Sarah Leiper-Jennings

Sarah Leiper-Jennings is Counsel in the Firm’s European M&A practice. Based in the London office, she has extensive experience advising private equity sponsors, corporates and investment banks on a broad range of corporate transactional matters, including complex cross-border private and public M&A, joint ventures, strategic minority and hybrid investments, IPOs and secondary offerings. Prior to joining Simpson Thacher, Sarah was at another major international law firm where she completed secondments to the firm’s New York office and to Apollo.

Sarah is recognized as a Key Lawyer in the 2025 and 2026 editions of Legal 500 for M&A: Upper Mid-Market and Premium Deals, where she is described as having "the right mix of deep legal expertise and practical, solution focused thinking", and being "extremely approachable and responsive, and happy to deliver at pace".

She is also recognized as a Key Lawyer in the 2022, 2025 and 2026 editions of Legal 500 for Equity Capital Markets and as "One to Watch" for Capital Markets in the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom.

Sarah’s select experience prior to joining Simpson Thacher includes:

• Apollo-managed funds on the acquisition of Gatehouse Living Group
• Otro Capital and its partner RedBird Capital on their investment in the F1 team, Alpine Racing
• AO World plc on its take private of musicMagpie plc and on its capital raise my way of cash box placing
• Elliott Investment Management L.P. and its affiliate, Evergreen Coast Capital Corporation on the acquisition of Nielsen Holding plc
• Terra Firma on the disposal of Odeon and UCI Cinemas Group to AMC Entertainment Holdings
• Platinum Equity on its acquisition of Euro Parking Collection
• OceanSound Partners on the acquisition of SMX
• Lupa Systems (James Murdoch’s family office) on the acquisition of majority control of the parent company of the Tribeca Film Festival
• The Stars Group on its acquisition of Sky Betting and Gaming from CVC, Sky and management
• THG on various pre-IPO issuances to BlackRock, Merian and Sofina
• THG’s £5.4 billion London listing and IPO (acting for the banks)
• Forterra plc on its £400 million London listing and IPO
• J2 Acquisition’s $1.12 billion London listing and IPO (acting for the banks)
• Ocelot’s $425 million London listing and IPO (acting for the banks)

Sarah received her L.P.C. from the College of Law, Moorgate, in 2011. She received her B.A. from the University of Cambridge, Trinity College, in 2010, as well as her M.A. in 2013. She is admitted in England and Wales.