Will Pearce
Head of Europe practice. Advises clients on private and public M&A transactions, takeovers and mergers, and securities offerings and listings.
Will is head of our Europe practice and leads our M&A practice in London. He advises corporate, PE and investment banking clients on domestic and cross-border private and public M&A, takeovers and mergers, and securities offerings and listings, as well as on corporate governance, shareholder activism and restructuring matters.
With over 25 years’ experience of advising on the UK’s Takeover Code and Listing Rules, he has been recognized as a leading lawyer for both corporate/M&A and equity capital markets, and named as a “Dealmaker of the Year” by the American Lawyer and The Deal, an “MVP of the Year” by Law360 and one of Europe’s most influential lawyers by Financial News.
Clients quoted by Chambers say he is “an exceptional lawyer, very technical and commercial” who “works hard to understand our business drivers and dynamics”, his “knowledge is deep across practice areas”, and he is “not only a deal maker, but will go the extra mile in providing creative ideas to help solve problems.”
Experience
Private Mergers & Acquisitions
- Atairos investment in the parent company of the Aston Villa Football Club
- Cubic Telecom €473 million strategic investment by SoftBank
- Gilead Sciences $405 million acquisition of MiroBio
- Amdocs $188 million acquisition of MYCOM OSI
- Viva Wallet strategic investment by J.P. Morgan
- SS&C Technologies acquisition of Hubwise
- Ding sale of majority stake to Pollen Street Capital
- Comcast “SkyShowtime” partnership with ViacomCBS
- Lightyear Capital acquisition of Wren Sterling
- Ferrero-related company acquisition of Burton’s Biscuit Company
Public Mergers & Acquisitions
- Barratt Developments £2.52 billion all-share offer for Redrow
- Atairos $580 million take private of Ocean Outdoor
- Evergreen- and Brookfield-led consortium $16 billion acquisition of Nielsen
- SS&C Technologies £1.24 billion offer for Blue Prism
- Maersk Drilling merger with Noble
- Charles Taylor £285 million takeover by Lovell Minnick
- Rank Group £115.3 million takeover of Stride Gaming
- Nuvei $889 million offer for SafeCharge International Group
- Comcast £30.6 billion increased offer for Sky
- Temenos £1.4 billion offer for Fidessa
Capital Markets
- Esken £55 million capital raising and £125 million investment by Carlyle
- Made.com £775.3 million IPO and London listing
- NCC Group $220 million acquisition of IPM and £72.6 million placing of new shares
- Electrocomponents £180 million placing and retail offer of new shares
- Unification of Unilever’s corporate structure
- Bovis Homes £1.075 billion housing acquisition and placing of new shares
- Simplification of Mondi’s dual-listed corporate structure
- Demerger and $3.6 billion Copenhagen listing of Maersk Drilling
Insights
News
Recognition
Financial News – “Most Influential Lawyers,” 2022 and 2023
American Lawyer – “Dealmaker of the Year,” 2019 and 2023
Law360 – “M&A MVP of the Year,” 2018
The Deal Europe Awards – “Dealmaker of the Year,” 2018
Chambers Europe – Corporate/M&A: High-End Capability
Chambers UK – Corporate/M&A: £800 million and above
Legal 500 UK – M&A: Upper Mid-Market and Premium Deals, £750m+, Hall of Fame
IFLR1000 – M&A, United Kingdom, Highly Regarded
Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who Legal) – Firm Management, Thought Leader
MergerLinks – “Top FinTech Lawyers in EMEA,” 2022
MergerLinks – “Top Healthcare Lawyers in EMEA,” 2022
Education
- with honours
Prior experience
- Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills, 2006-2013
- Associate, Herbert Smith Freehills, 1998-2006
Qualifications and admissions
- England and Wales