Ogier advises OMERS on its acquisition of V.Group

Cross-departmental legal and corporate services teams at Ogier recently acted for OMERS Private Equity, the private equity arm of the OMERS (Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System) Worldwide group of companies, on the successful closing on September 2, 2011 of its acquisition of V.Group Ltd. (V.Group) from Exponent for an enterprise value of US$520 million.

V.Group is the global market leader in outsourced ship management and a leading player in crew provision and related marine services.

V.Group enjoys a leading global market position in robust and growing market segments through its differentiated outsourcing-based business model and global network. The group has a track record of profitable growth and delivers a compelling customer value proposition and breadth of services which, combined with OMERS' significant financial resources and extensive international network, will enable the company to pursue organic and acquisitive growth, particularly in emerging markets. The company manages the running and maintenance of over 700 vessels on behalf of its customers and provides a variety of related services to these and other third party vessels. V.Group operates across 34 countries via its international network of 70 offices. V.Group's highly experienced and talented management team will continue to lead the company.

OMERS announced last July that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire V.Group from Exponent.  Members of V.Group's management team remain significant investors in the business through continued equity ownership.

The acquisition of V.Group was completed by the London office of OMERS Private Equity, which opened in September 2009 to build a mid-market private equity presence in Europe.  In 2009, OMERS Private Equity co-led the investment in UK-based Haymarket Financial, a specialist commercial lender to European mid-market companies.

Chris Byrne and Paul Burton acted for OMERS alongside Weil, Gotshal & Manges (Marco Compagnoni and Simon Lyell).  RBC acted as financial advisor to OMERS.