Kurt Ma

Kurt Ma
  1. People /

Kurt Ma

Kurt Ma

Partner

Kurt Ma
  1. People /

Kurt Ma

Kurt Ma

Partner

Kurt Ma

Partner

London

T: +44 (0) 20 3400 4807

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Biography

Kurt is an experienced, international corporate lawyer. He is recognised for his sector knowledge and expertise in financial services and technology, and is regularly published and quoted in the legal press.

Recent transactions have included advising in respect of digital and telecommunications infrastructure, data centres, AI-led technologies, gaming and gambling technologies, medical writing and technology and insuretech.

Kurt acts for a wide range of clients, from governments, private equity and other institutional investors to entrepreneurs and high net worth individuals. Areas of expertise include:

  • cross-border mergers and acquisitions;
  • corporate governance;
  • strategic reorganisations and restructurings;
  • private equity and venture capital;
  • joint ventures and partnerships;
  • corporate insurance; and
  • pensions de-risking and other aspects of risk transfer and management.

Before joining BCLP, Kurt trained and practised at Slaughter and May in London. He also practised as a visiting lawyer at Simpson Thacher Bartlett in New York and at JunHe in Beijing.

Civic Involvement & Honors

  • Director, The Bridge Multi-Academy Trust, a network of mainstream and special schools across the UK
  • Business Mentor, UnLtd Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs
  • Freeman, City of London Solicitors' Company
  • Fellow, Cambridge Commonwealth Trust

Professional Affiliations

  • Law Society of England and Wales
  • UK Federation of Chinese Professionals

Spoken Languages

  • English
  • Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Chinese (Cantonese)

Admissions

  • England and Wales

Education

BPP Law School, London, Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, 2009

Christ’s College, University of Cambridge, BA Hons (English and Law), 2007

Experience

Aegion Corporation, owned by New York-based investment firm New Mountain Capital, on the management buyout of its EMEA corrosion and cathodic protection business.

Go Global Travel, an Israeli B2B technology company that provides travel distribution services, on its acquisition of RoomsXML Solutions and its subsidiaries and businesses in India, New Zealand, Australia, the UAE and the UK.

Voneus Broadband, a digital infrastructure platform controlled by Macquarie and Israel Infrastructure Fund, on its acquisition of, and related joint venture arrangements with, Rural Broadband Solutions Holdings Limited, providing the combined group with £250 million of funding commitments.

IS Dongseo, a publicly-listed conglomerate in South Korea, on its acquisition of an electric vehicle battery recycling business based in Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.

Bunge Ventures, a U.S. venture capital firm, in relation to its portfolio of ESG investments, including its investments in Phycobloom (alternative and sustainable fuel technologies), Zero Carbon Capital (deep-tech climate investments) and Agrotoken (tokenization of agricultural commodities).

Veristat, a global clinical research organization, on its acquisition of Scinopsis, a European medical writing consultancy based in France and the UK.

Dragonfly Eye, a geopolitical and security intelligence provider, on its sale to FiscalNote Holdings, Inc., a NASDAQ-listed, AI-driven provider of global policy and market intelligence.

Kao Data, a data centre developer and operator, on the sale of its wholly‑owned subsidiary, KD 4 Limited, to Legal & General Capital Investments Limited and Hockham Investments.

An international energy company, listed on the UK AIM market, on its proposed acquisition of 50% of a European oil and gas exploration business, together with related joint venture arrangements.

Agilitas Private Equity on the buyout of Prodieco Advanced Engineering Solutions, which specialises in precision engineering for European blister packaging lines for pharmaceutical, animal and consumer health market products.

Playtech, a public company listed on the main board of the London Stock Exchange, on the proposed sale of its financial trading division, Finalto, to a consortium led by Israeli private equity group Barinboim Group and, subsequently, to Gopher Investments, a Cayman-based investment vehicle affiliated with investment and advisory firm TT Bond Partners, for US$250 million.

STS Education, a global education company headquartered in Sweden, on the sale of Language Study Centres, which operates summer camps across the south of the UK, to Bayswater Education.

Harwell Oxford Partners on the sale of its 25% stake in the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, which houses the UK’s first dedicated Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre, to Brookfield Asset Management.

Cantor Fitzgerald on the potential sale of its European mid-cap and AIM corporate finance arms.

Blandford Capital on its acquisition of interests in nursery group Three Little Birds Nurseries and Crystal Childcare Limited, a group of day-nurseries in London, together with related shareholders’ arrangements with management and DMC Capital, a London-based private equity and venture capital alternative investment firm.

Fidelidade, a Portuguese insurance company, on its acquisition of a majority stake in Tenax Capital, an investment management firm offering portfolio management, financial planning, and investment advisory services, together with related shareholders’ arrangements between Fidelidade and minority shareholder Petito Limited.

Global Infrastructure Partners on the auction sale, together with its co-investors, of a 50.01% shareholding in London Gatwick Airport to VINCI Airports, valuing Gatwick at £8.3 billion on a cash and debt free basis.

Drax Group on the £700 million acquisition of a portfolio of pumped storage, hydro and gas-fired generation assets from Scottish Power, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Iberdrola S.A..

UK Asset Resolution on: (i) the auction sale of Bradford & Bingley’s mortgage portfolio to Prudential and Blackstone for c. £12 billion; (ii) the sale of Bradford & Bingley’s mortgage servicing business to Computershare covering £30 billion of assets; and (iii) the auction sale of the Northern Rock mortgage portfolio to Cerberus for c. £13 billion.

Schroders PLC on the sale by the Vicarello Partnership of its shares in Vicarello S.p.A. to Schroder Investment Company Limited.

Correlation Investments et al. on the auction sale of a minority stake in an insurance distribution business and insurance underwriting business.

Providence Equity LLP on the US$1 billion sale of Krea, Turkey's largest provider of pay television services, to beIN Media Group LLC.

CDC Group PLC on the sale of its stake in Nigeria’s Diamond Bank to Kunoch Holdings.

Swiss Re Ltd on its sale to MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc. of 5% in the ReAssure Group, a market-leading UK closed life book consolidator, and related joint venture agreements, valuing ReAssure at GBP 3.5 billion and involving MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc. committing to future investments of up to USD 1 billion.

Banque PSA Finance on its wholesale and retail financing joint venture with Santander Consumer Finance and a related sale for a loan note of £1.1 billion and £120 million of consideration shares.

Virgin Group Investments Limited on the sale of a majority stake in Virgin Active Group Holdings plc to South African investment firm Brait for US$1 billion.

QBE European Operations plc in relation to its court-sanctioned capital reduction of c. £1.6 billion.

Imperial Chemical Industries Limited and Akzo Nobel N.V. on the de-risking of the ICI Pension Fund by way of a circa £8 billion transaction.

Siemens on the disposal of Siemens' entire 50% stake in its joint venture, Nokia Siemens Networks, to Nokia (the other joint venture party) for EUR 1.7 billion.

Carlsberg on its proposed entry into the Chinese market via an acquisition of a Chinese brewery.

Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation on its acquisition of NASDAQ-listed Vital Images, Inc., a provider of advanced visualization and analysis software for healthcare specialists, for approximately US$273 million.

Resources

Publications

Media Mentions

  • "BCLP Gaming Guru Talks M&A After Microsoft-Activision” – Law360 (January 2024)
  • “Savvy's Scopely Buy Is Part Of Saudi Plan For Gaming Empire” – Law360 (April 2023)
  • “Microsoft Licensing Push Is Key To Fate Of Activision Deal” – Law360 (March 2023)
  • “Video Game M&A Stays Resilient Amid Wider Slowdown” – Law360 (March 2023)
  • “The Next Big Thing – M&A in Video Games and Tech” – Agenda Week, a Financial Times publication for public board directors (July 2022)

Speaking Engagements

  • How to sell your video games company and make lots of money - Goldsmiths College, University of London (March 2024)
  • Distressed and Strategic M&A in 2023: Key Considerations – LexisNexis Webinars (June 2023)
  • M&A, video gaming and the metaverse – London Business School (September 2022)

Related Insights

News
15 February 2024

BCLP advised Aegion Corporation on the sale of Corrpro Companies Europe Limited

BCLP advised Aegion Corporation (“Aegion”) in connection with the management buyout of its EMEA corrosion and cathodic protection business, Corrpro Companies Europe Limited. The transaction completed on 9 February 2024.
Insights
Feb 13, 2024

English Court decides Covid-19 is a “catastrophe”

The English Court has, for the first time, considered the meaning of a “catastrophe”, as well as how Hours Clauses work in the context of non-damage business interruption losses claimed under two Property Catastrophe Excess of Loss Reinsurance Treaties.  While the Covid-19 pandemic may feel like a distant memory to some, disputes about the recovery of Covid-19 losses continue to trouble many reinsureds and reinsurers.  The two key issues considered by the Commercial Court in determining appeals from arbitration awards made in Unipol Re v Covéa and Markel v Gen Re may bring welcome, and valuable, guidance to those in the reinsurance industry debating these terms. Those underwriting or purchasing “catastrophe” covers may also want to carefully consider this judgment and whether the Court’s approach to the meaning of that word aligns with their coverage expectations.
Insights
9 August 2022

M&A, video games and the next big thing

M&A in video gaming is not slowing down any time soon because investors are finally starting to recognise that gaming is a gateway into other sectors, the obvious beneficiaries being fintech, infrastructure, big data, and real estate

Related Insights

News
15 February 2024
BCLP advised Aegion Corporation on the sale of Corrpro Companies Europe Limited
BCLP advised Aegion Corporation (“Aegion”) in connection with the management buyout of its EMEA corrosion and cathodic protection business, Corrpro Companies Europe Limited. The transaction completed on 9 February 2024.
Insights
Feb 13, 2024
English Court decides Covid-19 is a “catastrophe”
The English Court has, for the first time, considered the meaning of a “catastrophe”, as well as how Hours Clauses work in the context of non-damage business interruption losses claimed under two Property Catastrophe Excess of Loss Reinsurance Treaties.  While the Covid-19 pandemic may feel like a distant memory to some, disputes about the recovery of Covid-19 losses continue to trouble many reinsureds and reinsurers.  The two key issues considered by the Commercial Court in determining appeals from arbitration awards made in Unipol Re v Covéa and Markel v Gen Re may bring welcome, and valuable, guidance to those in the reinsurance industry debating these terms. Those underwriting or purchasing “catastrophe” covers may also want to carefully consider this judgment and whether the Court’s approach to the meaning of that word aligns with their coverage expectations.
News
Jan 12, 2024
Kurt Ma weighs in on the outlook for gaming deals in 2024
News
25 August 2023
BCLP advises IS Dongseo Co. Ltd on its acquisition of BTS Technology for c. US$28 million
News
Jan 27, 2023
BCLP advises Dragonfly on its sale to FiscalNote Holdings, Inc.
Insights
Jan 06, 2023
Foreign direct investment - Practical considerations for buyers and sellers
News
Jan 03, 2023
Partner authors article in 'Law360' on FDI considerations
Insights
9 August 2022
M&A, video games and the next big thing
M&A in video gaming is not slowing down any time soon because investors are finally starting to recognise that gaming is a gateway into other sectors, the obvious beneficiaries being fintech, infrastructure, big data, and real estate
News
Jul 28, 2022
BCLP Partner quoted in ‘Agenda’ on M&A in the video games sector