Client news

A&O Shearman guides lenders on CVC acquisition of Smiths Detection

A&O Shearman guides lenders on CVC acquisition of Smiths Detection
Published Date
Dec 5 2025
Related people
Image of Darren Hanwell
Darren HanwellPartner, London
Image of Alex Charles
Alex CharlesCounsel, London
Image of John Kicken
John KickenPartner, London
Image of Sampada Bannurmath
Sampada BannurmathSenior Associate, London
Image of Adam Walsh
Adam WalshSenior Associate, London
Image of Paridhi Srivastava
Paridhi SrivastavaAssociate, London
A&O Shearman acted for a group of lead arrangers and underwriters to provide the committed debt financing support for CVC’s acquisition of Smiths Detection, a global leader in threat-detection and security-screening technologies for airports and critical infrastructure.
Headquartered in the UK, Smiths Detection employs 3,400 people, including over 1,100 field service engineers and over 500 R&D professionals and operates from facilities across Europe, the U.S. and Asia. The business has a global #1 position in aviation security—i.e. screening technology for carry-on bags, hold luggage, and air cargo at airports—where it serves 47 of the world’s top 50 airports, with both industry-leading hardware and sector-leading digital capabilities, including automated detection algorithms.

Supporting the lead arrangers and underwriters on CVC’s acquisition of Smiths Detection reflects our continued drive to deepen our coverage of private capital. This was a complex financing in a highly specialized sector, underscoring the breadth of our offering as a firm and our ability to facilitate versatile structures for our clients.

The A&O Shearman team was led by debt finance partner Darren Hanwell and counsel Alex Charles, alongside partner John Kicken; senior associates Sampada Bannurmath, Craig Pechey, and Adam Walsh; associates Sama Aunallah and Paridhi Srivastava and trainee Daria Grigorieva.

Related capabilities