Law Business Research Ltd. (“LBR”), a portfolio company of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners VI, L.P. (“LLCP”), announced that it has partnered with management to acquire Globe Business Media Group (“Globe” or the “Company”). Globe is a leading provider of business intelligence for the international legal and intellectual property markets and produces vital, timely and actionable commercial insights for its clients. The Company’s flagship platform, Lexology, informs in-house counsel and connects them with the world’s leading law firms. Globe is headquartered in London with an additional office in Hong Kong.
LBR provides information services to the international legal community through a portfolio of physical and online publications and research tools. LBR specializes in making essential and unique content accessible to its user base. Together, LBR and Globe will create one of the largest providers of market leading, business intelligence to the global legal services market.
According to Paul Howarth, CEO of LBR, “We are very excited at the prospect of working with the team at Globe. The combination of LBR and Globe brings together market-leading data, content and analytical capability – all across a significantly increased geographic footprint. Armed with the ongoing support from LLCP, we are in a position to provide better products and services to our clients and to continue to innovate in the industry.”
Regarding the transaction, Nick Brailey, CEO of Globe, commented, “We are thrilled to partner with LBR and by sharing our combined legal market knowledge we can accelerate the delivery of our world class products and services to the global legal services market. LBR and Globe’s product portfolios are extremely complementary, specialising in different legal verticals and by combining forces we can offer a more comprehensive product offering for the benefit of our entire client base. Additionally, we see LLCP as a value-added partner who brings strategic, financial and M&A expertise to support the continued growth of the combined companies.”
John O’Neill, Managing Director of LLCP, stated, “This opportunity demonstrates our continued support of this important investment. Globe, similar to LBR, is a best-in-class business with a clear runway for significant growth. This is an exciting opportunity, and we are confident in the future success of the combined business under Paul and Nick’s leadership.”
LBR and LLCP were advised by Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Deloitte LLP. Globe was advised by Raymond James, Liberty and CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP.