Benet O’Reilly > Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP > San Francisco, United States > Lawyer Profile
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP Offices
650 California St
Suite 2000
San Francisco
CALIFORNIA
94108
United States
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Benet O’Reilly
Position
Benet J. O’Reilly is a leading M&A lawyer with over two decades of experience advising clients on complex, high-stakes transactions. He focuses on public and private M&A, private equity investments, and restructuring matters, with deep expertise in cross-border transactions.
Benet’s practice spans a range of industries, with a focus on technology, life sciences and healthcare. He is known for delivering strategic, practical counsel on transformative deals and navigating clients through challenging regulatory and business dynamics. His recent matters include representing GSK in its acquisitions of Aiolos Bio and Boston Pharmaceuticals’ lead asset; Synopsys in its $35 billion acquisition of Ansys; American Tower in its $10.1 billion acquisition of CoreSite and $3.5 billion acquisition of InSite; and IFF in its $45.4 billion Reverse Morris Trust merger with DuPont’s Nutrition & Biosciences business.
Other notable clients include Goodyear, Juul Labs, Levi Strauss & Co., Post Holdings and Shionogi. Benet is valued for his strategic judgment, calm under pressure, and ability to navigate complex, multijurisdictional transactions.
Languages
French (Proficient)
Education
New York University, School of Law, J.D.
University of Chicago, A.B.
Lawyer Rankings
United States > M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
(Leading partners)Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton houses a destination M&A practice, evidenced by its involvement in complex corporate mandates and high-value global deals across Europe, South America, and Asia. Fielding a stellar client base, which comprises well-known brands in the tech, retail, and telecoms sectors, the group undertakes both public and private M&A of international significance, while also guiding clients through regulatory, fiduciary, and corporate governance issues. Recent work highlights include advising Synopsys in its pending acquisition of Ansys, valued at approximately $35bn. The department is co-led by New York-based David Leinwand, and Paul Shim, who has an impressive track record in advising global corporates. Also in New York is Kyle Harris, a key contact for cross-border M&A and joint ventures, Kimberly Spoerri, who handles complex carve-outs on the buy and sell side, and Kelsey Nussenfeld. In the San Francisco office, Christopher Moore is reputed among tech industry clients, while Benet O’Reilly assists leading corporations on high-value M&A and private equity investments. Nickolas Bogdanovich left the firm in August 2024.
Lawyer Rankings
- Leading partners United States > M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- M&A: large deals ($1bn+) United States > M&A/corporate and commercial
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: global offerings
- Antitrust > Cartel
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Corporate governance
- Dispute resolution > E-discovery
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Tax > Financial products
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- Finance > Financial services regulation
- Dispute resolution > International litigation
- Tax > International tax
- Energy > Energy transactions: electric power
- Finance > Project finance
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Real estate > Real estate finance
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Finance > Structured finance: derivatives and structured products
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
Firm Rankings
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- International trade and national security > CFIUS
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Energy > Energy transactions: electric power
- Energy > Energy transactions: oil and gas
- Finance > Fintech
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Intellectual property > Copyright
- International trade and national security > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions
- Finance > Project finance
- Real estate > Real estate
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: design
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense