Ragavan Arunachalam

Partner @Collyer Bristow

Legal 50•••18 Recommended Individual for Corporate and commercial - M&A - smaller deals, up to £50m. Advising Ibrahim Ibrahim, the former owner of Portland Design Associates Limited, with regards to the sale of the company to Perkins+Will, a global architectural and design firm which employs 1,800 professionals worldwide. Portland Design was founded in 1987, and has offices in London, Dubai and Istanbul. It is an award-winning design consultancy with a client portfolio including St Pancras International, Diageo, British Land, Nestle, TfL, Heathrow, CNN and TDIC. Ibrahim Ibrahim (Managing Director) commented: “Having worked hard to grow the business of Portland Design Associates over a number of years, I was delighted with the support that Ragavan and the team at Collyer Bristow provided in guiding me through the sale process. Their very meticulous step by step approach helped me understand the key issues, this was very valuable as I had not been through this type of process before. “It was particularly useful to have advisors who had experience dealing with the expectations and demands of a US buyer, and its legal representatives. It was a testament to the team’s ability to make things run smoothly that we were able to complete this deal within the demanding two week timetable that had been set.” Advising the Management Team of leading content marketing operator John Brown Media on the sale of the business to Dentsu Aegis Network. The acquisition by Dentsu, the world’s fourth largest advertising agency, was completed for an undisclosed amount. Commenting on the deal Andrew Hirsch, Chief Executive of John Brown Media said “Ragavan and the team at Collyer Bristow were highly professional, and worked tirelessly to complete this complex transaction”.