Simon J Little
Advises clients on public and private M&A, capital raisings, restructurings and corporate law, particularly in a cross-border context.
Simon has many years’ experience of advising on M&A, capital markets and restructuring matters, particularly with a cross-border element, as well as on English corporate law. He has been recognized as a rising star in M&A by several publications and is ranked “Highly Regarded” for M&A by IFLR1000. Simon is admitted to practice both English and New York law, having spent several years of his career working in the United States.
Experience highlights
Public M&A
- Tencent on its £919 million takeover of Sumo Group
- Nuvei Corporation on its $889 million takeover of SafeCharge
- Comcast on its £30.6 billion takeover of Sky
- Technip on its $17 billion merger with FMC Technologies
- Liberty Global on its $8.2 billion takeover of Cable & Wireless Communications*
- Fairfax Financial Holding on the £165 million takeover of APR Energy*
- Mandated lead arrangers on the £303 million takeover offer of Prezzo*
- Qatar Investment Authority on the £2.6 billion takeover of Songbird Estates and £4.1 billion takeover of Canary Wharf Group*
- Liberty Global on the $23.3 billion stock and cash merger with Virgin Media*
- African Barrick Gold on its possible takeover by China National Gold*
Private M&A, Joint Ventures and Private Capital
- TP Global Operations acquisition of Truphone’s non-Russian business and assets
- Gyroscope Therapeutics on its $148 million Series C equity financing and its Series C3 equity financing
- Reliance Industries Limited on its agreement to establish a joint venture with BP
- Genuine Parts Company on its $2 billion acquisition of Alliance Automotive Group from Blackstone
- Natura Cosméticos on its €1 billion acquisition of The Body Shop from L’Oreal
- Citi on its acquisition of ING’s Custody and Securities Services across Central and Eastern Europe*
- Intercontinental Exchange on its acquisition of a majority stake in APX-ENDEX*
Capital Markets
- Royalty Pharma on its $2.5 billion IPO, $6 billion senior notes offering and $728 million secondary offering
- Freeline Therapeutics Holdings on its $158.8 million IPO
- Comcast on its $27 billion notes offering in connection with its offer for Sky
- ContourGlobal on its £441 million IPO and London premium listing
- The joint book-running managers in connection with the SEC-registered offering by Ensco
Restructuring
- An ad hoc group of investors on Avianca’s $1.05 billion DIP-to-exit financing
- An ad hoc group of prepetition lenders on the restructuring of Expro International Group
- A bondholder committee on the £1.5 billion financial restructuring of the Co-operative Bank*
- Liberty Global on the reclassification of its share capital to create tracking shares*
* Before joining Davis Polk
Insights
Credentials
Recognition
IFLR1000 – M&A, United Kingdom, Highly Regarded
Financier Worldwide – “M&A Future Star,” 2020
Expert Guides – M&A, Rising Star
IFLR Europe – “Rising Star: M&A,” 2014
Education
- St John's College
Professional history
- Counsel, 2018-present
- European Counsel, 2016-2018
Qualifications and admissions
- England and Wales
- State of New York