19 February 2014
Deals | France
In what will become known as a landmark operation in the infrastructure sector and one of the major mergers & acquisitions of the year 2014, Gide was selected by the Meridiam and CNP Assurances consortium to advise them on the call for tenders initiated by the VINCI group for the sale of VINCI PARK, ultimately won by Ardian and Crédit Agricole Assurances.
Gide set up a bespoke team comprising 33 lawyers drawn from seven Practice Groups and working from the firm’s Paris, London, Brussels and Moscow offices, and called upon its partner firms in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain, the United States and Canada.
It is another prime example of Gide’s ability to single-handedly carry out strategic operations involving several practice groups in several countries. It is also a reminder of Gide’s leading position in the infrastructure sector, with deals including greenfield and brownfield projects, project structuring, project financing, refinancing as well as acquisitions.
Gide’s team advising Meridiam and CNP Assurances was coordinated from Paris by partners Guillaume Rougier-Brierre (Mergers & Acquisitions) and Stéphane Vernay (Projects - Finance & Infrastructure), and counsels Alexis Pailleret (Mergers & Acquisitions) and Marie Bouvet-Guiramand (Projects - Finance & Infrastructure).
The following partners and counsels were also involved:
• Banking & Finance: Eric Cartier-Millon (Paris) and Fernand Arsanios (London)
• Public & Administrative Law: Thomas Courtel (Paris)
• Competition: Stéphane Hautbourg and Sophie Quesson (Brussels) and David Lasfargue (Moscow)
• Tax: Guillaume Jolly (Paris)
• Employment: Foulques de Rostolan (Paris)
The Meridiam / CNP consortium was advised by merchant bank HSBC, Gimar & Cie, Deloitte (financial audit) and Taj (tax audit). Legal counsel to CNP Assurances was provided by law firm Herbert Smith Freehills. The banks supporting the financial offer made by the consortium were advised by Linklaters.