A joint Paris-London team from Herbert Smith's finance practice has been advising Calyon as lender to luxury goods company LVMH in its bid to acquire UK boat builder Princess Yachts.
LVMH is best-known for its Louis Vuitton handbags, Tag Heuer watches and Moët & Chandon champagne. It is a listed French company and is investing through a private equity fund it sponsors, called L Capital, which is also backed by the Arnault Group, the holding company of LVMH Chief Executive Bernard Arnault. Other investors are also participating.
The target, Plymouth-based Princess Yachts International, is one of Britain's largest boat builders and is being sold by South African businessman Graham Beck.
Jacques Bertran de Balanda and Chris Fanner have been leading the teams in London and Paris advising Calyon on the deal. The Herbert Smith team also included Emily McGee and Daniel Margolis (London), and Jonathan Souffir (Paris).
Jacques commented:
"This deal has been a real team effort, with the buyers and the bank in France and the target in the UK. We're very pleased to have helped structure a transaction that sees LVMH acquire one of the top luxury yacht builders in Europe."
Linklaters advised LVMH, Osborne Clarke advised the target's management and Torquay-based Boyce Hatton advised the seller.
Notes to editors
- Herbert Smith LLP is an international legal practice with 1200 lawyers (including over 240 partners) and a network of offices in Europe and Asia. It has a formal alliance with leading German firm Gleiss Lutz and leading Dutch and Belgian firm Stibbe. On 1 April 2005 Herbert Smith became Herbert Smith LLP, a limited liability partnership. www.herbertsmith.com
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