Barry Fishley

Barry advises clients on the technology, IP and data privacy aspects of complex private equity and M&A transactions. He regularly guides clients through the intricacies of carve-out transactions, including separation and transitional support arrangements. Barry has extensive experience with technology, IP and AI licensing arrangements, and is increasingly sought after for his counsel on AI-related issues including governance, risk management, AI licensing and EU AI Act compliance.

In the data privacy and cyber security space, Barry provides strategic advice on regulatory compliance, data sharing and monetization activities, and the intersection of data privacy with compliance and AI. His cyber security work spans regulatory frameworks such as DORA, best practices and preparedness, and incident response to data breaches, ransomware, and crisis management. Barry also advises clients on strategic alliances, joint ventures a wide range of commercial arrangements, including manufacturing, supply, distribution and agency agreements.

Barry is recognized by Legal 500 UK for his “cutting-edge knowledge and keen commercial sense.” He is also ranked as a Top Intellectual Property Lawyer in EMEA for 2024 by MergerLinks. Barry is a frequent speaker on technology, IP, data privacy and cyber security issues, recently hosting a panel on operationalising the implementation of the EU AI Act. Barry is an active member of the City of London Law Society Data Committee.

Representative experience includes advising:

Transactions

• Advent International  and portfolio companies on a range of matters including: (a) portfolio company Laird on its carve-out sale of its Connected Vehicle Solutions, Connectivity, Performance Materials and Thermal Systems divisions; (b) the acquisition of a co-controlling stake in Planet Payment Group; (c) the acquisition by its affiliate AI Beauty Holdings of bareMinerals, BUXOM and Laura Mercier; (d) the carve-out sale of Tag (part of the Williams Lea Tag group) to Dentsu; (e) the acquisition of SYSPRO and the add-on acquisition of NexSys; and (f) $1.55 billion disposal of Ultra’s precision control systems business
• L’Oreal on the agreement to acquire Color Wow
• PX3 Partners, and its portfolio company Cleanova, on the acquisition of the Micronics Engineered Filtration Group, creating a $1.3bn combined business
• Cobham (a portfolio company of Advent International) on the carve-out and sale of its: (a) Aviation Services UK division to Draken International (a portfolio company of Blackstone); (b) Aerospace Connectivity division to TransDigm for $965m; (c) Mission Systems division to Eaton for $2.83bn; (d) Slip Rings division to Naxicap; and (e) CAES Systems Holdings to Honeywell for $1.9 billion
• NWS Holdings Limited and Unitas Capital Pte. Ltd on the sale of Hyva Holding B.V.
• PSG on the: (a) acquisition of Sign In App to form Shieldco; and (b) strategic growth investment in Glasswall
• Getty Images Inc. on the acquisition of and related share issuance, of Motorsport Images
• Sign In Solutions Inc., a portfolio company of PSG Equity, on its recommended cash offer for AIM-listed SmartSpace Software plc
• Clayton Dubilier & Rice in the merger of its portfolio company Cynosure with Lutronic Corporation
• Morrow Sodali (a portfolio company of TPG Growth), on the acquisition of Powerscourt
• CVC Capital Partners on the: (a) acquisition of RiverStone Europe from Fairfax Financial Holdings; and (b) strategic partnership with Dale Underwriting Partners
• Depop and its selling shareholders on the sale of the company to Etsy for $1.625 billion
• Globeducate (a portfolio company of Providence Equity), on the acquisition of a number of schools, including the L’Ecole des Petits and L’Ecole de Battersea French-English bilingual elementary schools, and Boundary Oak
• IRCA on the €500 million acquisition of the Sweet Technology Business
• Bain Capital on the: (a) acquisition of Valeo Foods; and (b) £1.2billion take private of the esure Group
• InfraRed Partners on the sale of InfraRed European Real Estate Investment Management
• GS Acquisition Holdings Corp II, a SPAC sponsored by an affiliate of Goldman Sachs, on the $2.6 billion business combination with Mirion Technologies, Inc.
• APG Asset Management on the investment into SiFi Networks
• Sun European Partners on the acquisition of Sports and Leisure Group NV
• General Atlantic on: (a) the investment in DixaBlackstone Growth who, together with EQT Growth, participated in a $450 million funding round for Epidemic Sound that valued Epidemic at $1.4 billion; and (b) as lead investor, in a $800 million Series C funding round for Mollie which values the company at $6.5 billion
• Sanofi on the acquisition of Kymab
• M&G Catalyst as lead investor on the $168m Series B fundraising of Vaccitech, a spin-out from the University of Oxford which co-invented the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine
• Eli Lilly and Company on the research and collaboration agreement with the Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation of the University of Glasgow that seeks to discover and validate the next generation of drug targets for the following immunological diseases
• Lone Star Funds on the acquisition of the XSYS division from the Flint Group
• Montagu Private Equity on the acquisition of ISI Emerging Markets Group
• Dugout on the merger with OneFootball
• Froneri, with PAI, on its $4bn acquisition of Nestlé’s Ice Cream business in the US
• SoftBank Vision Fund in its Series E minority investment in GetYourGuide
• Alibaba on the acquisition of Daraz from Rocket Internet
• Emerald Kalama Chemical, LLC (a portfolio company of American Securities) in its acquisition of Innospec Widnes Limited, a manufacturer of aroma chemicals used in perfumes and household products
• eBay Inc. on the acquisition of Shutl Limited, a developer and operator of a SaaS platform that enables immediate delivery of online shopping via local same-day courier companies
• Facebook in a wide range of e-commerce transactional and advisory matters in the UK, including its landmark $16 billion acquisition of WhatsApp

Privacy, cyber security and AI

• Advent International and its portfolio companies on a range of privacy, cyber security and data protection issues
• Brookfield on a range of international privacy, cyber security and data protection matters
• Hercule Bidco on privacy and cyber security issues
• PAI Partners on the data privacy aspects of its acquisition of a majority stake in Audiotonix holdings Ltd.
• Providence Equity Partners on a range of data privacy issues
• Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) Inc on international data privacy issues
• A financial advisory firm on data privacy issues following data breaches resulting in the disclosure of confidential personal data across two jurisdictions
• A global software company on data privacy issues
• An advisory firm on the data protection aspects of collecting, storing and processing of biometric employee personal data
• An asset manager on data privacy issues
• A private equity company on privacy, cyber security and data protection issues following a ransomware attack on one of its portfolio companies
• A real estate investment firm on the data protection aspects of the initial phase of a multi-phase asset transfer
• A social enterprise on data privacy issues
• A financial advisory firm on the risks associated with third party AI tools