The Private Equity Group at Sullivan & Cromwell advises on private equity and strategic investments, as well as on the exits from those investments through M&A and capital markets transactions. Financing is often critical to the success of private equity transactions; our private equity practice includes expertise in high-yield debt offerings, bank lending and structured financings. Our experience in structuring and organizing private equity funds, and representing investors in those funds, enables our clients to structure transactions in a manner that addresses the unique tax and other concerns of funds’ investors and principals.

Sullivan & Cromwell’s private equity practice draws on the Firm’s global preeminence in M&A, capital markets, bank lending, structured finance and tax. Depending on the particular circumstances of a transaction, clients may call on the Firm’s expertise in a wide range of other areas, from employee benefits or environmental law to insurance, intellectual property or litigation. Sullivan & Cromwell is also one of the world leaders in real estate private equity transactions.

Internationally, Sullivan & Cromwell has local law capabilities in France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom, offices in Australia and an outstanding practice in China. This allows us to provide highly integrated advice on cross-border deals. In Asia, our private equity practice extends to our three offices in the region, giving us a presence that few other firms can match.

Recently, Sullivan & Cromwell has been involved in a number of high-profile private equity transactions, including:

• the $45 billion purchase of TXU Corp. by an investor consortium led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Texas Pacific Group (representing TXU Corp.); 
• HCA’s $33 billion sale to a private investor group, one of the largest completed leveraged buyouts in history (representing the HCA management group and the Frist family, the founders of one of HCA’s predecessors); 
• First Data Corporation’s $29 billion sale to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (representing the Strategic Review Committee and Independent Directors of the Board of Directors of First Data); 
• the $26 billion acquisition of Hilton Hotels Corporation by Blackstone Group (representing Hilton); 
• the $10.3 billion spin-off and sale of NXP by Philips Electronics and related financing for NXP, the largest leveraged buyout transaction in Europe last year (representing Philips, NXP and Silver Lake Partners on consortium matters); 
• the $4.1 billion purchase of AWG plc by Osprey Acquisitions Limited, a company formed at the direction of a consortium of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and three other investors (representing Canada Pension Plan Investment Board)
• the $3.2 billion acquisition of Expro International Group Plc by a consortium including Candover Partners Limited and Goldman Sachs Principal Investment Area (representing GSPIA); and 
• the proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of Talecris Biotherapeutics Holdings Corp. by CSL Limited (representing Talecris).

Sullivan & Cromwell has also represented private equity funds, including Ares Management, Bain Capital, Canada Pension Plan, The Carlyle Group, CVC Capital Partners, GS Capital Partners, Lightyear Capital, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Rhone Capital, Ripplewood Holdings and Silver Lake Partners, among others, in acquisitions and dispositions in a variety of industries and all over the world.