Alex is a senior corporate M&A lawyer with particular expertise in cross-border public and private M&A and governance matters.
Alex has over 25 years' experience in advising on a wide range of corporate finance, public and private M&A transactions and on governance issues, specialising in advising corporates and financial institutions on cross border takeovers, M&A and restructurings and major commercial arrangements. Alex is a member of the governing Board of our firm.
He has particular experience of the financial services, real estate and consumer sectors. He is rated as a leading lawyer for M&A and restructuring by IFLR and Legal 500 quotes clients who describe him as "intellectual and commercial".
Alex is one of the founders of HSF Impact, our social finance and sustainable investment practice, and helped set up Beam, the world's first online platform to crowdfund employment training for homeless people. He is a trustee of EveryYouth, the national charity for 16-25 year olds facing homelessness
Alex contributes to Hannigan and Prentice’s The Companies Act 2006: A Commentary. He is the editor of the Takeovers section of Buckley on the Companies Acts.
Background
Alex holds a Master of Arts (1st Class) in law from Jesus College, Cambridge. Alex joined Herbert Smith in 1995 and became a partner in 2003.
Experience & expertise
Selected matters
- Link Group on the sale of its UK and Irish funds management business to Waystone Group
- Capital & Counties Properties plc on its £3.5 billion recommended all-share merger with Shaftesbury PLC
- Diageo on the disposal of its Picon brand to Campari and its Archers brand to DeKuyper
- General Mills on the sale of its European dough business to Cerelia
- Hammerson plc, a major British property development and investment company, in relation to its £552 million rights issue and the €300 million disposal of its 50% interests in VIA Outlets (a premium outlets joint venture with APG Group)
- British American Tobacco on its investment in Canadian cannabis licensed producer Organigram
- Centremanor Limited, a major British property investment company and part of the Freshwater Group, in relation to its £1.3 billion recommended offer for the remaining stake not already held by the Freshwater Group in Daejan Holdings
- Capital & Counties Properties Plc (Capco), a major British real estate investment company, in relation to the £436 million acquisition of a minority stake of 26.3% in Shaftesbury plc across two tranches
- Optal on the $1.7 billion acquisition of Optal and eNett by WEX
- Unite Group on its £1.4 billion acquisition of Liberty Living
- Hammerson on its bid for Intu and the approach by Kleppiere
- Arris on its $7.4 billion takeover by CommScope
- British American Tobacco on its $49.4 billion recommended offer for Reynolds American
- Qatari Diar on the formation of a >£1billion residential property joint venture with Delancey and APG
- Ping An Group on its acquisition of Mayborn Group at an enterprise value of £300 million
- Old Mutual on the sale of Rogge Global Partners, a global fixed income asset management business, to Allianz Global Investors
- Hammerson on its joint venture with Allianz to acquire €1.85 billion loan portfolio from NAMA secured against prime Dublin retail property
- Arris Group a US technology company, on its £1.4 billion takeover offer for Pace, a UK-based technology solutions provider
- Element Financial on its $6.9 billion acquisition of GE Capital's worldwide fleet leasing business
- BlueBay Asset Management on its £963 million recommended takeover by Royal Bank of Canada
- the Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland on various matters, including its financial services venture with the Post Office, the restructuring of its UK business and its €3.5 billion recapitalisation involving the Irish State
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