Baker McKenzie Acted on Arcapita’s acquisition of DataFlow Group
Baker McKenzie Acted on Arcapita’s acquisition of DataFlow Group
Baker McKenzie advised EQT Private Equity and other selling shareholders on the sale of their interests in the DataFlow Group, an international provider of credential verification services, to Arcapita Group Holdings Limited, a global alternative investment firm.
The acquisition is another milestone in Arcapita's growth strategy, which has seen the firm complete five direct investments and eight add-on acquisitions in the business services sector in the US and GCC over the past five years.
Arcapita is a global alternative investment firm with offices in Bahrain, Atlanta, London, and New York. The firm focuses on investing in private equity, venture capital, infrastructure, real estate, and multi-strategy products.
Baker McKenzie played a leading role in advising EQT Private Equity and other selling shareholders, demonstrating the firm's expertise in facilitating strategic global transactions.
The Baker McKenzie team, spanning various offices and practice areas, was led by Private Equity/M&A Partners Derek Poon and Tracy Wut. The core team from Baker McKenzie comprised Byron Frost (holding the position of counsel in Tokyo), Sunny Li (an associate in Hong Kong), Angie Yeung (a senior associate in Hong Kong), and Xinxing Chen (a partner in Hong Kong), all hailing from the Private Equity/M&A practice. Additionally, the team featured David Monnier, Harikumar Pillay (a principal in Singapore), and Vivian Tsang (an associate in Hong Kong) representing the Antitrust & Competition practice. The Tax practice was represented by Carrie Lui (serving as a special counsel in Hong Kong), while the Investigations, Compliance & Ethics practice saw the involvement of Mini vandePol (a partner in Hong Kong) and Gerald Lam (a senior associate in Hong Kong).
“We are very pleased to have assisted EQT Private Equity in relation to this transaction, which strongly positions DataFlow for its next phase of growth with Arcapita,” Derek Poon, who Heads Baker McKenzie’s Asia Pacific Private Equity Practice, said.
DataFlow Verification Services Limited, a subsidiary of The DataFlow Group, is a leading provider of regulation-mandated pre-employment primary source verification (PSV) services in the GCC. With over 850 employees in nine countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and a global network of more than 160,000 issuing authorities across 190 countries, DataFlow is a trusted partner for organizations seeking to verify the credentials of their job applicants.
During its tenure under EQT Private Equity's ownership, DataFlow transformed into a digitally empowered credential service provider with a distinct specialisation in offering primary source verification services required by regulations for pre-employment purposes.
