Alex Woodward

Alex is Co-Head of the firm’s Global Financial Sponsors Sector and regularly advises private equity houses and other financial sponsor clients on all types of private equity transactions, including private acquisitions, take-privates, carve-outs, co-investments, consortium deals and distressed acquisitions through to exit by way of disposals, restructurings and IPOs. He has vast experience in advising different types of financial sponsor clients across a number of business sectors. 

As one of a leading team of private equity partners, Alex frequently collaborates with Linklaters’ 
market-leading finance, regulatory, anti-trust, tax, IP, TMT and employment experts and sector specialists to comprehensively advise clients on all their buyout transactions.

Alex regularly advises on PE deals that have an international or cross-border dimension, offering clients the benefits of the firm’s global reach to achieve their global objectives. This experience includes advising on transactions across major jurisdictions including Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Asia.

Work highlights

Alex has advised on a variety of private equity deals. These include advising: 

• Hg: advising on the sale of A-Plan to Howden

• Hg’s Genesis 7 Fund, Montagu and other selling investors on the sale of a stake in Visma to a consortium of investors including Hg Saturn 2 Fund, TPG, Warburg Pincus and CPPIB. The transaction values the business at US$12.2bn and is the largest ever buy-out of a software company

• Montagu Private Equity on its $470m global carve-out acquisition of Jane’s Information Group from IHS Markit   

• Hg on its acquisition of a significant stake in Combell and the roll-up acquisitions by Combell of TransIP and Register

• The Carlyle Group on its minority investment in CEPSA valuing the business at $12bn

• Jacobs Holding on the acquisition of Cognita from Bregal Investments and KKR

• Hg Saturn and the consortium on the £1.3bn buyout of IRIS Software Group 

• Hg on its strategic investment in the Access Group, valuing the group at an enterprise value of approximately £1 billion

• CDPQ on its $400m investment in Hyperion Insurance Group

• PSP as part of the consortium alongside BC Partners and OTPP on the EUR 2.6bn acquisition of CeramTec from Cinven

• The Carlyle Group on the acquisition of Praesidiad (formerly the Betafence Group) from CVC Capital Partners

• Montagu Private Equity on its investment as part of the US$5.3bn buyout of Visma AS, a Norwegian business software company

• BC Partners and Pollen Street Capital on the £868m public takeover of Shawbrook Bank

• BC Partners and PSP on the acquisition of Keter Group

• Hg, Bain Capital and ICG on the €1.2bn disposal of TeamSystem group to Hellman & Friedman LLC

• Brait on the £1.9bn acquisition of New Look and the £1.3bn acquisition of Virgin Active

• The Carlyle Group on the strategic sale of 50% of its stake in The RAC Group to GIC and the subsequent sale of its remaining interest to CVC and the £500m recommended offer for The Innovation Group