Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises Cinven, Permira and Mid Europa on their acquisition of Allegro

International law firm Clifford Chance has advised a consortium of funds:  Cinven; Permira; and Mid Europa, on buying the Allegro Group (‘Allegro’), the largest online marketplace and non-food shopping destination in Poland, from South African-based global internet and entertainment group Naspers for $3.253bn.  This is the second large club deal that consortium advised by Clifford Chance Private Equity has successfully executed this week.

Cinven, Permira and Mid Europa identified Allegro as an attractive investment opportunity and the Clifford Chance team supported the funds to secure the acquisition through a competitive bidding process. Established in 1999, Allegro has over 20 million registered users who carry out 14 million transactions monthly and employs around 1,250 people.

Global Head of Private Equity Jonny Myers led the cross-practice, cross-jurisdiction team together with corporate partners Graham Phillips and Antitrust partner Jenine Hulsmann, Nick Fletcher and Krzysztof Hajdamowicz in Warsaw,  and Jonathan Kewley, David D'Souza, Jonathan Halliwell and Elizabeth Sinclair in London.

Lead partner Jonny Myers comments: ''We are honoured to have worked with three outstanding market leading clients. Consortium bids are some of the most challenging and complex to deliver for a private equity house requiring seamless teamwork, team chemistry and, above all, mutual respect.  Signing two within one week is testament to the strength and breadth of Clifford Chance Private Equity".

Clifford Chance's success in advising on complex deals and activity was reflected in the latest Chambers rankings, with the firm being ranked in Tier 1 for Global Private Equity, and the most recent UK Legal 500 rankings, with the London Private Equity team being ranked in Tier 1.