International law firm Bird & Bird advised privately held software company Rocket Software, Inc. on the acquisition of the Application Modernization and Connectivity (“AMC”) business of Open Text, formerly part of MicroFocus.
Bird & Bird advised Rocket Software on the transaction in 27 jurisdictions predominantly in Europe and Asia (Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore) through its own lawyers and commissioned partner law firms. The focus was on supporting European aspects of the purchase agreement at the end of 2023 and then on the transfer of AMC employees after the agreement was reached.
The acquisition agreement was signed at the end of November 2023 and closed on May 1, 2024.
Rocket Software has decades of experience in solving complex IT challenges for the largest and most innovative companies. With the acquisition of the AMC business, Rocket Software now offers its customers modernisation software solutions that span from the mainframe to the cloud and has built a more diverse portfolio that closely aligns with customer needs.
Rocket Software was advised by the following Bird & Bird lawyers: Partner Stefan Münch, Counsel Dr. Christina Lorenz, LL.M. and associates Kilian Hummel and Marina Dolina, LL.M. (all Corporate/M&A, Munich/Frankfurt), partner Dr. Ralph Panzer (lead) and associates Dr. Maximilian Koch, Christoph Lutz and Vincent Kirsch (all Employment, Munich), partner Thomas Hey and associates Alisa Nentwig and Julia Bellinger (all Employment/Pensions, Düsseldorf), partner Dr. Rolf Schmich (Tax, Frankfurt), partner Amedeo Rampolla and associate Marco Preti (both Employment, Milan), partner Stefano Silvestri and associates Linda Pietrostefani and Giorgio Cesari (all Corporate/M&A, Milan), partner Miguel Pastur and associate Carlos Zabala (both Employment, Madrid), partner Lourdes Ayala, associates Antonio Ballesteros and Mónica Sangalli (all Corporate/M&A, Madrid), partner Nathalie Devernay (Employment, Lyon), partner Bertrand Levy, partner Etienne Guillou and associate Clémence Breuil (all Corporate/M&A, Paris), partner Philip Hartman and associate Anne-Aimée Dabekaussen (both Employment, The Hague), partner Katarina Åhlberg and associate Dasha Arntyr (both Employment, Stockholm), partner Teea Kemppinen and associate Noora Heinonen (both Employment, Helsinki), partner Pieter de Koster, partner Anton Aerts and associate Jehan de Wasseige (all Employment, Brussels), partner Cedric Berckmans, Counsel Erik Holmgren and associate Stan Prenen (all Corporate/M&A, Brussels), partner Brendan O’Brien, associates Daniel Faulkner and Nadine McMahon, (all Corporate/M&A, Dublin), partner Karolina Stawicka and associate Pawel Wyrebek (both Employment, Warsaw), partner Diana Purdy and associate Jacky Chan (both Employment, Hong Kong), partner Seow Hui Goh and associate Samantha Lau (both Employment, Singapore), partner Sandra Seah and Counsel Jonathan Kao (both Corporate/M&A, Singapore).
Inhouse Law: Matthew L. Vittiglio (associate General Counsel, Waltham (United States))
Law firms in Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Switzerland, Brazil, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and Malaysia were also commissioned.
