Birketts is pleased to confirm that it advised the shareholders of Servest on the merger of the UK business of Servest with the Atalian Group, to create Atalian Servest, a leading independent provider of facility services, operating in 33 countries, generating total consolidation revenue in excess of EUR3bn, and headquartered in Paris, France.
Servest and Atalian have worked together as joint venture partners in Europe since 2016, and this acquisition concludes the full merger of the two businesses, with senior management of Servest investing in shares in Atalian and continuing to play key roles in the enlarged group, with Robert Legge remaining as Chairman of the combined group in the UK and the US.
Atalian funded the acquisition by the issue of EUR350,000,000 and £225,000,000 of loan notes.
Rafael Ruiz, lead partner on the deal and Head of Birketts’ Chelmsford Corporate Team, commented: “Servest is a major employer in East Anglia and this transaction will be transformational to Servest and equip it to continue its expansion plans in the UK and overseas.”
Rafael continued: “We are delighted to have advised Servest and its shareholders, and we look forward to working with the enlarged Atalian Servest, as it moves into the next stage of its development. The size and complexity of the transaction, together with challenging timeframes and the number of jurisdictions involved, meant that it was a real team effort, with fee earners being brought in to assist from across the Birketts’ offices. Our work on this deal shows that we have the depth and breadth of resources, skill and experience, to handle the most complex of cross-border M&A transactions.”
Daniel Dickson, Group Chief Development Officer of Servest, commented: “The merger between Atalian and Servest was a complex transaction, involving stakeholders and advisers from across World. Birketts have advised us on all of our acquisitions in recent years and they were very impressive on this deal, fully utilising experts from all of their offices in the region to ensure that the deal was completed quickly and efficiently.”
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