Leading Private Equity Partner Joins Paul, Weiss in London

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP announced today that Christopher Sullivan is joining the firm in London as a partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions practice in the Corporate Department. A cross-border M&A specialist, Sullivan advises international private equity firms and portfolio companies and public companies on a wide range of transactions.

“I’m delighted to welcome Chris, an experienced and dynamic M&A advisor to some of the world’s leading private equity firms, to the firm,” said Paul, Weiss Chairman Brad S. Karp. “Chris is a tremendous addition to our market-leading private equity practice and will further enhance our ability to serve our global clients on their most important matters in Europe and globally.”

“Chris is an outstanding addition to our senior bench of private equity partners in London and globally,” said Global M&A Co-Chair Roger Johnson, co-head of the London office. “Chris is a leading private equity M&A partner in Europe who holds deep relationships across numerous private equity sponsors. He has acted on some of the largest and most complex transactions in the European market.”

Sullivan, who previously led the UK private equity practice at a major global law firm, has extensive experience advising international private equity houses, financial sponsors and public companies on a wide range of transformational transactions, including leveraged buyouts, acquisitions and disposals, GP-led M&A, secondaries transactions, takeovers, mergers, joint ventures, IPOs, restructurings and refinancings. He also acts for portfolio companies on M&A transactions. Sullivan has particular experience in the financial services, consumer goods, technology and health care sectors. In addition, he advises on private equity real assets and infrastructure strategies.

Sullivan has handled some of the most significant cross-border private equity deals in recent years. He advised Cinven on the sale of Envirotainer, and CVC and Cinven on the acquisition of NewDay; Alter Domus on its sale of a stake to Permira and its strategic acquisitions into U.S. markets; Blackstone and Kirkbi on the sale of Luxembourg- and Germany-based global insulation manufacturer Armacell; Elliott on its acquisition of a controlling stake in Waterstones, Britain’s largest book retailer, and its subsequent acquisitions of booksellers Blackwell and Foyles; BlackRock Long Term Private Capital Europe on the sale of luxury fragrance house Creed to Kering SA; and Mastercard International on its acquisition of leading European payment tech company Nets’ account-to-account payments business, among other significant transactions.

“I am thrilled to join Paul, Weiss, with its renowned M&A practice and a strong commitment to the private equity sector, and to work with its exceptional lawyers and clients on cutting-edge transactions,” Sullivan said. 

Sullivan earned a master’s degree, with honors, in Modern History & Politics from St. Anne’s College at the University of Oxford. He is admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales.

The Paul, Weiss Mergers & Acquisitions Practice works with leading private equity firms and many of the world’s largest, most prominent publicly traded and privately held companies, as well as financial advisors and other financial institutions and investors, on the full range of business-critical transactions. The firm’s Private Equity Group, in particular, represents private equity firms across a wide spectrum of investment strategies.