic investment in Titan Wealth Holdings
• Partners Group on the financing of their acquisition of Techem, a leading global energy service provider for the real estate sector and private homeowners, from Macquarie for €4.6 billion
• Antin Infrastructure Partners on its reinvestment in Eurofiber, including the sale of a minority stake to PGGM
• A private equity consortium on the $510 million acquisition of DuPont’s Clean Technologies business
• Nordic Capital:
  • on its acquisition of Orchid Orthopedic Solutions from Altor Equity Partners
  • on the €7 billion financing in relation to the merger of Lindorff and Intrum Justitia to create the industry-leading provider of credit management services
  • on the refinancing of the indebtedness of the Sunrise Medical Group
  • on the debt financing of their acquisition of Dental Clinics Nederland, Adent Cliniques Dentaires Groupe SA and DPH Dental Partner Holding GmbH
  • on the debt financing of their acquisition of the Alloheim Group
• GTCR and Corza Health on the acquisition of TachoSil® Fibrin Sealant Patch from Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited
• CVC Capital on the debt financing of their acquisition of Breitling
• PizzaExpress on its successful refinancing, including an offering of £335 million of bonds and entry into its new super senior revolving credit facility
• Klöckner Pentaplast, a portfolio company of Strategic Value Partners, in connection with its €1.9 billion refinancing, which included senior secured notes, senior unsecured notes and a term loan with ESG-linked ratchet
• EG Group on the financing of its acquisition of Woolworths Group’s petrol division in Australia for A$1.725 billion
• GVC Holdings PLC on their $5.2 billion public takeover of Ladbrokes Coral, which will create one of the largest gaming operators in the world
• Astorg Partners on the debt financing of their acquisition of Audiotonix
• Burger King France SAS on a bank/bond refinancing
• Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Citi, Morgan Stanley, Santander and a confidential international bank on the bank/bond financing of Hellman & Friedman and GIC’s acquisition of Allfunds SA
• Deutsche Bank, Crédit Agricole, Natixis and Société Générale on the bank/bond financing of Loxam SAS’ public takeover of Lavendon Group PLC