Simmons & Simmons is advising US private equity firm Oak Investment Partners, on the sale of iTouch to Buongiorno SpA, the Italian-based mobile media and technology company.
Simmons & Simmons is advising US private equity firm Oak Investment Partners, on the sale of iTouch to Buongiorno SpA, the Italian-based mobile media and technology company. iTouch is a leading European distributor of mobile entertainment products and services.
Under the terms of the agreement, Buongiorno will pay EUR129m to iTouch shareholders, of which EUR73.7m will be in cash and the remaining in shares. Additionally Buongiorno will absorb the current EUR12m net debt of iTouch. The cash component will be funded by a new EUR115m loan facility arranged by Banca IMI. The shares component will comprise new Buongiorno shares to be issued to the iTouch shareholders in exchange for iTouch shares.
The Simmons & Simmons international team comprised lawyers primarily from the firm’s London and Rome offices. In London, the team comprised corporate partner Arthur Stewart assisted by Gideon Sharp, competition partner Tony Woodgate assisted by Oliver Heinisch, and tax partner Nick Cronkshaw assisted by Darren Oswick. In Italy, the team comprised corporate partners Nino Lombardo and Ernesto Apuzzo assisted by Alessandra Dima.
‘This is an exciting cross border sale transaction in the mobile value added sector. Simmons & Simmons’ role illustrates the breadth of the firm’s expertise in working for private equity clients and the capabilities of the growing international team,’ says Stewart. ‘The transaction has provided an excellent opportunity for our strong international network of offices to work closely together to deliver this transaction and to facilitate the signing on a challenging timetable.’
