Shaun Lascelles
Partner
Areas of Focus
- Private Equity Transactions
- Corporate & Finance
- Energy & Infrastructure
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Oil & Gas
- Investment Management
- Climate Change
- Sovereign & Government Investors
- Joint Ventures & Strategic Alliances
- Midstream Oil & Gas
- Oilfield Services
- Refining, Petrochemicals & Processing
- Carbon Capture, Utilization & Storage
- Projects & Energy Transition
- Renewable Energy
- Energy Storage
- Private Equity
- Energy & Infrastructure Private Equity
- Private Capital
Shaun Lascelles
Partner
shaun.lascelles@akingump.com
Areas of Focus
- Private Equity Transactions
- Corporate & Finance
- Energy & Infrastructure
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Oil & Gas
- Investment Management
- Climate Change
- Sovereign & Government Investors
- Joint Ventures & Strategic Alliances
- Midstream Oil & Gas
- Oilfield Services
- Refining, Petrochemicals & Processing
- Carbon Capture, Utilization & Storage
- Projects & Energy Transition
- Renewable Energy
- Energy Storage
- Private Equity
- Energy & Infrastructure Private Equity
- Private Capital
Areas of Focus
- Private Equity Transactions
- Corporate & Finance
- Energy & Infrastructure
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Oil & Gas
- Investment Management
- Climate Change
- Sovereign & Government Investors
- Joint Ventures & Strategic Alliances
- Midstream Oil & Gas
- Oilfield Services
- Refining, Petrochemicals & Processing
- Carbon Capture, Utilization & Storage
- Projects & Energy Transition
- Renewable Energy
- Energy Storage
- Private Equity
- Energy & Infrastructure Private Equity
- Private Capital
Biography
- Focuses on transactional public and private cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A), private equity and international joint ventures.
- Advises private equity firms, infrastructure investors and corporates in relation to complex, high-end transactions.
- Co-head of the firm’s projects & energy transition practice.
Shaun has more than 20 years of experience advising on cross-border M&A and private equity transactions. Shaun has deep knowledge of the oil & gas and energy sectors, often across emerging market jurisdictions that include Africa and Russia.
Representative Work
- Vitol Group on its sale of a 10 percent stake in the VTTI Group, one of the largest independent global energy terminal businesses, to Abu Dhabi National Oil Corporation.
- A consortium of Africa Oil Corp., Delonex Energy and Vitol Group, in connection with their proposed acquisition of a 50% ownership interest in Petrobras Oil and Gas B.V. (“POGBV”) for $1.407 billion. POGBV holds indirect interests in producing assets in deepwater Nigeria.
- Vitol Group and Helios Investment Partners in Vivo Energy’s initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange and Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
- Vivo Energy plc in connection with its strategic acquisition of ENGEN’s downstream business in 9 countries in Africa in a share and cash transaction. The transaction expanded Vivo Energy’s retail service station network from 15 to 23 countries in Africa.
- Helios Investment Partners in relation to the $1.45 billion IPO of Helios Towers Africa, (a leading Sub-Saharan independent tower company) on the premium-listing segment of the London Stock Exchange.
- Mubadala Capital, the wholly owned asset management subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, on its acquisition of a majority stake in Bugaboo Group, a global market-leader in strollers and premium children’s consumer products.
- Vitol Group and Vitol Investment Partnership on their $2.6 billion proposed acquisition of Royal Dutch Shell plc's Australia downstream businesses.
- Vitol Investment Partnership on its $850 million acquisition of 50 percent of VTTI BV, a terminals operating business, from MISC Berhad.
- BlackRock, Inc. in its acquisition of MGPA, a Singapore-based private equity real estate investment advisory firm. The transaction was named “Global Deal of the Year” for 2013 by PERE Magazine.
- BlackRock, Inc. in its acquisition of the Exchange Traded Funds division of Credit Suisse AG (Switzerland).
- Formation Capital, a U.S.-based private investment management firm, in its $763 million acquisition of the HC-One Group that is one of the U.K.’s largest elderly health care home groups, plus its bolt-on acquisition of Meridian Healthcare.
- Helios Investment Partners and Vitol Group in their $1 billion acquisition of the African downstream operations of Royal Dutch Shell.
- Vitol Group and Helios Investment Partners on their acquisition of a 60 percent interest in the downstream operations of Oando PLC in Nigeria.
- Cosan S.A. Indústria e Comércio (Brazil) in its $1.8 billion acquisition of a 60 percent stake in Companhia de Gás de São Paulo (Brazil) from BG Group plc.
- Vitol Group and Helios Investment Partners in relation to their $250 million buy-out of Shell's 20 percent stake in Vivo Energy, the company behind the Shell brand in Africa, plus at the same time acting for Vivo Energy in relation to the long-term extension of its brand license agreements relating to its use of the Shell brand in Africa.
- Vitol Group and Vitol Investment Partnership in joint venture arrangements with The Carlyle Group in connection with the establishment of Varo Energy, a major midstream energy business in north-west Europe.
- Veritas Capital and Excelitas Technologies Corp. in the acquisition from Arle Capital Partners of Qioptiq S.a.r.l. (Luxembourg), a manufacturer of electronic and optical components.
- Formation Capital and HC-One on their acquisition of Meridian Healthcare Group (an operator of care homes in the U.K.).
- Doughty Hanson & Co in various transactions, including:
- In its $1.4 billion sale of Vue Entertainment Ltd to Alberta Investment Management Corporation and OMERS Private Equity.
- Advising portfolio company Vue Entertainment Ltd in its acquisition of Multikino S.A. (Poland).
- In the £875 million sale of Priory Healthcare Group to ABN AMRO.
- In the €200 million management buy-out of TV3.
- Ares Life Sciences / Waypoint Capital, an investment fund created by the Bertarelli family, in connection with their investment in the Affidea, an operator of diagnostic, clinical laboratory and cancer treatment centers, including their (i) acquisition with Montagu Private Equity of a 35 percent stake from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and (ii) subsequent buy-out of Montagu Private Equity’s stake.
- Ares Life Sciences and Stallergenes SA on the proposed cross-border merger between Stallergenes SA and Greer Laboratories.
- Fortune Dynasty Holdings Limited, and its majority Hong Kong shareholder, on its public-to-private acquisition of Fortune Oil PLC, a company headquartered in Hong Kong and listed on the London Stock Exchange.
- The financial advisor to MasterCard Incorporated in its approximately $520 million acquisition of DataCash Group plc, a payment services provider.
- TPG Capital in its $100 million acquisition of a minority stake in VTB Bank from the Government of Russia and several other investment opportunities in Russia.
- The financial advisors to Emerson Electric Company in its approximately $1.5 billion acquisition of Chloride Group plc, a provider of power supply products.
- Blackstone in connection with its investment in Fisterra Energy.
- Ford Motor Company in the $925 million sale of Aston Martin Lagonda Group Limited to Investment Dar of Kuwait.
- Roman Abramovich, Millhouse Capital and Chelsea Limited on the £59 million cash offer for Chelsea Village PLC, the holding company of Chelsea Football Club.
- Westfield Holdings Limited in connection with numerous matters, including:
- On its shareholding in the Stratford City Project, site of the 2012 Olympic games;
- On the $1 billion refinancing of its investment in the Duelguide Group; and
- On its $119 million acquisition of a 25 percent stake in the White City shopping development from Multiplex and the Reuben Brothers.
- Honeywell International on its $555 million cash offer for First Technology plc and its £1 billion cash offer for Novar plc.
- Millhouse Capital and the majority shareholders in Sibneft on the $13 billion sale of their shares in Sibneft to Gazprom Finance BV.
- Access Industries Inc. on the €4.4 billion management buy-out of Basell N.V. from BASF and the Royal Dutch/Shell Group.
- One of the largest state-owned electric utility enterprises in China in its $1.2 billion acquisition of a 50 percent interest in an international power generation company.
- Advised VLC Energy, a joint venture between VPI Immingham (a Vitol portfolio company) and Low Carbon Limited, on its sale of two operational battery storage facilities totalling 50MW to Gresham House Energy Storage Fund.
- Advised leading Africa-focused private investment firm, Helios Investment Partners on its acquisition of a majority stake in IXAfrica Data Centre Limited, a leading developer and operator of hyperscale-ready data centers in Kenya.
List may include matters worked on prior to joining Akin.
- Mubadala Capital, the wholly owned asset management subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, on its acquisition of a majority stake in Bugaboo Group, a global market-leader in strollers and premium children’s consumer products.
- Vitol Group and Vitol Investment Partnership on their $2.6 billion proposed acquisition of Royal Dutch Shell plc's Australia downstream businesses.
- Vitol Investment Partnership on its $850 million acquisition of 50 percent of VTTI BV, a terminals operating business, from MISC Berhad.
- BlackRock, Inc. in its acquisition of MGPA, a Singapore-based private equity real estate investment advisory firm. The transaction was named “Global Deal of the Year” for 2013 by PERE Magazine.
- BlackRock, Inc. in its acquisition of the Exchange Traded Funds division of Credit Suisse AG (Switzerland).
- Formation Capital, a U.S.-based private investment management firm, in its $763 million acquisition of the HC-One Group that is one of the U.K.’s largest elderly health care home groups, plus its bolt-on acquisition of Meridian Healthcare.
- Helios Investment Partners and Vitol Group in their $1 billion acquisition of the African downstream operations of Royal Dutch Shell.
- Vitol Group and Helios Investment Partners on their acquisition of a 60 percent interest in the downstream operations of Oando PLC in Nigeria.
- Cosan S.A. Indústria e Comércio (Brazil) in its $1.8 billion acquisition of a 60 percent stake in Companhia de Gás de São Paulo (Brazil) from BG Group plc.
- Vitol Group and Helios Investment Partners in relation to their $250 million buy-out of Shell's 20 percent stake in Vivo Energy, the company behind the Shell brand in Africa, plus at the same time acting for Vivo Energy in relation to the long-term extension of its brand license agreements relating to its use of the Shell brand in Africa.
- Vitol Group and Vitol Investment Partnership in joint venture arrangements with The Carlyle Group in connection with the establishment of Varo Energy, a major midstream energy business in north-west Europe.
- Veritas Capital and Excelitas Technologies Corp. in the acquisition from Arle Capital Partners of Qioptiq S.a.r.l. (Luxembourg), a manufacturer of electronic and optical components.
- Formation Capital and HC-One on their acquisition of Meridian Healthcare Group (an operator of care homes in the U.K.).
- Doughty Hanson & Co in various transactions, including:
- In its $1.4 billion sale of Vue Entertainment Ltd to Alberta Investment Management Corporation and OMERS Private Equity.
- Advising portfolio company Vue Entertainment Ltd in its acquisition of Multikino S.A. (Poland).
- In the £875 million sale of Priory Healthcare Group to ABN AMRO.
- In the €200 million management buy-out of TV3.
- Ares Life Sciences / Waypoint Capital, an investment fund created by the Bertarelli family, in connection with their investment in the Affidea, an operator of diagnostic, clinical laboratory and cancer treatment centers, including their (i) acquisition with Montagu Private Equity of a 35 percent stake from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and (ii) subsequent buy-out of Montagu Private Equity’s stake.
- Ares Life Sciences and Stallergenes SA on the proposed cross-border merger between Stallergenes SA and Greer Laboratories.
- Fortune Dynasty Holdings Limited, and its majority Hong Kong shareholder, on its public-to-private acquisition of Fortune Oil PLC, a company headquartered in Hong Kong and listed on the London Stock Exchange.
- The financial advisor to MasterCard Incorporated in its approximately $520 million acquisition of DataCash Group plc, a payment services provider.
- TPG Capital in its $100 million acquisition of a minority stake in VTB Bank from the Government of Russia and several other investment opportunities in Russia.
- The financial advisors to Emerson Electric Company in its approximately $1.5 billion acquisition of Chloride Group plc, a provider of power supply products.
- Blackstone in connection with its investment in Fisterra Energy.
- Ford Motor Company in the $925 million sale of Aston Martin Lagonda Group Limited to Investment Dar of Kuwait.
- Roman Abramovich, Millhouse Capital and Chelsea Limited on the £59 million cash offer for Chelsea Village PLC, the holding company of Chelsea Football Club.
- Westfield Holdings Limited in connection with numerous matters, including:
- On its shareholding in the Stratford City Project, site of the 2012 Olympic games;
- On the $1 billion refinancing of its investment in the Duelguide Group; and
- On its $119 million acquisition of a 25 percent stake in the White City shopping development from Multiplex and the Reuben Brothers.
- Honeywell International on its $555 million cash offer for First Technology plc and its £1 billion cash offer for Novar plc.
- Millhouse Capital and the majority shareholders in Sibneft on the $13 billion sale of their shares in Sibneft to Gazprom Finance BV.
- Access Industries Inc. on the €4.4 billion management buy-out of Basell N.V. from BASF and the Royal Dutch/Shell Group.
- One of the largest state-owned electric utility enterprises in China in its $1.2 billion acquisition of a 50 percent interest in an international power generation company.
- Advised VLC Energy, a joint venture between VPI Immingham (a Vitol portfolio company) and Low Carbon Limited, on its sale of two operational battery storage facilities totalling 50MW to Gresham House Energy Storage Fund.
- Advised leading Africa-focused private investment firm, Helios Investment Partners on its acquisition of a majority stake in IXAfrica Data Centre Limited, a leading developer and operator of hyperscale-ready data centers in Kenya.
List may include matters worked on prior to joining Akin.
EducationL.P.C., The College of Law, York, 1993
M.A. (Cantab), University of Cambridge, 1992
L.P.C., The College of Law, York, 1993
M.A. (Cantab), University of Cambridge, 1992
Bar AdmissionsSolicitor, England and Wales
Solicitor, England and Wales
Recognitions
- The Legal 500 UK, Corporate and Commercial: M&A Upper Mid-Market and Premium Deals, 2017- 2024; Projects, Energy and Natural Resources: Oil and Gas, 2018 -2024; Leading Individual: Private Equity: Transactions, 2021-2025.
- Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom, Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity Law, 2021-2023.
- Acritas, Acritas Star, 2019-2021.
- Best Lawyers, Global Business Edition, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, 2020.
- IFLR1000, Highly Regarded, M&A and Private Equity, 2019.
- Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC, IFLR1000: The Guide to the World’s Leading Financial Law Firms, Private Equity, M&A, United Kingdom.
- Chambers UK, Private Equity: Buyouts: High-end Capability, UK-wide, 2016.
Insights and Achievements
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People
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