Erevena Ltd

Meridian advised the shareholders of Erevena Limited on the corporate restructure and raised a debt package from Santander.

With offices in London, San Francisco, Paris, Copenhagen, Stockholm and New York, Erevena is a global executive search firm that helps high-growth, innovative companies identify and recruit Board and C-suite executives and assists them in building their teams. They work with some of the fastest growing companies in the world, from early stage through growth and to exit; the VCs and Private Equity firms that back them; and with publicly traded companies undergoing transformation.

Meridian engaged with Erevena to discuss their long-term objectives and the options available to the existing shareholders to incentivise and retain key team members as part of the company’s growth ambitions. This culminated in widening the shareholder base using a newco structure, with senior and junior members of staff being given the opportunity to participate in equity.

The restructure was completed in October 2021. Philip Mettam and Hattie Hole at Meridian led the deal, with tax advice from DSA and legal advice from Osborne Clarke.

Following this, a term loan and revolving credit facility was issued by Santander in June 2022. Legal advice was given by Shoosmiths and Trethowans. James Cowper Kreston undertook the due diligence.

Dan Hyde, CEO, commented on the transaction, “The team at Meridian have provided us with exceptional long-term support. They invested the time to really understand our priorities and led us through the options available to our business. Once we identified the best way forward they did a brilliant job at guiding us through the process and finding us the right partner in Santander. We would like to thank them for their unwavering support and patience through this whole process. We would also like to thank Santander for their partnership in the next chapter of the company’s growth. And lastly, thanks to everyone else who gave us their time and attention through the process, including those who we didn’t get the opportunity to partner with on this occasion.”

Hattie Hole, Manager at Meridian commented, “The international nature of the business and the depth of the shareholding structure added complexities to the process, however with a team of excellent professionals, we were able to structure a deal which meets the stakeholders' aims. It was a pleasure working with the team, and we are excited to watch the company continue its ambitious growth strategy.”