LAWYER
Sam Whittaker
Partner | London
Sam Whittaker

Sam Whittaker advises clients on a range of complex corporate matters, particularly private equity transactions. Mr. Whittaker’s practice includes mergers and acquisitions, divestments, co-investments, joint ventures, take-privates, restructuring, management equity arrangements and a variety of portfolio transactions. He regularly advises prominent global private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds, alternative asset managers and other investment firms.

Mr. Whittaker is listed in The Legal 500 UK for both M&A and private equity. He has also been recognized as a Private Equity Rising Star by both Law360 International (2024) and Law.com International (2022). Clients have described him as “super bright and hardworking” and “a pleasure to work with.”

Prior to joining Dechert, Mr. Whittaker was a partner in the private equity group at another global law firm.

Experience includes:
  • GIC on multiple transactions, including:
    • Its investment in the Quantexa Group.
    • The US$17 billon acquisition of athenahealth as part of a consortium including Hellman & Friedman and Bain Capital.
    • Its investment in the London Stock Exchange Group.
  • Ares Management on its preferred equity investment into RSK Group, in a consortium with Searchlight Capital Partners.
  • Estancia Capital Partners in connection with its cross-border minority investment in Flagstone, a UK-based fintech company.
  • ARK Invest in connection with the acquisition of Rize ETF Limited.
  • Columna Capital on multiple transactions.
  • M1 Group on multiple transactions.
  • Leif Höegh & Co. Ltd. and funds managed by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners through a 50/50 joint venture vehicle to acquire the shares in Höegh LNG Holdings Ltd.
  • L Catterton on its agreement to acquire a majority stake in BIRKENSTOCK Group.
  • Blackstone on multiple transactions, including:
    • Its recommended £4.77 billion cash offer for Merlin Entertainments, a global leader in location-based, family entertainment.
    • Its acquisition of the business and assets of Murka, a developer and promoter of social casino gaming applications for mobile devices and social media.
    • Its acquisition of Aon plc's technology-enabled benefits and HR platform for approximately US$4.8 billion.
  • BC Partners on its acquisition of a majority stake in United Group, a leading media and communication services provider across Southeast Europe, from KKR.
  • Triton Partners on multiple transactions, including its acquisition of European travel operator, Sunweb Group.
  • EQT on multiple transactions, including:
    • Its combination of Independent Vetcare (IVC) and Evidensia to create Europe’s largest veterinary care group.
    • Its sale of Automic Software to CA Technologies.
  • 3i Group on multiple transactions, including its acquisition of Q Holding Company, the medical devices group.
  • Sycamore Partners on multiple transactions.
  • Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation on its sale of Roxanne Laboratories Inc. to Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC for approximately US$2.65 billion.
  • Oaktree Capital Management on multiple transactions, including:
    • Its sale of The Student Housing Company group in the UK to a consortium of GIC and GSA.
    • Its sale of its Spanish student housing business to GSA.
    • Its investment in Ainscough Cranes.
  • Gazit-Globe Limited on multiple transactions, including its recommended cash offer for Atrium European Real Estate Limited, valuing Atrium at €1.4 billion.
  • Travelport on multiple transactions, including its acquisition by Siris Capital and Evergreen Coast Capital.
  • Murray Energy Holdings Co. in connection with the corporate and M&A aspects of their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court.
  • Apax Partners on its acquisition of 3M’s electronic monitoring business.
  • TowerBrook on the sale of a minority stake in the TowerBrook group to Wafra.

Includes matters handled at Dechert or prior to joining the firm.

Services
    • University of Warwick, B.A., Modern History, 2009
    • BPP University, Graduate Diploma in Law, 2010
    • BPP University, Accelerated Legal Practice Course, 2011
    • England and Wales