David Avery-Gee

Partner London

Biography

David Avery-Gee
David Avery-Gee is Co-Managing Partner of Weil’s London office, and leads the M&A practice in London. He has extensive experience advising on some of the market’s most high-profile M&A transactions, and is regularly recognised and ranked as a top dealmaker for European M&A transactions.

He has advised on numerous cross-border mergers, joint ventures and capital raisings across a range of industries and jurisdictions, particularly in natural resources and energy, where David is widely regarded as one of the leading names in the sector. David’s experience includes acting on numerous public takeovers /P2P transactions, distressed M&A and the corporate aspects of restructurings. He also provides strategic boardroom advice to corporate clients.

David is praised by clients for his “technical expertise and permanent client-driven focus”, his “formidable intellect” and his “very good judgement”. One client notes that "David is always available and committed. He finds ways to get to the right outcome." While another says David “is the most responsive partner [he has] ever worked with. He is very technically capable and delivers a fantastic service.” David is ranked as a ‘Leading Individual’ for ‘Upper mid-market and premium M&A deals’ and for ‘Mining and Minerals’ by Legal 500 2024, which recognised him as “a lawyer that stands out”. He has also been cited as “very client service-focused and personable” by Chambers UK 2024, where he is also ranked individually for ‘Corporate/M&A: £800 million and above’. David was recently included in the Legal 500 2024 M&A Private Practice Powerlist.

He has previously completed a secondment to the M&A team of the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley.

David is a trustee of the Alex Roberts-Miller Foundation, a charity which provides educational, sporting and social opportunities for disadvantaged young people across the UK.

He speaks English and Italian.

Recent experience includes advising:

  • Algonquin on the $2.555 billion sale of Atlantica to Energy Capital Partners and Co-Investors
  • American Securities in a $1.85 billion agreement to sell Acuren, a leading North American provider of critical asset integrity services, to Admiral
  • Eutelsat and its Board on the £2 billion all-share combination with OneWeb to create a global satellite services provider
  • The Home Depot, Inc. in its $18.25 billion acquisition of SRS Distribution Inc.
  • ChampionX Corporation in its sale to SLB
  • Glencore plc, CPP Investment Board and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, as shareholders, in Viterra Ltd.’s approximately $18 billion business combination with Bunge Ltd.
  • Glencore on a number of matters including on the sale of Cobar, the strategic partnership with Li-Cycle Holdings Corp., its investment in Horizonte Minerals plc and the take-private of PolyMet
  • Advent International on the sale of its shareholding in InPost Group (market cap of approximately €8bn), representing 30% of the Group’s total share capital, to PPF Group
  • Century Aluminium on its agreement with Noble Group to acquire Noble’s 55% ownership interest in Jamalco, a bauxite mining and alumina production joint venture in Jamaica
  • NEOGEN Corporation on its $5.3 billion combination with the Food Safety business of 3M in a Reverse Morris Trust transaction, which implied an enterprise value of the combined company of $9.3 billion
  • Howden on its €208 million take private of listed Italian insurance broker, Assiteca
  • MGM Resorts International on its $607 million acquisition of LeoVegas AB
  • Petropavlovsk plc on its sale of IRC and related corporate governance advice
  • Gores Guggenheim, Inc., a SPAC sponsored by affiliates of The Gores Group and Guggenheim Capital, on its $20 billion business combination with Polestar Performance AB
  • Willis Towers Watson plc on its proposed $80 billion all-share merger with Aon plc
  • InPost and the selling shareholders on the English and U.S. aspects of the offering and listing of InPost on the Euronext Amsterdam, which was the largest ever European technology IPO, and at the time gave InPost a market capitalisation of €8 billion
  • Cardtronics plc on its $2.5 billion sale to NCR Corporation
  • Highland Gold Mining plc on its take private by Fortiana Holdings
  • Various sponsors on proposed P2P bids
  • HM Government on its investment along with Bharti Global Limited to provide more than USD$1 billion to acquire OneWeb and fund the full restart of its business operations
  • Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp. II, a SPAC sponsored by an affiliate of Trasimene Capital Management, LLC and led by William P. Foley II, in a $9 billion business combination with Paysafe Limited
  • Algonquin on its PIPE investment in Atlantica Infrastructure
  • Dugout on its merger with OneFootball
  • Eli Lilly on its collaboration with Sitryx, and its research and collaboration agreement with MiNA
  • Sanofi on its approximately $13 billion sale of nearly all of its 20.6% stake in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. through a registered public offering and related share repurchase by Regeneron
  • ARCM in connection with its equity placement and strategic investment in Premier Oil plc
  • Financing banks to the acquirer on the £7.2 billion acquisition of RSA Insurance Group plc
  • Lone Star Funds on its £709 million takeover of McCarthy & Stone plc