Keavy Ryan is a partner within Corporate and M&A and specialises in mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, company law, corporate governance, and commercial and contractual arrangements. She advises leading Irish and international, public and private companies, equity funds and financial institutions, with significant operations in Ireland across a broad range of legal, regulatory, commercial and financial affairs.
Keavy also manages the firm's equity benefits group. Keavy advises on all aspects of share incentives including the treatment of share incentives in M&A transactions and corporate governance, regulatory and shareholder issues arising from the establishment and operation of share plans and executive remuneration programs.
Keavy is a member of the firm's Talent Group and is responsible for the firm's Trainee Solicitor and Intern Programme. Keavy is also a member of our German Group and is a fluent German speaker.
Keavy has significant experience as an in-house lawyer having completed secondments (once as acting general counsel) with two major multinational IT and telecommunications entities with a presence in Ireland.
Areas of Expertise
Corporate and M&A/Investing in Ireland/Pensions and Incentives/Commercial Contracts/Incentives/Corporate Advisory & Company Law/Companies Act 2014
Experience Advising:
- HealthBeacon plc on its IPO admission to Euronext Growth and €25 million fundraising
- Natwest on its sale of Ulster Bank, Ireland's commercial lending business to AIB valued at €4.2bn
- Maxizoo on the acquisition of Equipet
- Bidvest Noonan on its acquisition of Lynch Interact
- ICON plc on the equity incentives aspects of its $12bn acquisition of PRA Health Sciences
- Promontoria/Cerberus on various loan sale transactions
- UDG Healthcare plc on the equity incentive aspects of its £2.8bn takeover of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
- Causeway Consortium on the equity incentive aspects of its takeover of Applegreen plc
- Rabobank on the sale of the ACC Bank loan portfolio to Goldman Sachs, CarVal and Cabot
- Various financial institutions and investment firms on remuneration and governance issues
Market Recommendations
"Keavy Ryan provides a very professional service, she is very engaged and as a client we have the sense that she is pro-active in considering our interests." (Legal 500 2021)
"Leading individual." (Legal 500 2019)
"Expansive knowledge of the effect of M&A on employee benefits." (Legal 500 2018)
"First class and knows how to get the right deal." (IFLR1000 2017)
Professional activities
Keavy is a non-executive director of NOW Group, a social enterprise supporting people with learning difficulties and Autism into jobs with a future.
Education
- Solicitor, Law Society of Ireland
- LL.M. European Economic Law, Humboldt University, Berlin
- LL.B. Law and German, Trinity College, Dublin
Keavy Ryan
Partner, Corporate and M&A
Dublin