Simpson Thacher is a leader in organizing and bringing to market sophisticated private equity funds.  Principal clients in this area are LBO funds, including many of the largest sponsors of private equity funds, but our practice also involves hedge, venture capital and real estate funds, among others.  For example, the Firm represents the Blackstone Group, the Carlyle Group and J.E. Robert Companies in the formation of real estate opportunity funds and their transactions. 

The Firm’s tax attorneys play an important role in structuring and documenting these private equity and real estate opportunity funds, providing advice on partnership issues and other tax considerations to the fund sponsors and to taxable and tax-exempt domestic investors, as well as foreign individual and corporate investors and sovereign wealth funds.  The Firm also provides counsel to clients forming funds in foreign jurisdictions.  For example, the Firm has advised EQT in the formation of the largest European private equity fund and Advantage Partners in the formation of the largest Japanese private equity fund at the time.

In addition, over the last few years, we have also been a the forefront of raising permanent capital for our clients, by taking some of our private equity fund clients public through complex innovative structures.