Jonathan Stephenson

Jonathan Stephenson advises on commercial, technology, intellectual property, AI, data protection and cybersecurity matters, as well as on corporate transactions and carve-outs. Mr. Stephenson has counseled a wide range of international clients, from startups to multinational corporations, across sectors such as technology, gaming, finance, infrastructure, telecommunications, government, insurance, health care, automotive and energy.

Mr. Stephenson’s recent experience includes advising:

Commercial Transactions

• 58.com Inc. on its acquisition of Gumtree.com Limited, the company’s first acquisition outside of China
• Tom Ford International on the $2.8 billion sale of the TOM FORD fashion brand and IP to Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
• BlackRock, Inc. on the $12 billion acquisition of HPS Investment Partners, LLC
• Hologic, Inc. on the carve-out and sale of SuperSonic Imagine SA
• Mars, Incorporated on its $35.9 billion acquisition of Kellanova
• I Squared Capital Advisors LLC on its acquisition of Arriva Plc from Deutsche Bahn
• EG Group on multiple sales, including its U.K. KFC business to Yum! Brands, Inc. and its U.K. and Ireland businesses to ASDA Group
• Corebridge Financial, Inc. on the sale of its U.K. life insurance business to Aviva plc
• JAB Holding Company on multiple acquisitions, including a majority stake in Cardif Pinnacle Insurance plc from BNP Paribas Cardif

Intellectual Property (IP) and Technology

• Renault on definitive IP agreements with Nissan as part of Nissan’s strategic investment in Ampere, Renault’s electric vehicle company
• Reliance Industries Limited on its $8.5 billion joint venture with Viacom 18 Media Private Limited and The Walt Disney Company to combine Viacom 18 and Star India Private Limited
• Eyebiotech Limited on its acquisition by Merck & Co., Inc.
• Aptean, Inc. on multiple acquisitions, including of Drink-IT and SSG Insight Technologies Limited
• clients on complex IP development and commercialisation arrangements, global outsourcing/IT projects, cloud contracts (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS) and transitional services arrangements

Cybersecurity and Data Privacy

• clients on privacy and cybersecurity governance, strategy and compliance, addressing issues involving consumers, marketing, data optimisation, e-commerce and encryption, as well as on implementing multijurisdictional products and services

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• clients on AI governance and policy formulation, including with regard to IP and privacy issues in AI development and deployment, as well as on assessing AI regulations
• clients on the end-to-end integration of AI systems and compliance with regulatory requirements