Ed Barnett is Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins' London office.

Ed advises clients on a variety of cross-border M&A and corporate finance transactions, including public takeovers, takeover defense, joint ventures, and private company and business acquisitions and divestments, with a particular focus in consumer, technology, pharmaceuticals, and entertainment, media, and sports sectors. He also represents clients on company representation work, including advising on a range of corporate governance matters. He is a former Global Co-Chair of the firm's Mergers & Acquisitions Practice.

Ed’s experience includes advising:

  • 1892 Holdings, the consortium led and managed by Amit Bhatia, with investments from Amit Bhatia and the Mittal Family Trusts, K5 Sports, with Jeff Bezos as the lead investor in the K5 Sports fund, and EE Capital, the family office of Elaine and Eduardo Saverin, on the acquisition of a strategic minority equity interest in Liverpool F.C.
  • Anglo American on the:
    • US$70 billion merger of equals with Teck Resources Limited to form the Anglo Teck group, a global critical minerals champion
    • Sale of its Australian steelmaking coal business to Peabody Energy Corporation for US$3.775 billion
    • Sale of its 33.3% minority interest in Jellinbah Group Pty Ltd to Zashvin Pty Limited for A$1.6 billion
  • evoke plc on its acquisition by Bally’s Intralot
  • This Day and MARV on their minority investments in Best Intentions Analytics, the holding company of Brentford Football Club and Mérida AD
  • Eldridge Industries on its €150 million investment in Isar Aerospace
  • The consortium led by Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises Global Football Group on its acquisition of a majority stake in Rangers Football Club
  • DoorDash, Inc. on its £2.9 billion proposed recommended take-private of food delivery platform Deliveroo plc
  • MSD UK Holdings Limited, lender to West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, in connection with the indirect sale of 87.8% of West Bromwich Albion Football Club to Bilkul Football WBA, LLC
  • Manchester United plc on its agreement with Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Chairman of INEOS, under which he will acquire up to a 25% shareholding in the company
  • Farfetch on various transactions, including on:
    • Its sale to Greenoaks and Coupang via a UK pre-pack administration process, as well as the negotiation of a committed first lien delayed draw term loan facility of up to US$500 million
    • The proposed acquisition of 47.5% of YOOX Net-a-Porter from Richemont 
    • Its acquisition of certain operating assets of Style.com
  • Block M shareholders on bp’s agreement to acquire the 50.03% interest it does not already own in Lightsource bp, one of the world’s leading developers and operator of utility-scale solar and battery storage assets
  • TechnipFMC plc on various transactions, including on:
    • Its entry into an agreement to sell its Measurement Solutions business to One Equity Partners
    • The spinoff of its onshore/offshore business to create Technip Energies, listed on Euronext Paris
    • Its tax-free spinoff into two publicly traded companies
  • Dynasty Equity, a global sports investment firm, on its strategic minority investment in Liverpool F.C.
  • One of the lead financial advisors to UBS on its proposed takeover of Credit Suisse
  • Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital consortium on its £4.25 billion acquisition of Chelsea Football Club
  • Whirlpool Corporation on its strategic joint venture with Arçelik A.Ş (Arcelik), as part of its portfolio transformation (M&A Deal of the Year at the IFLR Europe Awards 2025)
  • AllianceBernstein on its joint venture with Societe Generale 
  • 888 Holdings plc on various transactions, including on: 
    • Its US partnership with Sports Illustrated
    • Its £2.2 billion acquisition of William Hill international
  • Silver Lake on various transactions, including on:
    • Its investment in Australian A-League
    • Its acquisition of stakes in City Football Group, parent company of, among others, Manchester City Football Club
  • TotalEnergies on various transactions, including on:
    • Its €2.2 billion joint venture with Masdar, pursuant to which TotalEnergies and Masdar will combine their respective onshore renewables businesses in Asia
    • Its agreement with Adani Enterprises Limited to acquire a 25% interest in Adani New Industries Limited 
    • Its agreement to acquire a 20% minority interest in Adani Green Energy Limited
    • The sale of TEPKRI Sarsang to ShaMaran Petroleum
    • The sale by TOTAL Deutschland of a stake in Großtanklager-Ölhafen Rostock to EUROPORTS 
  • Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. on various transactions, including on:
    • Its US$1.2 billion acquisition of OpenBet
    • The acquisition of Madrid Open tennis tournament and the Acciona Open de España golf tournament
  • NVIDIA on its proposed US$40 billion acquisition of ARM from SoftBank
  • NRG Energy on its US$3.625 billion acquisition of Direct Energy, from Centrica plc
  • Venator Materials plc, on various matters, including on:
    • The sale of its iron oxide business to Cathay Industries 
    • Its acquisition of European TiO2 paper laminates business from Tronox
  • Meta Platforms, Inc. on various transactions, including on:
    • Its acquisition of Unit 2 Games 
    • The acquisition by Oculus VR 
    • Its acquisition of Papers with Code
  • GlaxoSmithKline plc on various transactions, including on:
    • The financing for Sitryx Therapeutics Limited 
    • The sale of the North American rights for Keri® to Crown Laboratories
    • The sale of its Prevacid®24HR business to Perrigo Company
    • The sale of OTC brand portfolio including Baldriparan, Formigran, Spalt, and Kamol, to PharmaSGP
    • The sale of OTC brands including Breathe Right® Nasal Strips to Foundation Consumer Healthcare
  • London Stock Exchange group plc on its US$1.1 billion sale of BETA+ to Clearlake Capital Group and Motive Partners
  • Swingers (indoor golf experience) on its financing round led by Cain international and Knighthead Capital Management
  • Threads, on its divestment of a majority stake to Chalhoub
  • Delivery Associates on its sale to Trill Impact
  • Easybrain, on its acquisition by Embracer Group
  • Celsius Network on an investment led by WestCap and CDPQ
  • Ascential plc on various transactions, including on: 
    • Its acquisition of Shenzhen 4KMiles Technologies 
    • Its acquisition of Sellics
  • Authentic Brands Group on its US$2.5 billion acquisition of Reebok
  • Stormlight Holdings in a significant investment into Swansea City Football Club
  • BDT Capital on its acquisition of Fox International
  • SENT Entertainment Ltd on its acquisition of Como 1907, an Italy-based football club
  • Cain International on its equity investment in the Beverly Hills Hilton and the Waldorf-Astoria Beverly Hills
  • Israel Chemicals Limited on its US$1 billion sale of its fire safety and oil additives business units to SK Capital Partners
  • KSL Capital on the acquisition by Apple Leisure Group
  • The sellers on the disposal of Method and Ecover to SC Johnson
  • Emperador on its acquisition of The Dalmore, Jura, and Whyte & Mackay whisky brands from Diageo*
  • Big Bus Tours shareholders on the sale to Exponent*
  • Coca-Cola Iberian Partners on its three-way merger with Coca-Cola Enterprises and Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetränke*
  • Kop Football Limited on the acquisition of Liverpool Football Club plc* 
  • Manchester United Football Club on corporate finance matters and significant commercial matters*

*Matter handled prior to joining Latham

Bar Qualification

  • England and Wales (Solicitor)

Education

  • Postgraduate Diploma in Law, College of Law
  • CPE, College of Law
  • BA, University of Leeds