Mark Bardell

Mark has been a partner at the firm for over 10 years and has helped clients to close more than US$225 billion worth of transactions across UK, Europe, CIS, Middle East, Africa, India, Asia, Australia and the US. 

He focuses on advising corporate clients and works with boards on both transactional and advisory work. He is frequently involved in advising on significant challenges that face boards whether on transactions, shareholder activism, governance issues or regulatory investigations. In addition, he regularly works with investment banks and corporate finance advisers in connection with their roles on major cross-border transactions.

Mark is recommended in Legal 500 for M&A premium deals and noted for his public takeover expertise. In 2014 Mark was named in Financial News "Top 40 under 40" list of rising stars in European legal services.  He is a General Editor of Butterworths Takeovers Law and Practice (second edition 2015) and a contributor to other leading practitioner's texts on topics including shareholder activism, market abuse, schemes of arrangement and takeovers. He regularly lectures at Cambridge University to postgraduate MCL students as part of the Deals Course.

In September 2011, he completed a two-year secondment as Secretary to the UK’s Takeover Panel. During that time he was closely involved in the day-to-day regulation of UK public takeovers and also in revising the UK's Takeover Code, in particular the significant changes to the UK’s Takeover Code which came into effect in September 2011. He continues to be actively involved in consultations regarding amendments to the UK's Takeover Code.  In 2016 and following he has acted as Secretary to the Takeover Appeals Board in relation to various appeals.

Mark's experience includes advising:

• Sky on the competing takeover situation involving 21st Century Fox, Disney and Comcast Corporation, for which the HSF team won M&A Team of the Year (Large Deal) at the prestigious 2018 British Legal Awards
• Sky on a variety of matters including the £800 million sale of its controlling stake in its betting and gaming business, Sky Bet, to funds advised by CVC Capital Partners and ongoing joint venture and other commercial arrangements, and on the subsequent sale of Sky Bet to Canadian listed Stars Group
• Virgin Group on its announced disposal of a 31% stake in Virgin Atlantic to Air France-KLM for £220 million and the resulting three-party joint venture between them and Delta Air Lines and the subsequent acquisition of Flybe
• Shaanxi Ligeance Mineral Resources Co., Ltd on its £326 million acquisition of Gardner Aerospace from funds managed by Better Capital and the subsequent acquisition of Northern Aerospace in 2017, successfully concluding the transaction following the UK Government's first ever intervention under its new extended powers
• Atlassian on a variety of matters including its re-domiciliation to the UK, IPO in the US, and various acquisitions.
• leading investment banks including Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Lazard and Morgan Stanley
• on over 30 successfully completed public takeovers including EdF on its £12.5 billion takeover of British Energy Group including the issue of the innovative CVRs, the Nuclear Power Notes, as consideration; Tata Steel on its successful £6.2 billion acquisition of Corus, following the competitive auction with CSN; Resolution throughout the competing bids from Friends Provident, Standard Life / Swiss Re and the ultimately successful £5.0 billion bid from Pearl / Royal London; Cable & Wireless Worldwide in response to unsolicited approaches from Vodafone and Tata Communications leading to Vodafone's £1.0 billion recommended bid; Arris Group on its US$2 billion takeover of Pace; and The Prospect Japan Fund on the US$147 million recommended takeover by Prospect Co. listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange believed to be the first all share offer of Japanese listed shares into the UK.

Background

Mark holds an MA Cantab (Hons) Law from Fitzwilliam College Cambridge. Qualified as a barrister. Called to the Bar 1998.