François Feuillat

Prior to joining Willkie, François was a partner in the London office of Vinson & Elkins LLP, having started his career at Hogan Lovells.

François has advised on the following significant matters:

• Metso Outotec, a Finland-headquartered global supplier of industrial equipment, on a number of transactions including the sale of its Metal Recycling business to Mimir
• Entities managed by Wafra Inc. as key shareholders in Pollen Street Capital and Honeycomb Investment Trust on their combination to form a London-listed alternative investment manager
• Professional DataSolutions (an Insight portfolio company) on its takeover of Universe Group plc, a London-listed financial technology company
• Take-Two Interactive Software on its acquisition of Roll7, a UK-based video game developer
• Jancis Robinson, one of the world’s leading wine writers, on the sale of JancisRobinson.com to Recurrent Ventures, a US-based digital publishing company
• Take-Two Interactive Software on the proposed takeover of London-listed Codemasters for approximately $994 million in cash and Take-Two stock
• OSG Billing, a portfolio company of Aquiline Capital Partners, on the acquisition of Communisis PLC, a communications and marketing outsourcing company listed on the London Stock Exchange
• DPI, a significant minority shareholder, on the $1.85 billion sale of Eaton Towers to American Tower Corporation
• Third Point on a number of its activist campaigns involving large European companies
• Zenith Energy Management (a Warburg Pincus portfolio company) on its transactions to acquire oil products storage sites in Europe from Phillips 66, BP and Shell
• A leading energy-focused private equity investor on a 50 percent investment in an Australian coal mine
• An investment company on its acquisition of a significant minority interest in a marine renewable energy company
• Blue Water Energy, an energy-focused private equity house, on its investment in Excellence Logging, an oilfield services company, and on add-on acquisitions by Excellence Logging
• Riverstone, a leading energy-focused private equity house, and another investor on their equity-line investment of US$200 million each in Origo Exploration AS, a new Norway and UK-focused exploration and production company
• Riverstone on:
  • the disposal of its interest in Cuadrilla, the leading UK shale gas exploration company
  • a line of equity investment in White Rose Energy, an exploration and production company focused on onshore and offshore basins in West Africa
  • a US$150 million line of equity investment in Fairfield Energy Limited, a North Sea oil producer
• The Special Committee of the board of directors of Eurasia Drilling Company Limited (EDC) on an abortive transaction in which Schlumberger Limited agreed to purchase a significant minority interest, and subsequently on the terms of a take-private transaction by management and certain core shareholders resulting in EDC being delisted from the London Stock Exchange and valuing EDC at approximately US$1.7 billion
• Soros Fund Management and Albright Capital Management in connection with the US$1 billion disposal by way of reverse takeover of APR Energy, a provider of turnkey temporary power generation services, to a London Stock Exchange-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC)
• The holders of the US$245 million convertible bonds on the corporate aspects of the complex restructuring of the Premier Oil group, a leading FTSE 250 oil and gas exploration and production company
• Helios Investment Partners and its portfolio companies on:
  • the acquisition of Multi-Links, a Nigerian telecoms operator, from Telkom SA, and on its subsequent sale
  • acquisitions and leasebacks of telecommunications towers portfolios in several African countries
  • the acquisition of a 29.4% shareholding in Eland Oil & Gas plc, an AIM listed oil and gas company with an interest in an onshore oil field located in the Niger Delta, Nigeria
• HgCapital on its acquisition and equity financing of the 44MW Ytterberg onshore wind farm project in Sweden and on its investment in Havsnäs, Sweden's largest onshore wind farm, and the first project financing in the Nordic power market
• Hedge fund investors in PIPE deals with companies listed in London and on various other European stock exchanges
• A major investment fund on its proposed acquisition of a portfolio of wind farm projects in Italy
• ALSTOM on:
  • its IPO in Paris, New York and London
  • the €1.1 billion disposal of its industrial turbines business in 42 countries to Siemens
  • the formation of the ABB ALSTOM Power joint venture
  • the sale and leaseback of its UK real estate portfolio
• The seller on the disposal of Asprey & Garrard, the Crown Jewellers, to private investors
• Sinopec in connection with its C$10.3 billion acquisition of Addax Petroleum Corporation, a Canadian company publicly traded on the Toronto and London Stock Exchanges, with assets in West Africa and the Middle East
• Sinopec on its C$2.1 billion takeover of Tanganyika Oil Company Ltd, an oil and gas company with assets in Syria which was listed on the Stockholm and Toronto stock exchanges
• SABMiller on its US$8 billion takeover of Bavaria, Latin America's second-largest brewer
• Brown-Forman in its capacity as a major shareholder on the auction of Glenmorangie, a London-listed Scotch whisky distiller
• Maple Energy plc, one of Peru's leading integrated energy companies, on its IPO on AIM
• The IPO on AIM of Leaf Clean Energy Company, which invests in clean energy opportunities, mainly in North America
• Advising on the UK securities law aspects of the US$81 billion merger of Exxon and Mobil
• Advising on the UK securities law aspects of a merger of two major Russian retail groups, one of which had Global Depositary Receipts listed on the London Stock Exchange
• OAO NOVATEK, the largest independent natural gas producer in Russia with Global Depositary Receipts listed on the London Stock Exchange, in relation to UK securities law issues