Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised Yanolja Cloud Pte. Ltd. (“Yanolja Cloud”) on its acquisition of Go Global Travel from Gorilla Holdco Ltd, a subsidiary of leading global private equity firm Apax Partners.
Through the acquisition Yanolja Cloud expands its travel and hospitality inventory, enhancing its solution offerings and differentiation. The acquisition will also produce multiple benefits for new and existing Yanolja Cloud and Go Global Travel customers including greater global reach for businesses and more choice and personalisation for travellers.
Yanolja Cloud is the Singapore-incorporated subsidiary of Yanolja, a leading provider of AI-based solutions to the leisure and hospitality industries, helping businesses undergo digital transformation by offering a full suite of technology solutions.
Go Global Travel is a global B2B travel technology company that distributes travel products and services including hotel and resort rooms, airline tickets and car rentals.
As lead transaction counsel, WFW led and negotiated the entire transaction, including finalising the sale and purchase agreement and other transaction documents and working with relationship law firms in Asia, Europe and South America.
The multi-disciplinary cross-border WFW team that advised Yanolja Cloud was led by Singapore Corporate Partner Damian Adams and Seoul Dispute Resolution Partner Philip Kim, supported by Hong Kong Senior Associate, Oscar Wong, Singapore Associates Jolyn Wah and Sven Hofmann and London Trainee Mounah Abdallah. They worked closely with WFW teams in Madrid, led by Corporate Partner Ana Lorenzo; London, led Corporate Partners Christina Howard and, Mark Tooke, Competition Partner Solange Leandro and Employment Devan Khagram; New York, led by Corporate Partner Steven Hollander; and Hanoi, led by Projects and Corporate Partner Linh Doan.
The WFW Italy team that advised on the deal comprised Corporate Associate Francesco Vanzaghi, Senior Associates Roberta Sturiale and Arianna Neri and Trainees Salvatore Almanza and Alice Zago, Employment Counsel Roberta Cristaldi and Associate Giuseppe Fera, Regulatory and Public Law Associate Ludovica Cesari and Real Estate Counsel Alessia Giaccari and Associate Antonio Ferrero.
Damian commented: “This was a complex transaction that involved legal counsel from 15 jurisdictions, indicative of the growing cross-border M&A activity in the tech space. Working to an aggressive timetable to secure the deal for Yanolja Cloud, we successfully negotiated and finalised the deal in five weeks, reflecting our ability to mobilise resources quickly on important transactions. This deal showcases our global M&A capabilities, the strength of WFW’s Singapore corporate team and our growing expertise in the technology sector in Asia”.
Philip commented: “We are delighted to have supported Yanolja Cloud on such an important and significant transaction. Our work on this transaction reflects the strength of our Korea practice, as well as the depth and breadth of the firm’s capabilities for complex transactions involving multiple jurisdictions, especially in Asia and Europe. It is a real honour to be able to assist Yanolja Cloud on its international growth and we look forward to seeing Go Global Travel prosper under their ownership” .
