William Samengo-Turner
Image of William Samengo-Turner

William Samengo-Turner

Partner

Email

william.samengo-turner@aoshearman.com

Phone

+44 20 3088 4415

Offices

London

V-CARD
Will is Technology Sector Lead and advises founders, boards and investors on global tech M&A and growth investments, with a particular focus on high-growth and disruptive technologies and complex cross-border transactions spanning EMEA and the United States.

Recognised as a Leading Partner by Legal 500, Will splits his time between London and Silicon Valley. His experience covers transactions across all stages of growth - from seed-stage investments to major acquisitions and disposals by multinational listed companies - and he is known for delivering practical commercial advice on fast-moving frequently transatlantic deals.

Expertise

Industries

Experience

Representative matters

  • A public petroleum and natural gas company on a wider array of tech investments globally, including in OQT, Prophesee, Mighty Buidings, Pasqal, YNMO, Democrance, Tendrd, Inductosencse, OXCCU, Spidersilk, Intalla and Red Sea Farms
  • An investment fund on a series of investments in e-sports, including Formula E, Extreme E and E1 Powerboat Racing.
  • Etsy on its $1.7bn acquisition of Depop.
  • Revolute on a range of corporate and commercial matters.
  • Helios Investment Partners on a listing of CAB Payments and investment in Indian fintech M2P.
  • US unicorn TravelPerk on its acquisition of European fintech Yokoy.
  • The founders of DeepMind on its sale to Google.
  • PayPal on numerous transactions, including its investments in Tink, Tabby, RobinAI, Zong, Monese, Finanzguru, PayMob, Oyster and Finmo.
  • Binance on strategic M&A.
  • PAG on its acquisition of NashTech.
  • Quantexa on successive funding rounds (including its unicorn round) and strategic matters.
  • Oakley Capital on its $1bn sale of vLex to Clio.
  • SoftBank on a number of transactions, including investment in Spain's Clikalia.
  • DoorDash on a wide range of acquisitions and investments, including its $8bn acquisition of Wolt and its $1.2bn acquisition of SevenRooms.
  • Mastercard on tech M&A ad investments, including its acquisition of Minna Technologies and investment in Conferma.
  • Vision RT on its $900m management-led buyout.
  • CapitalG on a number of European investments, including in Team Systems, Duna and Tebi.
  • UK stablecoin unicorn BVNK on successive funding rounds (including its unicorn round).
  • UK RegTech leader, CUBE, on its MBO led by Hg, together with a number of acquisitions.
  • UK blockchain specialist, Januus on successive funding rounds and M&A.
  • Monzo on a range of corporate and commercial matters, including M&A.
  • Aggregator platform Unybrands on its fundraising and expansion.
  • UK HealthTech unicorn Babylon Health on a range of strategic transactions, including M&A; debt and equity fundraising, its acquisition of U.A. SPAC Alkuri Global and USD 4.25bn listing; and restructuring matters.
  • Y Combinator on a range of matters including its investment in Egypt's Breadfast.
  • Tapestry VC on a number of transactions, including its investment and subsequent exit from UK unicorn Hopin.
  • Shanghai Giant Network Technology Company Limited on its USD4.4bn consortium led acquisition of Playtika.
  • Allianz Asset Management on two rounds of investment in Eupeanfintech, Moneyfarm and subsequent commercial relationship between Moneyfarm and Poste Italiane.
  • Amazon on its investment in UK unicorn Deliveroo.
  • UK WeathTech S64 on successive fundraisings.
  • Checkout.com on fundraising and M&A including its $1bn series D at a $40bn valuation.
  • UK unicorn Zopa on successive fundraising rounds and M&A.
  • Peloton on its $420m acquisition of Precor.
  • Cisco Systems on its $730m acquisition IMImobile PLC, Cisco's first public bid in the UK.
  • Meta on numerous acquisitions across Europe, including Masquarade, Playgiga, Two Big Ears, Surreal Vision, mLED, and Bloomsburg AI.
  • UK fintech Monese on successive fundraisings and its restructuring.
  • R3 on its incorporation and initial fundraising from a consortium of leading banks.
  • JLABS, the global innovation hub of Johnson & Johnson on a range of corporation and commercial matters.
  • Toyota on the establishment of its global data business, Toyota Connected.
  • Google, IFC, Mitsui, and Convergence on their joint venture of C Squared, pan-African fibre-optic business.

Pro bono

  • Counsel and mentor to the Google Black Founders Fund.

Recognition

“He knows everything happening in the industry and he has unparalleled mastery of the relevant ecosystems.”
Chambers & Partners, Fintech
“A key advisor to large public corporations and emerging enterprises on the full spectrum of corporate and commercial tech matters.”
Legal500, IT & Telecoms

Qualifications

Admissions

Admitted as solicitor, England and Wales, 2009

Academic

MA (Oxon), Modern History, University of Oxford, 2005

Graduate Diploma in Law, Oxford Brookes University, 2006

Legal Practice Course, College of Law Moorgate, 2007

Disclaimer
A&O Shearman was formed on May 1, 2024 by the combination of Shearman & Sterling LLP and Allen & Overy LLP and their respective affiliates (the legacy firms). Any matters referred to above may include matters undertaken by one or more of the legacy firms rather than A&O Shearman.