Annie Herdman is an antitrust partner based in the firm’s London office. Annie’s practice covers all aspects of EU and UK competition law, representing clients before the European Commission, UK Competition and Markets Authority and global antitrust regulators. She advises a wide range of corporate, sovereign wealth, and private equity clients on EU, UK and multi-jurisdictional merger control and foreign investment strategy and filings. Annie also advises clients on EU and UK cartel investigations, and a broad range of antitrust compliance issues.
Annie has been recognised by The Legal 500 as a ‘Next Generation Partner’ and a ‘Rising Star’ and Who’s Who Legal as a 'Thought Leader' (2023) and 'Global Leader' (2022 and 2021), where she was noted as one of only four UK practitioners for her great ‘capacity to quickly understand the client’s business and form credible views’. In 2023, Annie was included in Global Competition Review’s list of the top young foreign direct investment lawyers in the world: the 40 under 40. In 2023, Annie was also named by Law.com as a “Rising Star” in its best up and coming female lawyers in the UK category and by MergerLinks as one of the Top 30 Antitrust Lawyers in EMEA. Additionally, Annie was featured in Management Today’s 35 Women Under 35, which celebrates the top 35 female business talent in the UK under the age of 35. She was also listed as a “Rising Star” in the annual Expert Guides which recognises the world’s leading lawyers. Annie is Co-Chair of the ICC’s Merger Control Task Force.
Annie has been described by her clients as a “phenomenal attorney and one of the best lawyers we have worked with - period.” She is regarded as a “critical business partner” and “an integral resource” delivering “outstanding work product.” Annie is described as “impressive”, “extraordinary” and “dynamic”, “super-client friendly, smart and responsive”, “an expert at the top of her field with exceptional knowledge of competition law”, having “progressed in seniority very quickly and deservedly so”. Her “depth of expertise and pragmatic advice makes her an outstanding professional to collaborate with”. One large global corporate client said “put simply, I do not want to work with any other antitrust counsel because I know I can trust Annie’s advice and expertise - including where we work with other M&A counsel.” Other clients have said that they “can always count on her to provide well-reasoned, thoughtful and commercial “to the point” advice with intellectual honesty. Her technical expertise in the substance of the law is deep, her judgment impeccable, her market knowledge vast and her advice crisp. She has great presence and an unflappable demeanour which is exactly what you want in a high stress, chaotic deal situation.” Other clients praised her “pragmatism and knowledge” and her ability to “navigate complex issues with élan and efficiency”.
Prior to joining Ropes & Gray, Annie was an antitrust partner at another leading global law firm.
Disclaimer
Experience
- Acting for Advent International in connection with its:
- $4.25 billion investment in Baxter International Inc.’s BioPharma Solutions (BPS) business; and
- minority $175 million investment in Tredence; and
- the sale of a majority stake in Brazil-based premium chocolate company Grupo CRM to Nestlé.
- Acting for AEA Investors on its sale of LoneStar to Epiris.
- Acting for Avista Capital Partners in connection with its acquisition of Taconic Biosciences.
- Acting for Bain Capital in connection with its:
- US$1.4 billion acquisition of Mash Holdings;
- €955.3 million acquisition of Caverion Corporation;
- investment in Enterprise DB;
- $150 million minority investment in Ataccama;
- $2.1 billion investment in Toss Payments;
- co-investment in the advanced materials business of Hanwha Solutions, alongside Glenwood Credit; and
- strategic growth investment in Ren.
- Acting for BDT & Co in connection with its merger with MSD Partners LP.
- Acting for Berkshire Partners in its:
- acquisition of a majority stake in AHEAD, a provider of enterprise cloud services, from Centerbridge Partners;
- investment in Point Broadband;
- Accela investment with Francisco Partners; and
- investment in PDQ alongside TA Associates.
- Acting for Bridgepoint in connection with:
- the acquisition of a 75% stake in Fera Science Limited by Bridgepoint Development Capital IV.
- its acquisition of SK AeroSafety Group.
- Acting for Cinven in its:
- $720 million acquisition of TaxAct.
- acquisition of MBCC Admixtures from Sika;
- acquisition of Archer Technologies.
- Acting for CIRCOR International in a take-private sale to global investment firm KKR in a cash transaction valued at approximately $1.6 billion including debt.
- Acting for Crosspoint Capital Partners on its:
- $870 million acquisition of Absolute Software; and
- Series A follow-on funding round for Ireland-based Everseen.
- Acting for CVC Capital Partners and its portfolio company System C on the acquisitions of Clevermed and Oxford Computer Consultants.
- Acting for Envision Pharma Group on its acquisition of OKRA.ai.
- Acting for Francisco Partners in connection with its £175 million acquisition of Blancco Technology.
- Acting for Genstar Capital and Advarra in connection with the sale of a majority stake in Advarra to Blackstone and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
- Acting for GHO and Vistria in connection with their acquisition of Alcami.
- Acting for GI Partners in its acquisition of Atlas Technical Consultants for $1.05 Billion.
- Acting for Haveli Investments on its acquisition of Certinia.
- Acting for HIG Capital in connection with its $950 million acquisition of Avient Corp’s Distribution Unit.
- Acting for HUTCHMED in connection with a worldwide license agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical for up to $1.13 billion.
- Acting for Kohlberg & Company in connection with:
- strategic investment from BlackRock Alternatives Long Term Private Capital;
- its acquisition of Riveron; and
- sale of a minority stake in ENTRUST solutions.
- Acting for Legends, a sports and entertainment premium experiences company, in its acquisition of ASM Global to create a global live events company.
- Acting for Liberty Global in connection with its transformative €2.3 billion strategic collaboration with Infosys.
- Acting for MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. in connection with its $150 million acquisition of the radio frequency business of Wolfspeed, Inc.
- Acting for National Amusements, Inc., the majority voting shareholder of Paramount Global, in a $125 million preferred equity investment in NAI by BDT Capital Partners.
- Acting for Silver Lake in connection with its $1.46 billion sale of ServiceMax to PTC.
- Acting for Source Advisors on its acquisition of GovGrant.
- Acting for TekniPlex Healthcare, a Genstar Capital portfolio company, in a definitive agreement to acquire medical device manufacturer Seisa Medical.
- Acting for TPG in connection with its:
- $500 million acquisition of a majority stake in Elite;
- $2 billion sale of Immucor to Werfen;
- Kaseya’s $6.2 billion acquisition of Datto;
- $4 billion joint acquisition of Covetrus;
- $1.4 billion acquisition of Nextech;
- $2.45 billion acquisition of Forcepoint’s Governments and Critical Infrastructure Business;
- $1.3 billion acquisition of A-Gas;
- $6.5 billion acquisition of New Relic; and
- sale of Creative Artists Agency, the world’s leading entertainment and sports agency.
- Acting for TSG in connection with its:
- acquisition of a majority stake in Radiance Holdings; and
- acquisition of Cadogan Tate.
- Acting for Two Sigma in connection with its investment in Milestone Technologies.
- Acting for 3i Group plc in connection with its investment in Digital Barriers.
Experience prior to joining Ropes & Gray:
Mergers & Acquisitions
- Advent, Cinven and the RAG-Stiftung on the $18.7 billion acquisition of the elevator division of thyssenkrupp AG, the largest European buyout transaction to date.
- American Securities LLC on its acquisition of Prince International Corporation, a manufacturer of mineral-based specialty additives.
- Apex on the €1.51 billion acquisition of Sanne Group plc.
- Bain Capital in connection with its:
- $17 billion acquisition of athenahealth;
- €1.7 billion acquisition of ITP Aero, an aero engine and gas turbine manufacturer from Rolls-Royce;
- €2.1 billion proposed public takeover of Ahlstrom-Munksjö Oyj;
- investment in Berlin Brands Group, a global e-commerce company;
- joint public takeover offer with Carlyle for OSRAM Licht AG;
- €5.3 billion joint public takeover offer for the German pharmaceutical company Stada Arzneimittel AG; to date the largest transaction of its kind in Germany;
- $3.2 billion acquisition of Diversey (the food hygiene and cleaning division of Sealed Air Corporation);
- acquisition of Bugaboo, a Dutch design company that develops and produces mobility products;
- acquisition of MSX International;
- $2.7 billion joint acquisition of Vertafore.
- Blackstone on its
- $1 billion partnership with Hipgnosis Song Management;
- acquisition of a majority stake in VFS Global, a global leader in visa outsourcing services
- The Boeing Company on its $4.25 billion acquisition of KLX.
- Creat Group Corporation on its acquisition of Biotest AG; securing unconditional UK clearance.
- Crestview Partners in connection with the acquisition by Accuride Corporation of mefro wheels; conditional EU Phase I clearance.
- Delphi Technologies PLC on its $3.3 billion sale to BorgWarner Inc.
- Duff & Phelps on its $4.2 billion agreement to be acquired by a global investor consortium led by Stone Point Capital and Further Global.
- Genstar Capital and its portfolio company 2020 Technologies on the agreement to merge 2020 with Compusoft, creating a leading provider of space planning solutions.
- GIC on its:
- agreement to acquire an aggregate shareholding in Belron, the world’s leading vehicle glass repair and replacement group;
- $1 billion co-investment with Equinix to develop and operate xScale™ data centres in Japan; and
- €950 million buyout acquisition of a pan-European logistics platform from Apollo.
- Hg Capital and Vista Equity Partners on the sale of Allocate, a leading workforce and people management software-as-a-service provider, to RLDatix.
- Infineon Technologies AG on its:
- $10 billion acquisition of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation; and
- $3 billion acquisition of International Rectifier Corporation.
- Intel on its acquisition of Lantiq.
- KKR on its joint $15 billion acquisition of CyrusOne Inc., a premier global data centre REIT.
- KPS Capital Partners on the $550 million acquisition of Briggs & Stratton Corporation.
- Solera Holdings, Inc. on its $463.8 million acquisition of CAP Automotive Limited.
- TDR Capital and its portfolio company, Stonegate Pub Company, on the £1.27 billion recommended cash offer for Ei Group (requiring UK commitments).
- Tenneco Inc. on its $5.25 billion acquisition of Federal-Mogul LLC.
- Thoma Bravo on its:
- £3.1 billion recommended cash offer for Sophos, a global leader in next-generation cybersecurity solutions.
- $3 billion acquisition of Qlik Technologies Inc.
- $4.5 billion joint acquisition of Solarwinds.
- TA Associates on its acquisition of Ivanti.
- Triton Partners on the agreement to sell Polygon Holding AB to funds managed by AEA Investors LP.
- Tronox in connection with the European Commission’s Phase II investigation of its its $2.2 billion acquisition of Cristal’s titanium dioxide business.
- Vista on its $1.65 billion acquisition of Cvent, Inc.
- Vitruvian Partners on the sale of Unifaun, a cloud delivery orchestration platform serving the European logistics ecosystem, to Marlin Equity Partners.
- Warburg Pincus on its:
- minority investment in Visma, a leading provider of business-critical software in a transaction valuing the business at an enterprise value of $12.2 billion;
- co-investment in the combined group of Tilney Smith & Williamson.
- A global science and technology innovator on its $13.8 billion acquisition of a global provider of filtration, separation and purification systems.
- A global science and technology innovator on its $2.2 billion acquisition of a leading innovator of implant-based dental restorations.