Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP announced today that Ed Ford and Sacha Gofton-Salmond will join the Firm as Partners in the London office, where they will focus on secondaries transactions.
“Ed and Sacha are highly regarded in the secondaries space, having built up a market leading practice in recent years and will add depth to our renowned Private Funds and Fund Transactions Practices, further bolstering our ability to advise sponsors and investors on liquidity solutions that provide additional flexibility to address an ever-changing market,” said Alden Millard, Chair of Simpson Thacher’s Executive Committee. “We are thrilled to welcome them to Simpson Thacher.”
“Simpson Thacher has developed a robust presence in the fund transactional space, which was strengthened by the addition of Lauren King in New York in 2021,” said Michael Wolitzer, Head of Simpson Thacher’s Investment Funds Practice. “With the addition of Ed and Sacha, the Firm is further augmenting its capabilities to provide sponsor clients and other industry participants with multidisciplinary secondaries solutions around the globe.”
Ed and Sacha both specialize in advising clients on the structuring and negotiation of highly complex secondary market solutions, ranging from GP- and LP-led secondary transactions to NAV financings, preferred equity financings and other structured secondary transactions. Both lawyers join the Firm from Travers Smith.
“Ed and Sacha are both incredibly talented lawyers that have the versatile experience and commercial creativity that is the hallmark of Simpson Thacher’s Investment Funds Practice,” said Jason Glover, Head of Simpson Thacher’s London office and the Firm’s European Funds team. “We have admired Ed’s and Sacha’s respective success in the secondaries space for some time and believe that their arrival at Simpson Thacher will enhance our existing secondaries transaction platform in London. Such hires mark the latest step in enhancing our private funds offering and solidifying our position as the global investment funds law firm of choice.”
Simpson Thacher’s Fund Transactions Practice advises on the full breadth of secondaries transactions, as well as complex control and minority-stakes transactions involving alternative asset managers and preferred and structured financings for funds, their management companies and other industry participants. Drawing upon the Firm’s more than 40 years of experience in the private equity industry, the global team comprises funds, mergers and acquisitions, finance, tax and other lawyers who provide commercially-driven, comprehensive transactional advice for the world’s most sophisticated sponsors. The multidisciplinary team offers deep market knowledge and creative, tailored advice on transactions, including traditional and synthetic secondaries deals, GP-led restructurings, preferred equity transactions and other liquidity solutions.
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