Alston & Bird client CommScope Inc., a global leader in network infrastructure solutions, has agreed to acquire ARRIS International plc in a private equity-backed deal valued at $7.4 billion.
The combination of CommScope and ARRIS – an innovator in entertainment and communications IP, video, and broadband technology – would create a communications infrastructure and equipment company with approximately $11.3 billion in revenue and position it to benefit from key industry trends, including network convergence, fiber and mobility everywhere, 5G, and Internet of Things.
As part of the deal, global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group will make a $1 billion minority equity investment in CommScope. The investment will help finance the deal as well as bring Carlyle back as an investor in CommScope, which Carlyle acquired through a private buyout in 2011 and then took public in 2013.
Based in North Carolina, CommScope operates in more than 100 countries and has over 22,000 employees, while ARRIS, headquartered in Georgia, has some 6,000 employees working in more than 30 countries. Both companies list on the Nasdaq stock market.
Alston & Bird, which served as lead counsel in the deal, previously represented CommScope in 2015 in its $3 billion acquisition of Switzerland-based TE Connectivity’s Telecom, Enterprise and Wireless businesses.
Advising CommScope in the ARRIS transaction is an Alston & Bird team led by partners Mark Kelly, William Snyder, and Scott Ortwein, senior associate Ben Weadon, and associates Dan Rowe and Claudia Golden (Corporate & Business Transactions); partners Mike Stevens and Blake MacKay (Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation); partner John Baron (Tax); partners Ross Barton and Chris Gegg (Intellectual Property); partner Brett Coburn (Labor & Employment); partner John Latham (Securities Litigation); partner Jason Waite (International Trade & Regulatory); partner Jeff Belkin (Government Contracts); partner Maureen Gorsen (Environment, Land Use & Natural Resources); and counsel Helen Christakos (Privacy & Data Security).
The combination of CommScope and ARRIS – an innovator in entertainment and communications IP, video, and broadband technology – would create a communications infrastructure and equipment company with approximately $11.3 billion in revenue and position it to benefit from key industry trends, including network convergence, fiber and mobility everywhere, 5G, and Internet of Things.
As part of the deal, global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group will make a $1 billion minority equity investment in CommScope. The investment will help finance the deal as well as bring Carlyle back as an investor in CommScope, which Carlyle acquired through a private buyout in 2011 and then took public in 2013.
Based in North Carolina, CommScope operates in more than 100 countries and has over 22,000 employees, while ARRIS, headquartered in Georgia, has some 6,000 employees working in more than 30 countries. Both companies list on the Nasdaq stock market.
Alston & Bird, which served as lead counsel in the deal, previously represented CommScope in 2015 in its $3 billion acquisition of Switzerland-based TE Connectivity’s Telecom, Enterprise and Wireless businesses.
Advising CommScope in the ARRIS transaction is an Alston & Bird team led by partners Mark Kelly, William Snyder, and Scott Ortwein, senior associate Ben Weadon, and associates Dan Rowe and Claudia Golden (Corporate & Business Transactions); partners Mike Stevens and Blake MacKay (Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation); partner John Baron (Tax); partners Ross Barton and Chris Gegg (Intellectual Property); partner Brett Coburn (Labor & Employment); partner John Latham (Securities Litigation); partner Jason Waite (International Trade & Regulatory); partner Jeff Belkin (Government Contracts); partner Maureen Gorsen (Environment, Land Use & Natural Resources); and counsel Helen Christakos (Privacy & Data Security).