Scott Pettifor

Partner

Areas of Focus

Scott Pettifor

Partner

scott.pettifor@akingump.com

Areas of Focus

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Biography
  • Scott is one of the accomplished lawyers who was promoted to the partnership, effective January 1, 2022. Watch the video to meet Scott here.
  • Practice focuses on merger control, antitrust issues and regulation in the context of mergers and acquisitions, including cross-border transactions, restructurings, joint ventures and strategic alliances.
  • Acts for a number of the world’s largest financial institutions.
  • Represents acquirers, investors and targets across sectors on cross-border national security and foreign investment investigations.

Scott Pettifor maintains a practice focused on advising clients, including major financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds and large corporations, on international (ex-U.S.) transactional antitrust matters (at an EU, U.K. and multijurisdictional level), behavioural antitrust issues, foreign investment matters (including under the UK NSI regime) and the application of sectoral regulations. Scott’s understanding of the merger control and foreign investment landscape is significant and affords him the ability to provide succinct, actionable advice, with clients having praised his “out-of-the-box thinking” to the increasingly complex antitrust and foreign investment issues that they are facing in the context of their cross-border transactions, restructurings, JV and strategic alliances. He provides multijurisdictional advice on large global transactions for merging parties as well as for the financial institutions with related exposure and third party complainants.

Scott regularly obtains merger control approvals for clients before the European Commission and U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and routinely coordinates large, complex, multijurisdictional antitrust and foreign investment reviews (involving filings across the globe). He acted for a client on one of the first transactions to be approved by the CMA under the revised de minimis regime and in 2022, guided a client through the process of obtaining one of the first retrospective approvals handed down by the UK Government under the UK NSI regime.

His work spans a broad spectrum of industry sectors, including:

  • Technology
  • Food and retail
  • Investments
  • Pharmaceutical
  • Aviation
  • Energy services and infrastructure
  • Media
  • Insurance
Representative Work

Energy

  • Advised BC Energy Investments on the formation of the largest privately owned integrated energy company in Argentina through the combination of BC Energy Investments’ and BP’s interests in Pan American Energy, Argentina’s second largest producer of oil and gas, and BC Energy Investments’ interest in refiner and marketer Axion Energy.
  • Represented VPI Holdings, an affiliate of energy and commodities trader Vitol S.A., in connection with the company’s acquisition from Drax Group plc of four combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants in the UK.
  • Represented Macquarie and Siemens in the creation of Calibrant JV, which originates, operates and finances Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) projects.
  • Acted on behalf of noteholders in the restructuring of Pacific Drilling S.A.

Technology

  • Represented Kingston Technology in its $18 billion acquisition of Toshiba Memory Corporation, alongside consortium members Bain Capital, SK Hynix, Hoya, Apple and Seagate Technology.
  • Advised Piraeus Bank on the €300 million sale of the Bank’s Merchant Acquiring Unit to Euronet Worldwide and the formation of a long term strategic partnership between the Bank and Euronet Worldwide.
  • Advised Kingston Technology on the $425 million disposal of its HyperX gaming division to HP Inc.

Investments

  • Acted on behalf of First Reserve Corporation in relation to the acquisition of energy infrastructure assets from, and the formation of a joint venture with, Petrofac.
  • Advised Oceanwood Capital Management on a restructuring and post-restructuring acquisition of Norske Skog AS.
  • Represented Blackstone in connection with Centric Brand’s restructuring and emergence from voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings.

Aviation

  • Counseled Singapore Airlines and CAE International Holdings on the formation of a joint venture to develop and operate a commercial flight center in Singapore offering flight training.

Pharmaceuticals

  • Represented LEO Pharma with regard to its €675 million acquisition of the global dermatological product portfolio of Astellas Pharma.

Food

  • Advised Croatian conglomerate Fortenova Grupa d.d., on the €615 million sale of its frozen food business, the Frozen Food Business Group, to Nomad Foods, owner of Birds Eye and Findus, among others.
  • Advised Vion N.V. in relation to the sale of the Dutch-based food producer’s U.K. pork business to Endless LLP.
  • Represented a consortium of banks in the restructuring of Agrokor d.d, a leading company in the Adria region comprising about 30% of Croatian gross domestic product (GDP).

Other

  • Represented a major activist investor in the disposal of its $2 billion stake in Clariant to SABIC.
  • Advised VCA Inc., the US animal care provider that was publicly traded on the NASDAQ Global Market, in its sale to Mars Corporation for $9.1 billion.
  • Acted on behalf of Trinity Industries, Inc. in the sale of its highway products business to Monomoy Capital Partners for $375 million.
  • Represented a global maritime company in its $400 million acquisition of its largest competitor in certain marine chemicals and gases.

Education
  • L.P.C., BPP University Law School, England, 2010

  • LL.M., School of Law, King's College London, 2009

  • LL.B., School of Law, King's College London, 2008

Bar Admissions
  • Ireland

  • Solicitor, England and Wales

Recognitions
  • “How The UK Smart Regulatory Strategy Fuels Al Innovation,” Law360, December 12, 2023.
  • Who’s Who Legal: Competition Future Leader, 2023.
  • The Legal 500 UK, Next Generation Partner: EU & Competition, 2023-2024, Rising Star: EU & Competition, 2020-2022, EU & Competition, 2017-2024.

Insights and Achievements

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