David Sonter

About David Sonter

David is a private capital / M&A / corporate partner who 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 economics training and over 30 years’ legal experience advising a diverse range of companies and sectors around the world.

David’s transactional work includes acquisitions, disposals, takeovers, joint ventures, equity capital markets and restructurings in the private equity, telecoms, retail, infrastructure and energy sectors in over 15 countries.

David is highly regarded as an M&A and private equity lawyer in IFLR’s law firm guide, was recognised by Deal magazine as their 2018 European Technology and Telecoms lawyer of the year and led the Freshfields team recognised at the 2021 British Legal Awards for our work on the sales of Arcadia’s retail clothing brands to multiple buyers during the first wave of COVID during winter 2020/21.

Recent work

• CVC on its €14bn IPO in 2023/4, £767m take private of London-listed Eastern European drinks group Stock Spirits in 2021, and acquisitions of Glendower Capital in 2022/3/4 and infrastructure investment manager DIF Capital Partners in 2023/4.
• Deutsche Bahn on the sale of international bus and rail transport business Arriva to infrastructure investment manager I Squared Capital in 2024.
• Electricity North West on the proposed €2.5bn acquisition by infrastructure investor Iberdrola of an 88% shareholding in 2024.
• Compass on a number of transactions, including its £2bn share placing in 2020, exit from Russia in 2022, share buybacks in 2022/3/4 and £475m acquisition of CH&Co in 2024.
  The joint administrators of Arcadia on the sale of its Topshop, Topman and other clothing brands to ASOS, Boohoo and City Chic in 2020/1.
• Cosan on the restructuring of its shareholder arrangements with Shell as part of the $14.3bn 2020/1 IPO of its Raízen Latin American renewable energy JV.