David is a corporate partner in London.
Practice
Corporate
About
David builds long-term relationships by focusing on issues of strategic importance for his clients and acting as a trusted adviser to senior executives. He draws on his training as an economist and 20 years’ legal experience advising a diverse range of companies around the world.
His transactional work includes acquisitions, disposals and restructurings across a broad range of sectors in over 15 countries. He recently advised the selling private equity consortium on the €9.6bn disposal of the Nycomed pharmaceuticals business to Japan’s Takeda – the largest ever European private equity trade sale and a transaction that was awarded the 2011 FT Merger Market Private Equity Deal of the Year award.
He has acted on a number of European equity and debt restructurings, including the Irish TMT companies Independent News & Media and eircom. He also advises companies on crisis management issues such as the potential implications of the Eurozone financial crisis.
David is the Freshfields Corporate Country Partner for each of Ireland and Brazil, with responsibility for our M&A businesses in those countries. Clients with an interest in Brazil or Ireland or Brazilian companies investing abroad will benefit from his understanding of these markets.
He is recognised as a leading European private equity lawyer in IFLR’s law firm guide and is part of Freshfields’ private equity team described by Legal 500 as ‘commercially and technically very strong’
’David and the Freshfields team guided us well beyond strictly legal matters, helping us make strategic and commercial decisions and balancing those with the legal and risk implications – everything I believe lawyers should be but unfortunately very few are. Freshfields has a very rare concentration of such types.’
Andre Covre, Chief Financial Officer and Head of Investor Relations, Ultrapar Participaçöes, speaking about Freshfields’ work on Ultrapar’s acquisition of Texaco’s Brazilian fuels business 2008
‘The Freshfields team added real value in a number of areas and helped us execute on a transaction delivering a great result for our investors.’
Jonas Agnblad, Director, Nordic Capital, speaking about Freshfields’ work on the disposal of Nycomed 2011
Awards
International Financial Law Review European Equity Deal of the year for the innovative 'cash box rights issue' structure originated by Freshfields for the Irish telecoms company eirocm.
Qualifications and education
David grew up in Australia and has degrees in laws and in economics from the University of New South Wales in Sydney.
