KLegal International firm McGrigor Donald advised private equity house West Coast Capital and Chris Gorman, the UK entrepreneur, on their £60m joint acquisition of the Birthdays Group from venture capital shareholders 3i, PPM Ventures and Permira. The McGrigor Donald team was led by corporate partner Paul Davidson, supported by senior associate Paul Pignatelli and banking partner Iain MacAulay. Eversheds corporate finance partner Helen Ridge advised the vendors, supported by corporate associate David Williams and corporate assistant Wayne Palmer. Debt financing was provided by Bank of Scotland, advised by Shepherd & Wedderburn banking partner Shona Sanders.
David Edwards, a corporate partner at 18-partner City firm Goodman Derrick, led the team advising Informa Group on its £24m acquisition of MMS International, an analysis group focused on the financial markets. Edwards was supported by corporate assistant Matthew Wanford and employment assistant Helen Wyatt. Macfarlanes corporate partner Ian Martin advised the vendor’s shareholders – private equity group Alchemy, MMS chief executive Mickey Arora and the management team. CMS Cameron McKenna corporate assistant Joe Bitran advised Informa in relation to share placing arrangements.
