Private Equity Transactions

These partners work closely with our Asset Management and Investment Funds group to facilitate the structuring, negotiation, and execution of the full range of private equity transactions, both domestic and cross-border, undertaken by our clients throughout the life cycle of their investments and financings, including leveraged buyouts, growth capital investments, co-investments, add-on acquisitions, refinancings, dividend recaps and exits (including secondaries). Our clients include early through late stage investors (including investment funds, family offices, high net worth individuals, institutional investors, pension funds, universities, and endowments), companies, lenders, and financial institutions.

Our lawyers have deep industry and sector-specific experience across the key industry sectors driving today’s global economy. As such, together with our legal knowledge, commercial business experience, and network of contacts, we continuously provide value-added services to our clients. We are committed to staying on top of market trends and cognizant of emerging nuances and developments. Industry sectors served include:

• Technology
• Health care 
• Manufacturing 
• Industrials and distribution
• Energy 
• Business services 
• Financial services 
• Food and beverage 
• Consumer 
• Agribusiness

In addition, as a part of a leading global firm, our lawyers are able to draw upon the comprehensive resources of the firm, including its robust regulatory practice groups, to address the full scope of related regulatory, legal, and other issues that arise in today's complex transactions. 

Areas of Practice

Leveraged Buyouts, Take-Privates, and Other Control Transactions

We have experience representing buyout funds, venture funds, special opportunity funds, family offices, public and private companies, merchant banks, strategic investors, and management teams and their sponsors in leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, and other control transactions. We also know the ins and outs of employee stock ownership plans from a transaction perspective. 

Our lawyers advise buyers, sellers, and financing sources in a broad array of domestic and cross-border transactions, including: 

• Leveraged buyouts
• Add-on acquisitions
• Spin-offs
• Roll-ups
• Take-private transactions 
• Recapitalizations 
• Strategic acquisitions
• Joint ventures

Portfolio Company Representation

We act as outside counsel to a number of fund clients’ domestic and cross-border portfolio companies. The broad range of knowledge and experience of lawyers from our firm’s global, full-service platform enables us to provide a comprehensive array of legal services to these portfolio company clients. Such advice has involved the implementation of executive compensation and employee incentive arrangements, intellectual property protection and enforcement, follow-on mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures, equity and debt financings, securities transactions, litigation, corporate governance, real estate and environmental, tax, restructurings, and other matters.

Growth Capital

Our lawyers actively advise private equity funds, venture funds, family offices, special opportunity funds, strategic corporate investors, endowments, pension funds, universities, and high net worth individuals in issuances and acquisitions (including secondaries) of preferred and common equity, convertible securities, bridge debt and other forms of equity and equity-linked financing.

On behalf of our investor clients, we have reviewed and negotiated the terms of hundreds of limited partner investments in all types of private funds. As a result, we have a broad awareness of the market for investment fund terms, including how terms are evolving in the current market, and what terms are generally acceptable to both major investors and fund sponsors.

Mezzanine Transactions

We regularly represent both investors and issuers in junior capital transactions, whether structured as subordinated debt, preferred equity, or more highly structured hybrid securities. We have extensive experience with private investments in both secured and unsecured subordinated debt, as well as a vast array of structured equity and convertible debt securities. We represent investment funds, bank-affiliated mezzanine groups, and other institutional investors involved in mezzanine transactions, including assisting them with the negotiation and documentation of complex debt and highly structured equity and convertible securities, warrants and other equity kickers, stockholders agreements, and subordination and inter-creditor agreements.

We are involved in our mezzanine clients’ transactions from initial investment to exit, through operational issues, add-on acquisitions, debt and equity restructuring and workouts, bankruptcies, sales to strategic or financial buyers, recapitalizations, and initial public offerings.

Private Investments in Public Equities (PIPEs)

Our PIPEs teams typically comprise lawyers across diverse practice areas including private equity, mergers and acquisitions, securities, tax, and intellectual property, among others. With our in-depth public and private equity experience, we frequently advise investors, underwriters, and issuers on both straightforward and complex PIPEs transactions. Our understanding of all sides of transactions and market deal terms allows us to assist clients in achieving their investment objectives. Our transaction experience involves varied pooled investment vehicles, including hedge funds, fund of funds, real estate funds, and mezzanine funds, among others.

Liquidity Transactions

We add real value when it comes to exit strategies and investment realization. Whether advising on a sale or an IPO, we help our clients maximize investor return and manage risks. We also have a strong track record advising investors on sales of portfolio companies and secondary sales, and advising companies on their IPOs and other offerings, including equities, debt instruments, and hybrid securities. Our issuer engagements include all aspects of corporate planning and restructuring, preparation of registration statements and prospectuses, assistance in negotiating underwriting and placement arrangements, preparation of listing applications and requirements in the United States, United Kingdom, and Asian capital markets.