James Ford

Partner

James Ford is partner in the Investment Funds and Securitization Practice and works from O’Melveny’s London office. James has significant private equity and venture capital experience and focuses, in particular, on representing both general partners and limited partners in connection with the establishment of investment funds (both listed and unlisted) and on advising both purchasers and sellers of secondary investment portfolios.

Illustrative Professional Experience

• a wide range of portfolio acquisitions for a leading secondaries manager, including spin-out transactions from investment banks and corporate sellers including, most recently, acting for the buying syndicate in relation to the acquisition of a venture capital portfolio comprising around 30 separate investments;
• the acquisition by a sovereign wealth fund of an interest in a leading private equity management business;
• the formation of a US$1.5 billion single manager fund-of-funds listed on Euronext Amsterdam and of a permanent capital mezzanine fund for a leading US private equity house;
• establishment and fundraising for a series of funds for a global emerging markets manager;
• establishment of a range of mid-market funds focused on particular regions within continental Europe;
• advising major institutional limited partners, including sovereign wealth funds, on all aspects of their investment programmes;
• establishment, fundraising and admission to trading on the London markets (main market and AIM) for a number of closed-ended funds;
• substantial private equity acquisitions in the chemicals and pharmaceutical sectors

James is ranked as 'up and coming' by Chambers UK 2010 which notes that he "impresses clients as "a great negotiator with a proven ability to get things done." He handles private equity and venture capital work, and is "singularly committed to reaching the end goal.""