Bird & Bird Advises M&S on the acquisition of IP of Thread

Bird & Bird had previously advised M&S on the acquisition of the Jaeger’s IP which involved intricate negotiations with two sets of administrators on Jaeger’s side showcasing the firm’s ability to advise on a complex yet fast-paced transaction. This recent acquisition has once again aligned M&S strategy over the last 3 years in developing digital and data capabilities to offer omnichannel service to their customers.

The Bird & Bird team, led by Clive Hopewell (partner, Corporate), Ed Reardon (associate, Corporate) and assisted by Khaled Farah; wider team support included Tom Snaith (partner, Intellectual Property), Joss Hargrave (partner, Financial) and Andrew Ramsden (legal director, Finance) for restructuring and Insolvency; Elizabeth Lang (partner, Employment) and Rob Collier-Wright (associate, Employment), brought together different expertise to complete the deal in a timely fashion.

Clive Hopewell, Corporate partner at Bird & Bird says: “We were absolutely delighted to advise Marks and Spencer on another strategic acquisition of a distressed retail fashion platform, which once again allowed us to demonstrate our excellent ability to handle tight negotiations with administrators and deal with some complex IP-related issues within a short timeframe.”

Robert Lyons, Head of M&A, Corporate Services & Deputy Company Secretary at M&S remarks: “We are delighted by this acquisition and believe that it will accelerate our personalisation strategy making 3 years’ worth of gains within 12 months. As always, it was a pleasure working with the Bird & Bird team. Once again, they have excelled on a transaction that required speed and creativity. The fact that you can draw on expertise across corporate, insolvency, people, and IP in a seamless and joined up way makes the process of arriving at the right deal so much more efficient.”