James R. Howe is a leading mergers and acquisitions attorney focused on advising elite private equity sponsors and financial investors on their most significant transactions. According to Chambers “James stands out” with clients describing him as “a brilliant, creative and proactive lawyer.” Private Equity News included him in its list of the “Twenty Most Influential Private Equity Lawyers” in Europe, calling him “a prolific dealmaker.”
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Work Highlights
- Apax Partners on multiple transactions, including: its intended acquisition of Finastra’s Treasury and Capital Markets business unit; the €2.9 billion consortium sale of Idealista; the €5.1 billion consortium acquisition of T-Mobile Netherlands; the investment in Clearbank; the sale of Matchesfashion; the acquisition of Faculty; the restructuring of Takko Fashion; the investment in Tide Holdings; and the acquisition of greytHR
- Silver Lake Partners on multiple transactions, including: the €2.6 billion acquisition of Software AG; the €2.13 billion sale by Software AG of StreamSets and webMethods to IBM; the sale by Software AG of TrendMiner; the investment in TeamSystem; the €6.8 billion combination of Cegid with Grupo Primavera; the investment in Global Blue; the €1.1 billion acquisition of Facile.it; the sale of a stake in Cegid to KKR, at an enterprise value of €5.5 billion; and the investment in Exact, at an enterprise value of €3.1 billion
- CVC Capital Partners and The Jordan Company investment platform Bruin Capital on multiple transactions, including: the acquisition of Supponor; the acquisition of Playgreen; the investment in Box-to-Box Productions; the acquisition and subsequent US$900m sale of Deltatre; the acquisition of Sportseen; the acquisition of ISG Media; the investment in TGI Media; the acquisition of Oddschecker; and the acquisition of TRM Partners
- Oakey Capital on multiple transactions, including: the acquisition of Phenna Group and CTS Group, at an enterprise value of £1 billion; the acquisition of Steer Automotive Group; the acquisition of IU Group; the acquisition of Assured Data Protection; and the strategic partnership between Bridewell and I-Tracing
- Lone Star Funds on multiple transactions, including: the €1 billion acquisition of Manuchar NV and the acquisition of Eriks NV
- Astorg on the €1.3 billion acquisition of IQ-EQ
Accolades
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Chambers UK 2025 (Private Equity: Buyouts: £500 million and above)
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Named to Private Equity News’ list of the “Twenty Most Influential Private Equity Lawyers”
Education
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BPP University Law School, 2005 LPC
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City University, London, 2004 GDL
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University of Oxford, 2003 MA and BA Hons
Associations
- Law Society of England and Wales
James R. Howe is a leading mergers and acquisitions attorney focused on advising elite private equity sponsors and financial investors on their most significant transactions. According to Chambers “James stands out” with clients describing him as “a brilliant, creative and proactive lawyer.” Private Equity News included him in its list of the “Twenty Most Influential Private Equity Lawyers” in Europe, calling him “a prolific dealmaker.”
James’ recent experience includes the representation of:
- Apax Partners on multiple transactions, including: its intended acquisition of Finastra’s Treasury and Capital Markets business unit; the €2.9 billion consortium sale of Idealista; the €5.1 billion consortium acquisition of T-Mobile Netherlands; the investment in Clearbank; the sale of Matchesfashion; the acquisition of Faculty; the restructuring of Takko Fashion; the investment in Tide Holdings; and the acquisition of greytHR
- Silver Lake Partners on multiple transactions, including: the €2.6 billion acquisition of Software AG; the €2.13 billion sale by Software AG of StreamSets and webMethods to IBM; the sale by Software AG of TrendMiner; the investment in TeamSystem; the €6.8 billion combination of Cegid with Grupo Primavera; the investment in Global Blue; the €1.1 billion acquisition of Facile.it; the sale of a stake in Cegid to KKR, at an enterprise value of €5.5 billion; and the investment in Exact, at an enterprise value of €3.1 billion
- CVC Capital Partners and The Jordan Company investment platform Bruin Capital on multiple transactions, including: the acquisition of Supponor; the acquisition of Playgreen; the investment in Box-to-Box Productions; the acquisition and subsequent US$900m sale of Deltatre; the acquisition of Sportseen; the acquisition of ISG Media; the investment in TGI Media; the acquisition of Oddschecker; and the acquisition of TRM Partners
- Oakey Capital on multiple transactions, including: the acquisition of Phenna Group and CTS Group, at an enterprise value of £1 billion; the acquisition of Steer Automotive Group; the acquisition of IU Group; the acquisition of Assured Data Protection; and the strategic partnership between Bridewell and I-Tracing
- Lone Star Funds on multiple transactions, including: the €1 billion acquisition of Manuchar NV and the acquisition of Eriks NV
- Astorg on the €1.3 billion acquisition of IQ-EQ
James received his M.A and B.A. in History & Politics from Lincoln College, Oxford University, where he was the Queen’s Scholar. He completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Law at City University, London and received his Diploma in Legal Practice from BPP Law School. James is admitted to practice in England and Wales.