US > Mergers, acquisitions and buyouts > M&A - West Mountain
M&A - West Mountain
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP
PRACTICE: Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP has a small team of ten M&A partners who practice out of offices in Denver, Albuquerque, Las Vegas and Santa Barbara. The team’s M&A expertise ranges across industries, though the firm’s specialism in government relations adds value in M&A in regulated industries.
Highlights of 2008 included representing Vail Resorts in its $38.3m acquisition of resort ground transportation business, Colorado Mountain Express. Another representation of note was that of Real Goods Solar in its acquisition of Independent Energy Systems. The team also represented Critical Homecare Solutions in its $4.2m acquisition of 100% of the capital stock of Wilcox Medical. Additionally, the practice advised Meadow Valley on its going-private merger with Pheonix Merger Sub.
CLIENTS: Clients include Vail Resorts, Real Goods Solar, Critical Homecare Solutions, Meadow Valley, Infusion Partners, Security With Advanced Technology, Gaiam, Brand Base and Icahn Associates.
INDIVIDUALS: Kevin Cudney and Jeffrey Knetsch, both in Denver, are well-known for their M&A expertise.
PRACTICE: In 2008, Dorsey & Whitney LLP worked on 160 US M&A transactions, with a cumulative value of $6.5bn. While from this statistic it is apparent that the practice is not engaged on the largest deals, the deal volume signifies a busy practice of lawyers experienced at work on middle-market transactions.
There are seven M&A partners in the West Mountain region, supported by 13 associates out of offices in Salt Lake City, Denver and Montana. However, while the practice is dominant in the West Mountain region, it is in fact much larger, with significant presence on the East and West Coasts, and particularly in its Minneapolis headquarters.
The practice is broad-based, though it sees certain concentrations of work from the technology, healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, retail and natural resources industries. A particular specialty of the Denver and Montana offices is US-Canada cross-border M&A.
Highlights of 2008 included representing Specialized Healthcare Products International in its $68.4m acquisition by and merger with international medical technologies company CR Bard.
The team also advised Franklin Covey in the spin-off of its Consumer Solutions Business Unit to the private equity-backed Franklin Covey Products. Additionally, the practice represented children’s apparel retailer Naartjie in acquiring a $15m private equity investment from Nogales Investors.
CLIENTS: Clients include Specialized Healthcare Products International, Mighty Enterprises, Franklin Covey, Naartjie and Peterson Partners.
INDIVIDUALS: Nolan Taylor and Samuel Gardiner in Salt Lake City are noted by clients as ‘experienced and professional’ partners in the West Mountain region. Matthew Knopf heads the M&A practice out of Minneapolis.
PRACTICE: With 24 M&A partners spread between offices in Denver, Boise, Salt Lake City, Reno, Boulder, Cheyenne and Las Vegas, Holland & Hart LLP provides ‘an excellent level of service’. Clients note that ‘most impressive is their ability to act as a business partner - they give the best advice you can get, and deliver it in a way that gives you a chance to challenge and review it prior to having to make those final decisions’.
The practice is broad-based, though technology and natural resources M&A are specialties. Notable deals of 2008 included representing IQ Navigator in its $100m disposition to GTCR Fund IX. The team also advised AAI Acquisition in its $20m acquisition from bankruptcy of Adam Aircraft. Additional representations include that of Spyder Active Sports in its acquisition of Cloudveil Mountain Works, and CH2M Hill in its acquisition of stock of Goldston Engineering. Another highlight was representing Incline Lake in the largest single purchase of an ‘in holding’ of private property by the US Forest Service.
CLIENTS: Clients include IQ Navigator, AAI Acquisition, Spyder Active Sports, CH2M Hill, Incline Lake, Inside Communications, Solidware Technologies, Target Seed, Sierra Nevada Corporation and Sierra Nevada Solar.
INDIVIDUALS: Frederick Mack in Boise is praised as ‘very responsive - he goes the extra mile’. In Reno, David Garcia is singled out by one client as ‘the best corporate attorney I have ever worked with. His attention to the needs of the company mean I worry less about the legal aspects of the business and more about running the business’. Practice co-chair Christina Groll in Denver is commended for her ‘broad experience’.
PRACTICE: Clients are ‘extremely happy’ with the M&A services provided by Holme Roberts & Owen. The team is comprised of 21 US partners who work out of offices in Denver, Salt Lake City, Boulder, Phoenix and Los Angeles, with international support from offices in London and Munich.
In 2008, the team was augmented by the return of securities specialist Martha Rehm to the Denver office, who came from a position as Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Vail Resorts, having previously been a longstanding partner at the firm. Stephen Lee, formerly of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP was another significant addition. The team specializes in middle-market deals - technology, energy and natural resources form areas of key M&A capability.
CLIENTS: Clients include Cimarex, StorageTek, CSG Systems, Dynamic Materials, Emergency Medical Services, Simtek, CDX Gas, Frontrange Solutions, Suncor Energy, VTR GlobalCom, UnitedGlobalCom, Intrado, Adelphia Communications and Liberty Media International.
INDIVIDUALS: Dean Salter in the Denver office, and Mashenka Lundberg, who divides her practice between Denver and Los Angeles, are both recommended as ‘top M&A lawyers’.