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James Smethurst

Partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Lawyer

London

Deal Bio

Total Deals27

Valued Deals17

Total Value£ 53.03 B

Avg. Deal Size£ 3.12 B

Market Context

Awards

2022 Top FinTech Lawyers in EMEA

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09 Mar 2020|United Kingdom|Insurance Brokers

Target: WILLIS TOWERS WATSON PLC (WTW)

Bidder: AON PLC

17 Service Providers

8 Target | 9 Bidder

136 Dealmakers

53 Target | 83 Bidder

£ 27.14 B

Value

03 Feb 2020|United Kingdom|Online and Social Platforms

Target: BRICKVEST

Bidder: PATRIZIA IMMOBILIEN AG

4 Service Providers

2 Target | 2 Bidder

28 Dealmakers

3 Target | 25 Bidder

n/a

Value

30 Sep 2020|United Kingdom|Life Insurance

Target: ROTHESAY LIFE

Bidder: GIC PRIVATE LIMITED

10 Service Providers

3 Target | 4 Bidder | 3 Vendor

49 Dealmakers

15 Target | 22 Bidder | 12 Vendor

£ 5.75 B

Value

09 Oct 2020|Italy|Diversified Financials

Target: LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE GROUP HOLDINGS ITALIA SPA

Bidder: EURONEXT NV

34 Service Providers

1 Target | 23 Bidder | 10 Vendor

117 Dealmakers

2 Target | 53 Bidder | 62 Vendor

£ 3.93 B

Value

23 Nov 2020|United Kingdom|Travel and Tourism

Target: AA PLC

Bidder: TOWERBROOK CAPITAL PARTNERS LP

14 Service Providers

6 Target | 8 Bidder

131 Dealmakers

26 Target | 105 Bidder

£ 219 M

Value

29 Dec 2020|United Kingdom|Digital Services

Target: PENGUIN PORTALS GROUP

Bidder: RVU

12 Service Providers

1 Target | 5 Bidder | 6 Vendor

64 Dealmakers

1 Target | 40 Bidder | 23 Vendor

£ 508 M

Value

14 Oct 2020|United Kingdom|Insurance Brokers

Target: TESCO UNDERWRITING LIMITED

Bidder: TESCO BANK

5 Service Providers

3 Bidder | 2 Vendor

21 Dealmakers

16 Bidder | 5 Vendor

£ 104 M

Value

29 Mar 2021|United Kingdom|E-commerce

Target: CAZOO

Bidder: MORGAN STANLEY INC

34 Service Providers

7 Target | 25 Bidder | 2 Vendor

96 Dealmakers

35 Target | 56 Bidder | 5 Vendor

£ 5.07 B

Value

12 May 2021|United Kingdom|Insurance Brokers

Target: WILLIS TOWERS WATSON (REINSURANCE, SPECIALTY AND RETAIL BROKERAGE OPERATIONS)

Bidder: ARTHUR J. GALLAGHER & CO

13 Service Providers

1 Target | 7 Bidder | 5 Vendor

91 Dealmakers

27 Bidder | 64 Vendor

£ 2.52 B

Value

11 Feb 2022|United Kingdom|FinTech

Target: FNZ LTD

Bidder: CANADA PENSION PLAN INVESTMENT BOARD (CPP INVESTMENTS)

11 Service Providers

4 Target | 5 Bidder | 2 Vendor

46 Dealmakers

10 Target | 24 Bidder | 14 Vendor

£ 1.03 B

Value

24 Jun 2022|United Kingdom|Mortgage Finance

Target: KENSINGTON MORTGAGES

Bidder: BARCLAYS PLC

7 Service Providers

3 Target | 1 Bidder | 3 Vendor

33 Dealmakers

4 Target | 4 Bidder | 25 Vendor

£ 2.30 B

Value

01 Feb 2022|Isle of Man|Life Insurance

Target: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED

Bidder: CINVEN LTD

5 Service Providers

2 Target | 3 Bidder

8 Dealmakers

1 Target | 7 Bidder

n/a

Value

12 Dec 2022|United Kingdom|Financial Data and Systems

Target: LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE GROUP PLC

Bidder: MICROSOFT CORP

10 Service Providers

4 Target | 2 Bidder | 4 Vendor

40 Dealmakers

33 Target | 1 Bidder | 6 Vendor

n/a

Value

19 Dec 2022|United States|Software

Target: ACADIA

Bidder: LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE GROUP PLC

6 Service Providers

3 Target | 3 Bidder

58 Dealmakers

2 Target | 56 Bidder

n/a

Value

05 Dec 2022|United Kingdom|Banks

Target: ALLICA BANK

Bidder: ATALAYA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

6 Service Providers

2 Target | 4 Bidder

30 Dealmakers

1 Target | 29 Bidder

£ 100 M

Value

19 Jun 2023|United Kingdom|Payroll

Target: AZETS GROUP

Bidder: PAI PARTNERS

16 Service Providers

8 Target | 6 Bidder | 2 Vendor

13 Dealmakers

3 Target | 7 Bidder | 3 Vendor

n/a

Value

06 Jul 2023|United Kingdom|Leasing

Target: ANGEL TRAINS LIMITED

Bidder: ARJUN INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS

7 Service Providers

1 Target | 3 Bidder | 3 Vendor

17 Dealmakers

1 Target | 2 Bidder | 14 Vendor

n/a

Value

29 Nov 2023|United Kingdom|Real Estate Holding and Development

Target: AERMONT CAPITAL LLP

Bidder: KEPPEL CORP LTD

3 Service Providers

1 Target | 2 Bidder

12 Dealmakers

1 Target | 11 Bidder

£ 306 M

Value

09 Feb 2024|United Kingdom|Banks

Target: TESCO BANK (RETAIL BANKING BUSINESS)

Bidder: BARCLAYS PLC

8 Service Providers

4 Bidder | 4 Vendor

30 Dealmakers

10 Bidder | 20 Vendor

£ 600 M

Value

04 Mar 2024|Luxembourg|Management Consulting

Target: ALTER DOMUS

Bidder: CINVEN LTD

27 Service Providers

11 Target | 6 Bidder | 10 Vendor

54 Dealmakers

24 Target | 20 Bidder | 10 Vendor

£ 2.10 B

Value

01 Nov 2024|United Kingdom|Insurance Brokers

Target: GRIFFITHS & ARMOUR

Bidder: AON PLC

4 Service Providers

1 Target | 3 Bidder

12 Dealmakers

2 Target | 10 Bidder

n/a

Value

21 Nov 2024|United Kingdom|Information / Data Services

Target: GRANT THORNTON UK

Bidder: CINVEN LTD

12 Service Providers

5 Target | 7 Bidder

19 Dealmakers

6 Target | 13 Bidder

n/a

Value

23 Jan 2025|Netherlands|Insurance Brokers

Target: ECCLESIA HOLDING GMBH (ASSETS IN BELGIUM AND THE NETHERLANDS)

Bidder: SPECIALIST RISK GROUP

4 Service Providers

2 Bidder | 2 Vendor

14 Dealmakers

12 Bidder | 2 Vendor

n/a

Value

05 Apr 2025|Germany|FinTech

Target: FNZ LTD

Bidder: GENERATION INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LLP

3 Service Providers

1 Target | 2 Bidder

23 Dealmakers

2 Target | 21 Bidder

£ 384 M

Value

30 May 2025|United Kingdom|Diversified Financials

Target: M&G PLC

Bidder: DAI-ICHI LIFE INSURANCE CO LTD

7 Service Providers

4 Target | 3 Bidder

42 Dealmakers

14 Target | 30 Bidder

£ 817 M

Value

11 Jun 2025|Switzerland|Full Line Insurance

Target: CANOPIUS GROUP

Bidder: SAMSUNG FIRE & MARINE INSURANCE

8 Service Providers

4 Target | 3 Bidder | 1 Vendor

38 Dealmakers

22 Target | 16 Bidder

n/a

Value

30 Jul 2025|United Kingdom|Investment Banking

Target: ROBEY WARSHAW LLP

Bidder: EVERCORE INC

5 Service Providers

2 Target | 3 Bidder

41 Dealmakers

18 Target | 23 Bidder

£ 146 M

Value