ECI Partners, the leading growth-focused mid-market private equity firm, has announced its investment in TAG, the market leading high-touch travel management company to the entertainment and corporate markets.
International legal practice Osborne Clarke advised the management team of TAG in connection with their reinvestment in the group alongside ECI Partners. The corporate team was led by partners Mike Freer and Leanne Wright and included associate Jack Harris, with Edward Aves and Sophia Margetts. Associate Sarah Smith provided employment advice.
The transaction marks a significant milestone as it facilitates an exit for Apiary Capital, which has supported TAG since 2018 and will make a 4x return.
TAG was founded in 1988 and now employs more than 450 people across the globe. As an award-winning travel and event management company, TAG has redefined the standards for travel in the entertainment industry with specialists providing bespoke, high-end service to some of the biggest names in music, film and TV production as well as top C-suite and corporate executives.
With a track record of eight successful acquisitions during Apiary’s ownership, TAG is poised for further expansion with ECI's backing, bolstering its platform and enhancing its bespoke offering to its client base around the world.
Osborne Clarke's dedicated management advisory lawyers supported us every step of the way and they ensured we had the appropriate coverage in respect of our reinvestment into the business.
Jens Penny, CEO of TAG said, "This transaction was a fantastic milestone for TAG Group and having a legal advisor focussed on protecting the interests of the management team was really important to me and my team. Osborne Clarke's dedicated management advisory lawyers supported us every step of the way and they ensured we had the appropriate coverage in respect of our reinvestment into the business. I am grateful to Mike, Leanne and the team for their hard work, and ability to communicate complex ideas in a relatable way".
Osborne Clarke has a long and illustrious heritage in acting for management teams. Indeed we are one of only a handful of City law firms that have a specialist team of lawyers who are focused on supporting management teams through the complexities of completing a management buyout.
Our specialist Management Advisory Group has many years’ of in-depth direct experience of providing pragmatic and commercially focused advice to senior managers wanting to buy the companies they manage, or carry out a secondary buy-out of a business already backed by private equity.
