Biography
Barry Fishley is the head of Weil’s London Technology & IP Transactions practice and a partner in the firm’s Privacy & Cybersecurity group. Barry leads Weil’s London data privacy practice, advising on the full range of complex issues and data, particularly in the context of M&A and private equity transactions, crises, investigations, and new data uses and analytics including AI. Most recently Barry has been advising clients on data privacy issues within the context of ESG.
He has extensive experience of advising major international companies and private equity funds on a range of issues including the technology and IP aspects of: private equity and M&A transactions; acquisitions and divestitures; outsourcings (including IT and BPOs); international licensing arrangements; strategic alliances, and; general commercial matters (including manufacturing, supply, distribution and agency arrangements).
Barry is recommended by Legal 500 UK, which also describes his practice as showing “cutting-edge knowledge and keen commercial sense.” Barry 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. Recent examples include a webinar on privacy considerations within the context of international M&A and PE deals. He is also an active member of the City of London Law Society Data Committee.
Representative experience includes advising:
- Advent International in the acquisition by its affiliate AI Beauty Holdings of cosmetics brands bareMinerals, BUXOM and Laura Mercier
- APG Asset Management on the investment into SiFi Networks
- Advent International and portfolio company Laird on the carve-out sale of Connected Vehicle Solutions, Connectivity, Performance Materials and Thermal Systems divisions
- Brookfield on a range of international privacy, cyber security and data protection matters
- Pigments Spain, S.L. (a company of the Esmalglass-Itaca-Fritta group, a portfolio company of Lone Star Funds) on the acquisition of the Tile Coatings Business of Ferro Corporation
- InfraRed Partners on the sale of InfraRed European Real Estate Investment Management
- Providence Strategic Growth Partners on the acquisition of Sign In App
- Limerston Capital Partners on the sale of Arch Sciences Group
- Sun European Partners on the acquisition of Sports and Leisure Group NV
- General Atlantic on 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 as lead investor in a $800 million Series C funding round for Mollie which values the company at $6.5 billion
- 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. (at the time, a portfolio company of Charterhouse Capital Partners)
- Depop and its selling shareholders on the sale of the company to Etsy for $1.625 billion
- Advent International on the acquisition of a co-controlling stake in Planet Payment Group
- Bain Capital on the acquisition of Valeo Foods
- Cobham (a portfolio company of Advent International) on the: (a) $2.83bn carve-out and sale of its Mission Systems division to Eaton Corporation plc; (b) $965m carve-out and sale of its Aerospace Connectivity division to TransDigm Group Inc.; (c) carve-out and sale of its Aviation Services UK division to Draken International (a portfolio company of Blackstone); and (d) carve-out and sale of its Slip Rings division to Naxicap
- 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
- THI Investments on the acquisitions of Oxford International Education Group and WJ (Group
- 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
- Sanofi on the acquisition of Kymab
- Dugout on the merger with OneFootball
- CVC Capital Partners on the acquisition of RiverStone Europe from Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited
- Montagu Private Equity on the acquisition of ISI Emerging Markets Group
- Providence Equity Partners on a range of data privacy issues
- Facebook in a wide range of e-commerce transactional and advisory matters in the UK, including its landmark $16 billion acquisition of WhatsApp, the cross-platform mobile messaging application provider
- eBay Inc. in its 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
- Yahoo! Inc. on the acquisition of Summly Limited, a UK iPhone applications developer
- SoftBank Vision Fund in its Series E minority investment in GetYourGuide
- Alibaba on the acquisition of Daraz from Rocket Internet