Work Department

Corporate/Mergers and Acquisitions

Position

Co-Head of M&A Practice. Advised Microsoft on many transactions, including its acquisitions of LinkedIn, Skype, GitHub and Nokia’s phone business; ChemChina in its acquisition of Syngenta, the largest acquisition ever by a Chinese company; Tyco in its merger with Johnson Controls, Inc.; and numerous other companies in cutting-edge transactions including  ADT, Best Buy, Wendy’s and Royal Ahold. He has also advised the boards of public companies including Aetna, Xerox, Yahoo and Baker Hughes, among others, on corporate governance matters.

Career

Joined, 1984; Partner, 1993.

Education

Haverford College (B.A., with Honors, 1981); Harvard Law School (J.D., cum laude,1984).

Lawyer Rankings

United States > M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP continues to be recognized for its leading position in bulge-bracket private equity buyouts and this is increasingly matched by its presence in strategic M&A. The firm’s outstanding private equity knowledge and experience is frequently brought into play when representing sellers in contested auctions. Strategic M&A clients are also regularly spawned from private equity exits, where the firm maintains a relationship with the company’s management. The firm is also noted for its standing in domestic and cross-border transactions, especially in the financial services, healthcare, technology and energy sectors; it has a well-established office in Houston that has augmented its reputation in the oil and gas industry. The team is ‘extremely thorough, knowledgeable and very responsive‘. Clients include American Electric Power, Gerdau, Hilton Worldwide, Marathon Oil, Microsoft and Walgreens Boots Alliance. It advised L3 Technologies on its announced $33.5bn combination with Harris Corporation through an all-stock merger of equals transaction. It also advised Blue Buffalo Pet Products on its $8bn sale to General Mills. Moreover, it advised regular client Microsoft on its $7.5bn acquisition of GitHub. Alan Klein, who is recommended for cross-border deals and high-value tech deals especially, and Mario Ponce head the M&A practice, which includes leading financial institutions M&A expert Lee Meyerson, rapidly emerging talent Eric Swedenburg, experienced big-ticket M&A specialist William Curbow and junior partner Anthony Vernace. Brian Stadler is recommended for real estate-related deals and Latin America transactions specialist Todd Crider is ‘an outstanding individual‘.