Stephen Rosen

Stephen heads Cooley’s London corporate practice and has experience in acting for high-growth companies, investors, entrepreneurs and management teams on corporate transactions, with a particular focus on company sales and purchases, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity and venture capital financings across a range of industry sectors. Stephen also regularly acts for spinouts, VC-funded companies and well-known investors in the life sciences sector.

Clients have said that Stephen “is incredibly smart and switched on,” “can be tough when required but is also calm and fair,” and “stands out for his tenacity and ability to deliver practical solutions when problems arise.” Further comments note that “Stephen was acting on the other side to us, and we were so impressed we asked him to help us on our next deal.”

UK Chambers recognised Stephen in its Corporate/M&A: Mid-Market; Private Equity: Venture Capital Investment; and Life Sciences: Transactional categories. He also has been included in The Legal 500 UK’s Hall of Fame. Sources comment on his “well-calibrated” advice, as well as his “very user-friendly and commercial” approach.

Prior to joining Cooley in 2016, Stephen was a partner at Olswang for 14 years, where he was head of corporate, London, and head of private equity and venture capital.

Stephen’s representative matters include advising:

• Pizza Hut Restaurants UK and its senior leadership team, led by CEO Jens Hofma, on the management buyout of the business from Rutland Partners and in relation to its subsequent credit voluntary agreement
• The management team of CSL, an international critical communications service provider, on its significant investment from ECI Partners
• Primary Capital on its significant investment in Sigma Sports, the UK’s leading premium omnichannel retailer of cycling equipment
• The management team of Aspen Pumps, owned by 3i Group, on its sale to Inflexion Private Equity
• ICS Learn (a Primary Capital portfolio company) on its sale to EQT-backed Skill & You
• The management team of Autodata, a Five Arrows Principal Investment-backed business, on its sale to Solera Holdings
• The senior management of ATCORE Group, a leading travel technology company which provides specialist software platforms for the global leisure travel sector, on its acquisition by Inflexion Private Equity
• Horizon Capital, and its management shareholders, in the sale of Style Analytics to Investment Metrics, a portfolio company of private equity firm Resurgens Technology Partners
• The management team of insurance broker Aston Lark on further investment by Bowmark Capital and Goldman Sachs as part of its acquisition by Goldman Sachs’ merchant banking division
• The management team of Edif Group on its sale to RINA S.p.A., the holding company of the multinational testing, inspection, certification and consulting engineering group
• Syncsort, a global leader in big data and mainframe software, on its acquisition of Cogito, a UK software company that provides energy trading and risk management solutions
• Syncsort on its acquisition of Ivanti, a Clearlake Capital-backed company that is a leader in integrating and managing the IT digital workplace
• Gymbox on its £39 million investment from BGF and HSBC
• Lyceum Capital, the mid-market private equity house, on the management buyout of Style Research, a leading independent provider of global investment research and
  portfolio applications
• Primary Capital on its investment in GatenbySanderson, a market-leading provider of permanent and interim executives across public services and the not-for-profit sector
• Primary Capital and the shareholders of Leisure Pass, the largest attraction pass company in the world, on the sale of the company to an Exponent-backed new company
• The shareholders of Pacific Direct on its sale to Germany-based ADA Cosmetics, a leading international manufacturer of high-quality hotel cosmetics and accessories
• The management team of publisher Law Business Research (LBR), a leading provider of research news, data and insight on international business law and legal markets, on its sale to Levine Leichtman Capital Partners
• Livingbridge on its investment in The Up Group, Europe’s leading digital executive search and networking business
• Livingbridge on its investment in UK’s #1 premium biscuit brand Thomas J Fudge
• The shareholders of Convergence Pharmaceuticals on its acquisition by Biogen Idec for a $200 million upfront cash payment and up to $475 million further consideration based on future milestones; Stephen previously acted on the spinout of Convergence from GlaxoSmithKline, and the funding of the company from Apposite Capital, New Leaf Venture Partners and SV Life Sciences
• Orchard Therapeutics, a biotechnology company dedicated to transforming the lives of patients with rare disorders through innovative gene therapies, on its $110 million Series B financing round
• Medichem Manufacturing on its sale to Revolution Beauty Group
• Alcuin Capital on its investment in SF Engineering
• Alcuin Capital on its investment in the management buyout of Hartley Botanic
• Teneo on its acquisition of Ridgeway Partners, a leading advisory firm specialising in executive search, board appointments and succession planning
• Teneo in the acquisition of Ryan Communication, a leading strategic communications firm with operations in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore
• Teneo in the acquisition of management consulting firm Credo Business Consulting
• Teneo Strategy Belgium on acquisition of entire issued share capital of Cabinet DN

Rankings & Accolades:

• Chambers UK: Corporate/M&A: Mid-Market; Private Equity: Venture Capital Investment; and Life Sciences: Transactional (2017 – 2022)
• The Legal 500 UK: Hall of Fame (2017 – 2022)