Mr Brooks Gruemmer > McDermott Will & Emery LLP > Chicago, United States > Lawyer Profile

McDermott Will & Emery LLP
444 WEST LAKE STREET
CHICAGO, IL 60606-0029
ILLINOIS
United States
Brooks Gruemmer photo

Work Department

Corporate Advisory

Position

Brooks B. Gruemmer is a corporate partner with a wide-ranging practice representing private equity and other investment funds and private and public companies, with an emphasis on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, recapitalizations, joint ventures, and the related financing required to fund such transactions. Brooks is a former member of the Firm’s Management Committee and served as head of the Chicago office’s Transactions Practice Group for over a decade.

Brooks has represented clients in a wide range of transactions, business ventures and general corporate matters. He regularly represents a number of private equity and other investment funds in leveraged buyouts of public and private companies, venture capital and growth equity investments, divestitures and recapitalizations. He also represents privately held and publicly traded corporations in connection with a variety of corporate matters, including strategic mergers and other acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, financings, securities law disclosure and compliance matters, and executive compensation. In recent years, Brooks has advised acquirers of financially distressed companies, inside and outside of bankruptcy, and in connection with debt and equity restructurings, workouts and related financings.

Brooks brings a unique perspective to private practice, having spent approximately four years as vice president of administration and general counsel of Favorite Brands International, Inc., the fourth-largest manufacturer of confectionery products in the United States. While at Favorite Brands, Brooks was a member of the executive committee and oversaw numerous acquisitions, financings that raised more than $1 billion, and the eventual sale of the Company to Nabisco.

Lawyer Rankings

United States > M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)

McDermott Will & Emery LLP‘s private equity team maintains a strong focus on the life sciences and pharma sectors, acting on a broad range of growth capital investments, buyouts, exits, recapitalizations, and add-on deals. The team’s workload, which spans middle-market and bulge-bracket transactions, also encompasses a growing number of deals in sectors such as aviation, logistics, and tech, owing in part to the broad expertise of New York-based M&A expert Frank Steinherr, who handles a large volume of complex leveraged buyouts, mergers, and take-private transactions. Steinherr co-leads the team with Chicago-based lawyers Kristian Werling, who focuses on healthcare transactions, and Gregory Metz, who handles a diverse array of LBOs and restructurings, as well as with Miami-based lawyer Frederic Levenson. Further key contacts include corporate experts Kevin Sullivan, who is based in Boston, and Brooks Gruemmer, who practices from Chicago. Miami lawyer Harris Siskind maintains close relationships with clients such as H.I.G. and is also highly recommended.