(August 19, 2010, Weil News)
Weil, Gotshal & Manges is advising Morgan Stanley Private Equity ("MSPE") on the acquisition of a 60 per cent stake in Zenith Vehicle Contracts Group Limited ("Zenith") from funds advised by Barclays Private Equity and Zenith management. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval, and its value has not been disclosed.
Zenith is one of the UK’s largest independent leasing, fleet management and vehicle outsourcing businesses. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Leeds, the company manages over 27,000 vehicles on behalf of its corporate clients.
MSPE, part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Merchant Banking Division, makes private equity and equity-related investments on a global basis. The transaction represents the sixth investment for Morgan Stanley Capital Partners V, the most recent fund raised by MSPE. To date, MSPE and its predecessor funds have invested nearly $6.5 billion of equity across a broad spectrum of industries.
Mark Soundy led the Weil team assisted, among others, by associates Simon Burrows, Maxine House, Rupert Wall, Orla O’Sullivan, Brian Maher, Thomas Lloyd-Jones and Astrid Sandberg alongside partners Ken Schiff, Jacky Kelly and Sarah Priestley. Also on the buy-side, specialist regulatory advice was provided by Norton Rose LLP (Jonathan Herbst, Ceri Eaton and Jonathan Teacher). Addleshaw Goddard LLP (David Handy and Sarah Blackburn) advised the lending banks.
Hammonds LLP (led by Jonathan Jones, Jayne Aarons, Paul Mann and Richard Morton) advised the Sellers.
Commenting on the transaction, Brian Magnus (Head of MSPE in Europe) said
"We are delighted to invest in Zenith and to support its high calibre management team, which has successfully built the company over an extended period. We look forward to working closely with them to ensure its continued growth and success.
We are grateful for the quality of the advice and the active support provided by the Weil team in this transaction. It has been a pleasure to work with them."