Harneys advises on the acquisition of Grail Insights by Symphony Technology Group

Harneys acted as British Virgin Islands counsel to Symphony Technology Group in relation to the BVI aspects of its leveraged acquisition of Grail Insights from NewQuest Capital Partners by STG group company Escalent.

Escalent is a top human behaviour and analytics advisory firm specializing in industries facing disruption and business transformation. Escalent is headquartered in Livonia, Michigan with offices in the UK, China and Canada. Grail is a strategic insights consultancy founded by Monitor Group in 2006 that helps clients seize opportunities and respond decisively to market change by applying insights to any aspect of their business. Grail is located across the US and in Canada, China, India, Ireland, Italy, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, UAE and the UK.

As BVI counsel acting for Symphony, Harneys acted for the buyer on the BVI corporate elements of the acquisition and on its financing arrangements, including the grant of security by and over the BVI target company. Partner George Weston led the Harneys team advising Escalent, with corporate assistance from Associate James Kitching.

Weston commented: “This deal highlights the strength of our private equity team, and our high-end corporate and financing expertise. We have seen significant M&A activity in the technology sector, where BVI companies are popular holding vehicles.”

The Corporate team at Harneys excels at complex cross-border transactions involving BVI, Cayman Islands, Luxembourg and Cyprus vehicles. Their significant track record includes complex mega-deals, high value private equity transactions, landmark IPOs and the full spectrum of public and private M&A and joint ventures. Harneys’ corporate lawyers have strong networks with industry players and service providers in key markets around the world and understand the business environment in which their clients operate.