News | Private Equity

Monday 11th February 2002

SJ Berwin is advising Nomura International plc in relation to the future management of its very substantial portfolio of private equity investments currently being managed by its Principal Finance Group (PFG).

Under the terms of an agreement signed in January, Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd, an independent company established by Guy Hands and the current PFG team, has been appointed to advise in relation to these assets.

SJ Berwin is also representing Nomura on its investment of up to Þ300 million in the new private equity fund to be established by Terra Firma, Terra Firma Capital Partners II.

These arrangements are expected to take effect at the end of March 2002.

The SJ Berwin team was led by Corporate Finance Partners John Daghlian and Jonathan Blake, assisted by Richard Watkins and Andrew Lobb.

Jonathan Blake said: "We were delighted to be chosen to work with Nomura on this very important matter. The firm already had a good relationship with Nomura, but this is the first major corporate transaction on which we have acted for them."

• SJ Berwin is a full-service international legal practice with more than 470 lawyers across its offices in London, Brussels, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Madrid and Paris.
• With the largest dedicated private equity team in Europe, comprising 140 full-time corporate private equity lawyers together with support from its other departments, SJ Berwin advises clients on the full-range of private equity business, both in connection with the establishment of private equity funds and their associated incentive schemes, and on MBOs, MBIs, public-to-privates and venture capital investments.
• SJ Berwin has recently won the European Venture Capital Journal Award for Private Equity Law Firm of the Year 2000, Law Firm of the Year and Property Team of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2000, and Competition Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2000.
• Nomura International plc is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nomura Holdings, Inc., the leading securities and investment banking firm in Japan. The Nomura Group operates in all the world's key financial markets through a network of 28 offices.
• The Group provides a wide range of value-added financial services and products, including brokerage, trading, underwriting, M&A financial advisory services, merchant banking, and development and management of investment trusts and investment advisory services to a diversified range of clients.