Shahrzad Sadjadi

"Shahrzad joined Kirkland & Ellis in 2019. In 2022, at the age of 33, she was promoted to partner. Her practice focuses on EU and UK competition law, including merger control, antitrust compliance, and cartel and abuse of dominance investigations, along with UK and global foreign investment law. She has experience various sectors, including media, energy, medical, and digital. 

 As a prominent figure in Kirkland’s UK antitrust and competition practice, Shahrzad is recognised as a talented and strategic advisor and a go-to lawyer for the world’s largest and most sophisticated private equity and industrial clients, including Advent, BC Partners, Blackstone, Cinven, KKR, and Thoma Bravo. She has represented KKR and Thoma Bravo (and their portfolio companies) in transactions with total values of over USD 25 billion and USD 40 billion, respectively. 

 Shahrzad has a multijurisdictional practice and has worked in Brussels and London. She has been involved in complex matters before the European Commission, the UK Competition and Markets Authority, and other national competition and foreign investment authorities. 

 Shahrzad coordinates the antitrust and foreign investment reviews in complex international transactions, involving processes spanning multiple jurisdictions on short timeframes. Shahrzad is advising Cinven on its USD 1.3 billion public acquisition offer for SYNLAB, a leading European provider of laboratory diagnostic services, including COVID-19 testing (particularly during the pandemic). Shahrzad also advised Cobham on its GBP 2.6 billion takeover of Ultra Electronics and KKR on its USD 1.7 billion acquisition of CIRCOR International - both attracting close scrutiny from European governments given the important defence and national security considerations involved.

 In addition, since joining Kirkland, Shahrzad has been a trailblazer, advising: 

  • KKR on its investment in CyrusOne in a transaction valued at $15 billion, its investment in Cloudera in a transaction valued at $5.3 billion, and several other transactions.

  • Advent and Cinven on their acquisition of the elevator division of thyssenkrupp, at the time the largest-ever European buyout transaction, valued at $18.7 billion.

  • Blackstone on various transactions, including for its renewables portfolio. 

  • Thoma Bravo on its $8 billion acquisition of Coupa Software and its $6.9 billion acquisition of SailPoint. 

  • Adenza, a portfolio company of Thoma Bravo, on its acquisition by Nasdaq, Inc. for $10.5 billion.

  • BC Partners on its investment in Fedrigoni in a transaction valued at $3 billion.

 Shahrzad is a proud British-Iranian and works in a female-led team under Paula Riedel and Sally Evans. Recognising the importance and impact of female role models, particularly those from diverse backgrounds, Shahrzad is a true diversity champion and plays a key role in recruiting, training and mentoring young talent in London and Brussels. 

  Shahrzad is committed to pro bono work and has assisted clients seeking family reunification under refugee resettlement schemes and housing advice, contributing to the UN’s Women, Business and the Law 2022 report on laws that discriminate against women. She is leading Kirkland’s research and advocacy project for Reprieve relating to the mental health of women and LGBTQ+ individuals on death row in seven countries."