Franklin has a building profile in the French market under corporate department co-heads Yam Atallah, Alexandre Marque and Mark Richardson.
The firm’s stomping ground is the mid-cap M&A and private equity market, where it has been active and boasts an impressive list of mandates....
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Franklin has a building profile in the French market under corporate department co-heads Yam Atallah, Alexandre Marque and Mark Richardson.
The firm’s stomping ground is the mid-cap M&A and private equity market, where it has been active and boasts an impressive list of mandates. Notably, the firm has a strong practice involving cross-border deals in India.
Clients are effusive about the firm. “They have a great partner in Yam Atallah… outstanding, he has a large practice and great knowledge and in negotiations he creates a good atmosphere and he is very, very clever and aware of the request of the client,” says a client. According to another client “their house is relatively small but already has a significant number of partners and counsellors behind them and they are very well known and reputed in France. They manage to anticipate our positions… efficient and tailor-made”.
Deals
In key deals, Yam Atallah advised Euronext listed furniture company CAFOM Group on its acquisition of Habitat Europe Continentale Group, showcasing its cross-border abilities. The deal was completed in September 2011 amid a choppy market.
Alexandre Marque acted in another mid-cap deal when it advised cable group Numericable in relation to its sale of its Belgian and Luxembourg subsidiaries to a consortium of Deficom, Altice and Apax Partners for €270 million. The firm also helped Apax and Altice on a shareholder agreement. Marque also acted for a client on the sale of two hotels, which amounted to one of the largest corporate real estate transactions underway in mid-2012.
On the private equity side, Mark Richardson was leading a team with Céline Maironi-Persin to advise US private equity fund Thoma Bravo on the €100 million acquisition of a majority interest in Euronext listed InfoVista. The transactions involved a large number of shareholders and may be followed by a squeeze-out.
Richardson also acted for Francisco Partners on the acquisition of as majority interest in Alternext listed eFront while Marque again assisted Altice on its €45 million acquisition of Portuguese cable producer Cabovisao.
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