Sarah Gadd, partner in Latham & Watkins' London office, is part of the Executive Compensation, Employment & Benefits Practice. She advises a wide range of clients on all aspects of employment law, human resource (HR) issues, benefits, and incentives, including share-based incentives. Sarah primarily handles employment and share-based incentives law matters and the HR and benefits aspects of corporate deals, particularly deals with an international reach. She has also acted for the client and the supplier on a number of outsourcing matters. Sarah advises on matters including recruitment and severance, downsizing, transfers of undertakings, employee consultation, day to day employment law issues, benefits, and incentives. She also advises extensively on stock options and other forms of share-based compensation.

Sarah also advises on employee-related aspects of the UK corporate governance and financial regulatory regimes including the application of the FCA Remuneration Code, Prospectus and Listing Rules, the Takeover Code, and the UK Corporate Governance Code to employees and incentives.

She is a member of Employment Lawyers Association and the Share Plan Lawyers group.

Sarah’s experience includes advising the clients listed below on the employment and incentives aspects of the following transactions: 

  • Ares Management Corporation in its US$3.7 billion acquisition of GCP International
  • Platinum Equity on its C$1.35 billion acquisition of Héroux-Devtek
  • Cadence Design Systems on its US$1.24 billion acquisition of BETA CAE Systems International AG, the provider of computer aided engineering and automation software tools and practices in simulation and analysis processes
  • Entrust, a global leader in trusted payments, identities, and data security, on its acquisition of Onfido, a global leader in cloud-based, AI-powered identity verification technology
  • Block M Shareholders on the sale of a 50.03% stake in Lightsource bp, a UK-based developer and operator of solar power plants, to BP plc
  • Abcam, a biotechnology company, on its sale to Danaher
  • CoStar Group, Inc. on its acquisition of OnTheMarket, a UK-based property portal operator
  • GTCR on the acquisition of a majority stake in Worldpay, a leading global provider of payment processing solutions, from FIS
  • Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. II in Business Combination with Air Water Ventures Ltd
  • Bosch Rexroth in the cross-border acquisition of HydraForce, a manufacturer of compact hydraulic valves
  • Virtual1 Limited and the Management Vendors on the sale of Virtual1 Limited to Tosca IoM Finco Limited, a holding company of TalkTalk Telecom Group Limited
  • PZ Cussons on the £40 million acquisition of Tadley Holdings Ltd
  • Eleusis on its US$446 Million Merger with Silver Spike Acquisition Corp. II
  • Onex on the acquisition of Tes Global, which publishes the Times Education Supplement magazine, from Providence Equity
  • Landon Capital on its investment in a consortium of US family offices that acquired Paladone Holdings Limited, a lifestyle products and wholesale gift supply company
  • Endeavour on the US$775 million acquisition by CJ ENM of a Controlling Stake in Endeavor Content, a leading entertainment company
  • Expensify, a payments superapp, on its US$262.7 million initial public offering on NASDAQ
  • Ouster on its acquisition of Sense Photonics, a developer of digital sensors for the automotive industry
  • 888 on its £2.2 billion acquisition of William Hill International
  • A Cloud Guru, a leading cloud skills development platform, on its sale to Pluralsight
  • Centricus Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company, on its US$1 billion business combination with Arqit, a London-based developer of a quantum encryption platform
  • Darktrace on its £1.7 billion initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange
  • The joint global coordinators, joint bookrunners, and underwriters on Deliveroo Holding plc’s initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange
  • Blackstone Infrastructure Partners on the recommended offer for Applegreen plc, a company that operates a number of petrol stations in Ireland
  • Leonard Green & Partners in its acquisition of ECI Software, a leader in cloud-based business management software solutions for small and medium sized companies
  • Betbull Limited in strategic combination with the interactive assets of Wynn Resorts to create Wynn Interactive
  • Leonard Green & Partners and its portfolio company CPA Global, a leader in intellectual property software and tech-enabled services, on its US$6.8 billion combination with Clarivate plc, a leader in providing trusted information and insights to accelerate the pace of innovation
  • ESR Cayman Limited on its US$1.6 billion initial public offering
  • Interswitch on its strategic partnership with VISA
  • Equistone Partners Europe on the acquisition of Moody’s Analytics Knowledge Services, a UK-based provider of bespoke research, analytics, and automation technology 
  • TechnipFMC plc in its spin-off of its Onshore/Offshore segment to create two industry-leading, publicly traded companies
  • A consortium led by Blackstone and CVC Capital Partners on its £2.96 billion offer for Paysafe Group plc, a leading global provider of end to end payment solutions. The deal represents the largest public-to-private deal under the UK Takeover Code since 2010 
  • Netflix on its acquisition of Millarworld
  • Chinese-listed client Hytera Communications Corporation Limited in connection with its acquisition of London Stock Exchange listed digital radio products manufacturer Sepura Group plc by way of Takeover Code scheme of arrangement
  • Repsol, a Spanish alternative energy company, on its acquisition of Sea Energies
  • OpenTable on its acquisition of Toptable and subsequent HR integration and day to day employment issues
  • Hellman & Friedman on the acquisition of Scout24 from Deutsche Telekom in a €2 billion transaction
  • Ares on its acquisitions of London Square and Farrow & Ball
  • RPC Group plc on its £261 million acquisition of British Polythene Industries plc
  • Various listed companies on their director remuneration reports and corporate governance requirements
  • Yucaipa on the employment and management incentive aspects of its purchase of Soho House group
  • A leading financial institution on the renegotiation of a multi-jurisdictional outsourcing project involving employees in the UK, Europe, and Far East
  • Diageo plc on international executive employment issues
  • Ares Management Limited on its day to day employment issues
  • Various technology companies on setting up tax approved EMI and CSOP share option plans for their UK employees
  • Yahoo! on the HR, stock option, and employment aspects of its purchase of Maktoob.com, the largest internet portal operator in the Middle East
  • A leading global sports apparel company on the application of the Prospectus Directive to its international stock purchase plans
  • Emaar Hotels & Restaurants on its High Court litigation with a former executive
  • Qatar Holdings, a subsidiary of the QIA, on its purchase of the Harrods Group
  • Charterhouse on its acquisition of Card Factory, a major UK greetings card business
  • A consortium consisting of Onex Corporation and another investor in their acquisition of Tomkins plc for approximately £2.9 billion
  • The Carlyle Group on the purchase of the Brintons carpet-manufacturing business
  • Callaway Golf Company in connection with its €418 million acquisition of Jack Wolfskin, a Germany-based outdoor clothing retailer
  • Acquisition by a consortium of investors led by Cinven Partners and Astorg Partners of LGC Group, a UK-based provider of chemical and biological, analytical, and diagnostic services

Bar Qualification

  • England and Wales (Solicitor)

Education

  • Legal Practice Course, Nottingham Law School, 2004
    with distinction
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Law, Nottingham Law School, 2004
    with distinction
  • BA (Hons), University of Cambridge, 2002
    First Class