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Hogan Lovells advises senior exec team on GBP700m sale of VocaLink to MasterCard

A team of Hogan Lovells lawyers has advised the senior executive management team of VocaLink on its sale to MasterCard for approximately GBP700 million (USD920 million).

Hogan Lovells’ role involved advising VocaLink's senior management on their management incentive arrangements and their position and related matters, including warranties and disclosures. Under the agreement, a majority of VocaLink’s shareholders will retain 7.6 per cent ownership for at least three years.
 
Based in London, VocaLink operates key payments technology platforms on behalf of UK payment schemes, including: BACS – the Automated Clearing House (ACH) enabling direct credit and direct debit payments between bank accounts; Faster Payments – the real-time account-to-account service enabling payments via mobile, internet and telephone; and LINK – the UK ATM network.
 
In 2015, VocaLink reported revenues of GBP182 million as it processed more than 11 billion transactions.
 
Led by partner Tom Whelan, global head of private equity, the transaction was also supported by private equity partner, Keith Woodhouse, insurance partner Nick Atkins and associates Mbombo Simpungwe-Kaoma, Hannah Wilson and Miren Patel principally supported by counsel Kiran Khetia (employment incentives), consultant Conor Ward, partner Mark Parsons (Hong Kong), tax partner Philip Harle and senior tax associate Chris Waddington, IP/IT partner Sahira Khwaja and counsel Mac Macmillan (data protection).
 
Whelan says: "We are delighted to have acted for the senior executive management team of VocaLink on this exciting deal. It represents the first true combination of the traditional person-to-merchant cards business with a clearing business, which when fully developed, presents an additional opportunity to make a deeper and sustained shift from the use of cash and checks in business, government and personal payments."

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