A partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group and co-head of UK Public M&A, Matthew Hearn advises clients on sophisticated domestic and cross-border corporate transactions, with a focus on public takeovers and complex private M&A across a broad range of industries.
Hearn’s public takeovers practice encompasses representing both bidders and target companies, including international and UK entities, in recommended, hostile and competitive situations. He also co-manages the firm’s UK Public M&A practice and is a member of the City of London Law Society’s Takeovers Working Group.
Hearn also has particular experience in the financial services sector, having advised banks, insurers and asset managers across a broad range of transactions and strategic advisory matters.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation | 2026 | M&A |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation | 2025 | M&A |
Hearn’s notable representations have included:
- Qualcomm, Inc. on its c. $2.4 billion recommended offer for Alphawave IP Group plc
- Oak Hill Advisors in its partnership with, and investment in, IDEAL Holdings, a listed Greece-based investment firm
- Spirent Communications on its £1.16 billion competing takeover by Keysight Technologies and its £1 billion takeover by Viavi Solutions
- PIMCO on its sale of Hellenic Bank to Eurobank and associated mandatory takeover offer
- WSP Group on its:
- £600 million proposed takeover of RPS Group
- US$1.9 billion acquisition of John Wood Group’s E&I business
- Metro Bank on its takeover defense against The Carlyle Group
- Advent on its £4 billion recommended takeover for Cobham
- Sibanye-Stillwater on its £285 million recommended takeover for Lonmin
- The Jardine Matheson Group on various matters, including its sale of the Jardine Motors Group to Lithia
- Schroders on its acquisition of a majority stake in leading impact investor BlueOrchard
- Santander on the acquisition of a majority stake in UK fintech Ebury (and subsequent investments)
- Rothesay Life on various matters, including:
- the buy-out of Goldman Sachs by Blackstone, GIC and MassMutual
- the creation of a £1.5 billion capital pool for future investment
- the acquisition of UK annuities and supporting assets from Scottish Equitable
- the issuance of £250 million subordinated notes qualifying under Solvency II