Baker & McKenzie Named Private Equity Team of the Year

London, United Kingdom, February 13, 2012 – Baker & McKenzie has been named “Private Equity Team of the Year” at the Legal Business Awards 2012.

The prestigious award comes after a very busy 18 months for the Firm’s Global Private Equity Practice, which has advised AXA Private Equity on a series of innovative and high-profile international acquisitions worth more than USD6 billion. These included two of the largest-ever secondary private transactions and three that were executed simultaneously in less than 90 days over the summer of 2011. The global team involved in the transactions comprised lawyers in Paris, London, Chicago, New York, Luxembourg, Singapore and other offices.

AXA Private Equity has been at the forefront of the secondary market and Baker & McKenzie has consistently been at its side. The series of acquisitions includes:

• August 2011 – Acquisition of a portfolio of private equity assets from German bank HSH Nordbank worth EUR620 million.
• June 2011 – USD740 million purchase of a portfolio of funds interests from UK-based Barclays.
• June 2011 – USD1.7 billion purchase of more than 200 private equity fund interests and direct investments from US bank Citigroup Inc.
• July 2010 – EUR507 million acquisition of a major stake in the private equity holdings of French bank Natixis, managed by iXEN Partners, NI Partners and Initiative & Finance Gestion.
• April 2010 – USD1.9 billion purchase of a portfolio of around 60 investments in private equity funds from Bank of America.

Bruno Bertrand, lead partner for AXA Private Equity on the transactions and Head of Baker & McKenzie’s Paris office Private Equity Practice Group said, “We are delighted to partner with AXA Private Equity on its primary and secondary fund of fund transactions. Our success in getting this market recognition is also its success, as the leading global player in the secondary market. I would like to thank AXA Private Equity for its continued trust and also our lawyers involved worldwide on the AXA Private Equity transactions for their consistent hard work and dedication. Executing all these acquisitions in such a short period of time has been particularly challenging for all of our team. We are enthusiastic at the idea that these transactions will pave the way to further deals in the growing secondary market.”

James Burdett, London head of Investment Funds who led the London team for AXA Private Equity commented, "These transactions demonstrate our ability to serve clients on highly complex deals across many jurisdictions and, under Bruno's leadership, we are proud to have achieved so much with AXA Private Equity."

“This award is a credit to the global team of private equity attorneys who have assisted AXA Private Equity. The transactions demanded a global capacity and expertise and we were able to summon those resources as a true global law firm.  We look forward to continuing to work with AXA Private Equity as new opportunities arise in this field in the future,” said Mark McNamara, Head of Baker & McKenzie’s Global Private Equity Practice Group.

Baker & McKenzie’s Global Private Equity Practice Group, including its Funds Formation and Structuring Group, comprises more than 250 lawyers worldwide, combining funds, tax and financial services advice as well as deal execution and financing, we provide tailored and comprehensive solutions for local and global financial sponsors in a variety of domestic and cross-border private equity and funds related transactions throughout the private equity lifecycle. The Private Equity Practice Group is recommended in 18 countries for private equity/venture capital work and has 23 lawyers endorsed in the 2011 PLC Which lawyer? Yearbook.