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🧑💼Weil Boosts Private Equity Team with New Partner Hire From Ropes & Gray
Weil Gotshal & Manges has welcomed Simon Saitowitz to its London private equity team, making him the third partner to join the office this year. Saitowitz joins from Ropes & Gray, bringing deep expertise in secondaries and structured transactions for asset managers.
He previously trained at Weil and also spent time at Fried Frank. He’s well-known in the European market for working on GP-led deals, preferred equity financings, and portfolio liquidity strategies. He’s ranked in the Legal 500 UK for high-value PE transactions.
Weil’s London co-head of international PE, Marco Compagnoni, said Simon will bring “a huge amount of experience” in secondaries and fund structuring. His hire supports Weil’s growing work in cross-border sponsor solutions, an area also championed by Brian Parness, who joined from Ropes & Gray in 2022.
Saitowitz’s arrival follows recent additions of credit finance partner Nicola Noel (ex-Goldman Sachs) and infrastructure finance partner Simon Caridia (ex White & Case). Despite losing three partners to rivals last year, Weil continues to strengthen its platform.
Weil advises over 300 PE clients globally—including all of the top 10 funds—and recently expanded into LA and San Francisco with hires from Latham and Watkins. The London office, now with 40+ partners, remains Weil’s biggest hub outside of New York.
🌍HSF and Kramer Levin Approve Transatlantic Merger to Form Top 20 Global Law Firm
Big news on the global legal stage: Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) and Kramer Levin have officially voted in favour of a merger, forming a top 20 global law firm by revenue with £2bn+ in turnover and 2,700 lawyers worldwide.
Launching on 1 June 2025 as Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer (or HSF Kramer in the US), this union will span 26 offices and feature a single profit pool, making it the first truly transatlantic and transpacific law firm combination.
🔍Key Highlights:
Rebecca Maslen-Stannage, HSF’s senior partner, called it “a historic and long-term commitment.”
The merger gives HSF a much-needed foothold in the US, bringing in 120 US-based partners in disputes, energy, tech, finance, and more.
Kramer Levin, with offices in NYC, DC, and Silicon Valley, brings a high PEP of $2.4m, nearly double HSF’s, highlighting its strong US market positioning.
HSF brings robust UK, European, and Asia Pacific strength, with record FY2024 performance: £1.3bn turnover and £1.3m PEP.
This deal echoes the logic behind A&O Shearman’s 2023 merger—expanding non-US firms into the US legal market, but with the added twist of HSF not stretching across both the Atlantic and Pacific.
CEO Justin D’Agostino summed it up: “HSF Kramer’s global reach and scale means we will be able to deliver more effectively for clients navigating an increasingly complex world.
Commercial News: The Latest Insights You Need to Know! 📈
Versace to Join Prada in $1.4B Fashion Power Move - Top Law Firms Involved
Luxury fashion house Versace is set to be acquired by Prada Group for $1.38 billion in cash. This high-profile deal brings together two iconic Italian brands and is expected to close in the second half of 2025.
Law firms on the deal:
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is advising Prada, with a team by Critina Tomassini, Sandro de Bernardini, and Peter Serating across London and New York.
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is representing Capri Holdings, the current owner of Versace, with corporate partners Joshua Cammaker and Mark Stagliano leading the team.
Skadden has previously advised Prada on major transactions, including the $425 million purchase of its flagship Fifth Avenue store in New York in 2023. Wachtell has a long-standing relationship with Capri, having advised on its $8.5 billion acquisition by Tapestry in 2023 and on the original $2.15 billion Versace acquisition in 2018.
Despite being sold for less than what Capri paid in 2018, Prada sees strong growth potential in Versace’s bold, recognisable style. The acquisition will be funded by approximately $1.7 billion in new debt and has been approved by the boards of both Prada and Capri Holdings.
Financial Advisors:
Capri Holdings: Barclays
Prada Group: Citigroup and Goldman Sachs Europe
The deal positions Prada to better compete with global luxury giants like LVMH and Kering.
🛍️Shein Gets UK Approval for London Stock Market Debut
Fast-fashion giant Shein has taken a major step towards going public in the UK.
✅What’s happened?
Shein has received preliminary approval from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to float on the London Stock Exchange.
This comes after its earlier plan to list in New York fell through due to pushback from the US regulators.
🚨Why this Matters:
Shift to London: Originally aiming for a US IPO, Shein is now turning to London, reflecting geopolitical tensions and regulatory hurdles in the US.
Tariff troubles: New US tariffs (removing the “de minimis” rule) means Shein’s parcels—once imported duty-free—are subject to a 90% tariff, seriously affecting its largest market.
Investor concerns: With rising costs and regulatory risks, some investors believe Shein’s valuation should drop from $66bn to closer to $30bn.
Ethical scrutiny: Allegations of forced labour in China loom over the company. The FCA believes risks are disclosed in the prospectus, but if any inaccuracies arise, Shein could face legal action.
🧠What this shows:
Global companies must navigate complex legal systems, trade wars, and public perception.
IPOs aren’t just financial events—they involve lawyers, regulators, and political risk.
Shein must now update its prospectus with any material changes (e.g. tariffs), and secure final approval from both UK and Chinese regulators.
📌Takeaway:
This is a live example of how law, trade policy, ethics, and finance intersect—and why legal professionals must stay commercially aware.
Legal Lingo Unpacked: Your Quick Terminology Breakdown! ⚖️
Buyout Funds -
Investments made by private equity buyout funds have the following key characteristics:
The fund’s participation in the target is anticipated to be a 4 to 6-year investment horizon in order to realize a profit for investors. This contrasts with corporate M&A, where the buyer may well expect to own the target in perpetuity;
Private equity funds seek out competent management teams to manage the company day-to-day under the guiding hand of the fund’s overarching growth strategy;
This management team is incentivized by receiving equity in the target company, pro rata to a personal investment on the same terms that the fund invests on (“strip equity”) and/or via shares purchased at a low initial cost that have the potential for significant upside (“sweet equity”), allowing managers to directly benefit from any increase in the company’s value; and
The target business is acquired via a mixture of the funds received from fund investors and debt finance, known as leveraged finance. On a successful investment, the leveraged finance will enhance returns for investors.
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