Will Pearce is a corporate partner at Davis Polk in London and head of the Europe practice. He advises corporate, private equity and investment banking clients on public and private M&A transactions, takeovers, and securities offerings and listings, as well as on corporate governance, financial regulatory, shareholder activism and restructuring matters. With over 25 years' experience of advising on the Listing Rules and the Takeover Code, he has been recognized by the market as a leading lawyer for corporate/M&A and equity capital markets and named as a “Dealmaker of the Year” by the American Lawyer and The Deal, an “MVP of the Year” by Law360 and one of Europe’s most influential lawyers by Financial News.

Will has extensive experience of advising on all aspects of the UK listing regime including IPOs, listings, capital raisings, restructurings, significant and related party transactions, disclosure and corporate governance issues and the sponsor regime, and is widely published on the topic. His recent transactional experience includes the IPO of Made.com, the simplification of the dual listed structures of Unilever and Mondi, capital raisings and significant transactions for Esken, NCC Group, Electrocomponents, Bovis Homes and Charles Taylor and the takeovers of Safecharge, Blue Prism and Ocean Outdoor.