Roddy Martin
Roddy has almost 30 years' experience of advising on a wide variety of M&A transactions.
Roddy has considerable experience of advising on cross-border M&A deals, both inbound and outbound, notably those involving newly-industrialised economies, particularly India and China, with a focus on public takeovers, schemes of arrangement, sell-side and buy-side private auctions and bi-laterals, joint ventures, buyouts and minority participations.
Roddy is client relationship partner for a number of FTSE companies and international conglomerates.
He heads the firm's global Automotive practice and India Corporate practice.
"Pragmatic and highly effective", Legal 500 UK
"Very pragmatic and helpful", Chambers Asia Pacific
Ranked individual, Chambers Global - Corporate/M&A (expertise based abroad) - India
Background
Roddy graduated from Southampton University in 1992 with a Bachelor of Laws with Honours. He completed the Law Society Finals with Honours in 1993. He qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales with Herbert Smith in 1995. He qualified as a solicitor in Hong Kong in 2006 where he worked between 2005 and 2007. Roddy joined Herbert Smith in 1993 and has been a partner since 2003.
Experience & expertise
Selected matters
- Inchcape, the world’s largest independent automotive distributor, in relation to various matters, including its £1.3 billion cash and shares business combination with Derco, the largest independent automotive distributor in Latin America, and on its disposal of Inchcape Fleet Solutions to Toyota Financial Services
- Airtel Africa on $550 million of investments into its mobile money platform, Airtel Mobile Commerce, from MasterCard, TPG, Qatar Holding and Chimera Investment which valued the mobile money business at $2.65 billion
- TUI Travel on its £5.2 billion merger by scheme of arrangement with TUI AG to create one of the first German incorporated, LSE listed, FTSE companies
- PA Consulting Group on the controlling investment by scheme of arrangement from The Carlyle Group, valuing PA at $1 billion
- Reliance Communications on its proposed $1.6 billion sale of its telecom towers business to Brookfield Infrastructure
- United Spirits on its £430 million disposal by auction sale of Whyte & Mackay to Emperador
- United Breweries on the partial disposal of its interests in United Spirits to Diageo, with a deal value of £1.2 billion
- the owners of Harrods (a Fayed family trust) on the £1.5 billion+ sale of Harrods Group to Qatar Holding, the investment arm of the Qatar Investment Authority
- China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) on its $18.5 billion merger proposal with Unocal Corporation
- the seven global investment banks providing the equity bridge on Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co/Pessina's £11 billion takeover of Alliance Boots
- major national oil companies on their proposed takeovers of Bowleven, First Calgary and Petrokazakhstan
