DLA Piper advises Accel-KKR and Seequent on MA Deal of the Year

NZ Lawyer has named Accel-KKR’s sale of New Zealand-founded Seequent to Bentley Systems as the 2022 M&A Deal of the Year in its annual awards.

DLA Piper New Zealand’s M&A team, led by Partner, Reuben Woods, advised Accel-KKR and its portfolio company, Seequent Holdings Limited on the sale of Seequent Holdings to Bentley Systems for ~NZD1.5 billion (USD1.05 billion). The acquisition was structured as a sale of 100% of the share capital of Seequent Holdings Limited for USD900 million in cash and USD150 million in Class B stock in Bentley Systems.

Reuben says "It’s great to see this deal continuing to receive recognition. It was a complex transaction requiring deep private equity, technology, securities law and tax expertise across multiple jurisdictions, combined with the need to problem-solve and to find commercial solutions at speed. It was a pleasure working with the outstanding Accel-KKR team on this transaction.”

Dean Jacobson, Managing Director of Accel-KKR says, "Reuben and the entire DLA Piper team have been invaluable partners throughout our investment in Seequent. DLA Piper’s global footprint, coupled with technically-excellent and commercially-astute advice, helped make this large, complex, multi-jurisdictional process go very smoothly. They have been great advisors and we look forward to working with them in the future."

Alongside Reuben, the DLA Piper team included New Zealand partners Rachel Taylor, David Johnston, Nick Valentine and Mark Williamson. David Ryan and Kelly Morrison in Australia led the ASX aspects of the process, and US partner Joey Silver led the US team, with assistance from Andrew Ledbetter and Drew Young.

Christchurch-based Seequent is a global leader in software for geological and geophysical modelling, geotechnical stability, and cloud services for geodata management. Seequent's global footprint includes a network of offices across Asia-Pacific, Africa, South America, North America and Europe.

The New Zealand Law Awards is recognised as the leading independent awards in the legal industry.