Richard Sultman
Partner
“He is very strong technically and provides carefully tailored and focused advice, taking account of the specific features of each transaction.”
Chambers UK
Richard Sultman’s practice focuses on corporate taxation (together with transaction taxes such as VAT and stamp duties), with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, capital markets, and financial products.
Richard’s practice also includes the tax aspects of debt restructurings, distressed debt acquisitions, and various kinds of investment fund formation and management. He also regularly advises on related matters relevant to the taxation of individuals, including investors, managers, and employees.
Richard joined the firm in 2004 and became a partner in 2010. He was resident in the New York office from 2006 to 2007. Prior to Cleary, he was a solicitor in the London and New York offices of another major international law firm.
Notable Experience
PE/Funds
VeloBank and Cerberus in proposed acquisition of Citi Handlowy’s consumer banking business.
Sixth Street Growth in its Series C investment in Gravitee, a leading agentic API and event management platform.
IK Partners on its investment in Dains Accountants, a leading provider of accountancy and business advisory services in the UK, succeeding Horizon Capital as the majority shareholder.
Bridgepoint on the sale of its majority stake in Hobbycraft, the largest arts and crafts retailer in the UK, to Modella Capital, representing a total exit from its investment in Hobbycraft.
Exponent, a leading European private equity firm, on its £300m majority investment in Northern Ireland’s largest private healthcare firm, the Kingsbridge Group.
Sixth Street on its acquisition of a majority stake in Lemon Pepper Holdings Limited (“Wingstop UK”), the master franchisee for Wingstop in the UK and Ireland.
Temasek, alongside Brookfield, on its €6.1bn take-private of Neoen, a leading independent global renewable energy producer headquartered in France.
Zuber Issa CBE on the sale of his shares in the Asda Group, a British supermarket and petrol station chain, to funds managed by TDR Capital and on the £228m acquisition of EG Group’s remaining UK forecourt business.
Sixth Street on its strategic partnership with Achmea and the merger of Lifetri’s and Achmea’s pension and life portfolios to create one of the leading Dutch pension and life insurance providers.
Bridgepoint on the £169 million recommended cash acquisition of Eckoh plc, a leading provider of secure payments and customer engagement software, through Eagle UK Bidco Limited.
M&A
DCC plc on the £1.05bn sale of DCC Healthcare, a provider of consumer healthcare, nutrition and beauty products, to Investindustrial, a leading European investment group.
Pernod Ricard, a global leader in wine and spirits, on its sale of its portfolio of strategic international wines sto Australian Wine Holdco Limited and owner of Accolade Wines.
T-Mobile on its $175m acquisition of Blis, an innovative provider of powerful and privacy-centric advertising solutions.
Disney in its $8.5 billion merger of Star India with Viacom18.
OCI N.V., a Dutch global producer and distributor of natural gas-based fertilizers and industrial chemicals, on its $3.6bn strategic sale of its entire equity stake (50% plus one share) in Fertiglobe to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
OpenText in its $2.275 billion divestment of its Application Modernization and Connectivity business to Rocket Software, a Bain Capital portfolio company.
Central Group, a Thai multinational real estate conglomerate, on the minority acquisition and investment by the PIF, a leading sovereign wealth fund, in respect of Central’s existing investee company - the Selfridges Group (SG) - to form a new 60:40 partnership to operate SG’s operations and real estate assets.
GSK, a UK headquartered global biopharma company, on its acquisition of Aiolos Bio, a U.S. clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, for a $1 billion upfront payment and up to $400 million in certain success-based regulatory milestone payments.
Inversiones Libra SpA on its sale of Verfrut, one of the largest fruit producers and exporters with operations in Chile and Peru, to the Unifrutti Group, a global leader in premium fresh fruits production and distribution.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, one of the world’s largest tire companies, in its announced sale of the DUNLOP brand, comprising of trademarks and intangible assets necessary for operations of the brand business in Europe, North America, and Oceania, to Sumitomo Rubber Industries.
Capital Markets
Canal+ on its £2.9 billion listing on the London Stock Exchange in connection with its demerger from Vivendi SE.
LivaNova, a market-leading global medical technology company, in its $300 million Rule 144A offering.
Other Notable Experience
OCI in its landmark strategic fertilizer partnership with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
TAG Airport Limited and others, in the sale of Farnborough Airport to Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 6 (MEIF6), a fund managed by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA).
MBK Partners and its affiliates (Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Public Sector Pension Investment Board, and Temasek Holdings) in the $6.4 billion acquisition of Homeplus Co., Ltd. and its subsidiaries from Tesco PLC.
OpenText Corporation in its $1.62 billion acquisition of Dell EMC’s Enterprise Content Division.
Tempur Sealy International Inc. in its acquisition of Dreams in the UK.
Cascade Investment on its recommended $4.7 billion offer for Signature Aviation, as part of a consortium with Blackstone and Global Infrastructure Partners, which topped a prior $4.6 billion offer from Global Infrastructure Partners on a standalone basis.
Walgreens Boots Alliance in connection with the $6.5 billion sale of its pharmaceutical wholesale businesses to AmerisourceBergen Corp.
Allied Universal in its recommended offer to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of G4S for 245 pence per share.
Wockhardt Limited, the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology major, in its agreement with the UK government to fill finish COVID-19 vaccines for the United Kingdom.
The Coca-Cola Company on the combination of the businesses of Coca-Cola Enterprises, Coca-Cola Iberian Partners, and Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetränke to form a new Western European bottler to be called Coca-Cola European Partners, creating the world’s largest independent bottler of Coca-Cola products.
Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic in relation to their joint venture with Banco Santander, S.A. to form Santander Asset Management.
Schroders plc, the FTSЕ 100-listed investment manager, on its agreement to acquire Adveq, a Switzerland-based provider of specialist private equity solutions.
Bekaert in its joint venture with Bridon UK to form Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the sale of its non-U.S. wealth management business to Julius Baer Group.
A leading sovereign wealth fund in its acquisition, as part of a consortium, of a 61% stake in National Grid’s gas distribution business; and in its acquisition, together with Glencore, of 19.5% of the shares in Rosneft, the Russian oil company.
Hillhouse in its acquisition of The Loch Lomond Group.
Thales on the divestment of its General Purpose Hardware Security Module (GP HSM) business to Entrust Datacard.
ArcelorMittal in the divestiture of steel plants in accordance with EU competition regulations to achieve regulatory approval for the purchase of Ilva.
Bemis in its $6.8 billion merger with Amcor.
Lavazza in its acquisition of the Mars Drinks from Mars.
Google in the acquisition of DeepMind Technologies.
McCormick & Company in its $4.2 billion acquisition of Reckitt Benckiser’s food business.
TPG in the auction sale of UK portfolio companies TES and THE; and in the formation and structuring of TPG Specialty Lending Europe, a business development company focused on loan origination to European middle-market companies.
Alstom in its €4.4 billion acquisition of Bombardier Transportation.
Lafarge S.A. in its 50:50 joint venture with Anglo American plc to combine their UK cement, aggregates, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt, and contracting businesses to form Lafarge Tarmac.
Publications
The Current Tax Risk Environment and Best Practices for Managing It
Hot Tax Topics for Multinational Groups, in the US, the EU and Beyond
The United Arab Emirates Taxation of Corporations and Businesses
UK Government Proposals to Revise Sovereign Immunity From Direct Taxation
New Tax Rules Aim to Level Playing Field for UK Holding Companies
Tax Reform 2021 and 2022: U.S. and OECD/G20 Developments and Resources
Taxes: Stepping up Enforcement and Ending the Global ‘Race to the Bottom’
A Guide to the OECD/G20’s October 8, 2021 Inclusive Framework Agreement on Global Tax Reform
A More Concrete Path to a UK Asset Holding Company Regime for Alternative Investment Funds
Taxes: The Rules Continue to Change and Tax Authorities Focus on Enforcement
The Mergers and Acquisitions Litigation Law Review, 1st Edition
EU General Court Strikes Down Commission’s €14 Billion State Aid Decision Against Apple and Ireland
UK Finance Bill Proposes Changes to Calculation of UK Stamp Duty and SDRT
Proposed UK Digital Services Tax: Why, Who, How, and What Next
Personal Service Companies – New Consultation on UK Off-Payroll Working Rules From April 2020
‘Hybrid Capital Instruments’ – The Proposed New UK Tax Regime and Its Impact on Loss-Absorbing Debt
UK Finance Bill Contemplates Useful Changes to Intangibles Rules
UK Corporate Criminal Offences of Failing to Prevent Facilitation of Tax Evasion Come into Force
Events