A&O Shearman advises Bending Spoons on the acquisition of WeTransfer

WeTransfer was founded in the Netherlands by Bas Beerens, Nalden and Damian Bradfield. It’s funded by Highland Capital Partners and HPE Growth. Alongside the CEO, the acquisition was led by COO/CFO Melissa Nussbaum. In the last few years, the business has seen a period of accelerated growth, fueled by strategic product development, resulting in the platform serving more than 600,000 subscribers and 80 million monthly active users.

Bending Spoons has served a billion people across the globe through its suite of digital technology products, including Evernote, Meetup, Remini, StreamYard, and Splice. Its products are currently used by more than 200 million people each month.

The A&O Shearman team alongside Bending Spoons advised on legal aspects of the acquisition with a cross-border and multi-department team led by partners Gijs Linse and Emanuele Trucco, supported by associates Ashton Pyke, Lousine Hovhanisian and Niki van Douwe in Amsterdam and by associate Enrico Roveda in Milan.

The A&O Shearman team comprised partner Hanneke Bennaars, associates Barbara Rip and Kevin van Stiphout on Dutch law employment aspects and associate Daisy Cutler on English law employment aspects, partner Aroen Kuitenbrouwer and associate Mercedeh Naseri on the financing matters, partner Kees Schillemans, senior associate Jochem de Kok and associates Eline Vancraybex and Aranka van der Pol on antitrust aspects, and associate Doris Ceoromila on tax-related matters. 

Banco BPM, BNP Paribas/BNL, and Intesa Sanpaolo acted with the role of Global Coordinator, Mandated Lead Arranger, Bookrunner, Underwriter, and Lender. Banco BPM, BNP Paribas, and Intesa Sanpaolo acted also as Financial Advisors. Intesa Sanpaolo acted as Facility Agent and Security Agent.