Ben Spiers is a leading mergers and acquisitions attorney, focusing on public and private M&A, securities and corporate restructurings. He has advised a number of clients on complex cross-border transactions around the globe. Ben has also been recognized as a leader in his field by Chambers UK and IFLR1000.
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Work Highlights
- Refinitiv in its sale to London Stock Exchange Group in an all share transaction for a total enterprise value of approximately US$27 billion
- Melrose Industries in the announced sale of its Nortek Air Management business to Madison Industries for approximately £2.62 billion
- Blackstone in its acquisition of Bourne Leisure and in its announced acquisition of Desotec
- True Wind Capital in its equity investment, alongside FTV Capital, in Sysnet Global Solutions
- BC Partners in its sale of a passive, minority investment to Blackstone Alternative Asset Management
- Blackstone in its takeover of Hansteen Holdings plc for £500 million
- GardaWorld and BC Partners in the hostile takeover offer for G4S plc
- Bridgepoint in its sale of a strategic minority investment to Dyal Partners
- Melrose Industries in its successful £8.1 billion hostile offer for GKN plc
- Blackstone in its acquisition of Cirsa Gaming Corporation, S.A. for €2.2 billion
- Silver Lake in its takeover of ZPG plc (with co-investment from GIC and PSP) for £2.2 billion
Accolades
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Chambers UK (Corporate/M&A: High-End Capability)
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IFLR1000 (M&A)
Education
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The College of Law, Chester, 1993
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University of Oxford, 1990 B.A. (Hons)
Ben Spiers is a Partner in Simpson Thacher’s London office and a member of the Firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions Practice. Ben’s practice focuses on public and private M&A, securities and corporate restructurings, with a particular focus on the telecom, media and technology sector. He has spent many years advising clients on complex cross-border transactions around the globe.
Select transactions on which Ben has advised include:
- Refinitiv in its sale to London Stock Exchange Group in an all share transaction for a total enterprise value of approximately US$27 billion
- Melrose Industries in the announced sale of its Nortek Air Management business to Madison Industries for approximately £2.62 billion
- Blackstone in its acquisition of Bourne Leisure and in its announced acquisition of Desotec
- True Wind Capital in its equity investment, alongside FTV Capital, in Sysnet Global Solutions
- BC Partners in its sale of a passive, minority investment to Blackstone Alternative Asset Management
- Blackstone in its takeover of Hansteen Holdings plc for £500 million
- GardaWorld and BC Partners in the hostile takeover offer for G4S plc
- Bridgepoint in its sale of a strategic minority investment to Dyal Partners
- Melrose Industries in its successful £8.1 billion hostile offer for GKN plc
- Blackstone in its acquisition of Cirsa Gaming Corporation, S.A. for €2.2 billion
- Silver Lake in its takeover of ZPG plc (with co-investment from GIC and PSP) for £2.2 billion
Ben’s experience prior to Simpson Thacher includes representing Honeywell International in its acquisition of the Elster division of Melrose Industries for £3.3 billion, where he first came across Simpson Thacher across the table.
Ben has been recognized as a leader in his field by Chambers UK and IFLR1000. He received his B.A. (Hons) degree from the University of Oxford in Pure and Applied Biology and completed a law conversion qualification and law school at the College of Law in Chester. He is admitted to the Law Society of England and Wales.