A leader for middle-market M&A in Florida, Akerman LLP’s group also draws on corporate specialists from across its extensive national platform. Primarily active on behalf of private equity investors and their portfolio companies, the team also acts for a broad range of public and privately owned strategics and entrepreneurs in buy and sell-side M&A, spin-offs, leveraged recapitalizations and buyouts, and investment transactions. Miami-based Jonathan Awner co-chairs the overarching corporate department and is noted for his strong activity in the car dealership space. David Birke co-chairs the department from Fort Lauderdale and acted for a string of private equity clients on M&A deals during 2023/24, with a focus on the manufacturing and life sciences sectors. Rounding out the senior partners is Miami’s Carl Roston, who is a former corporate co-chair and has a significant private equity dimension to his practice. Additionally, West Palm Beach-based E. Paul Quinn, Fort Lauderdale’s Martin Burkett and Miami-based Kenneth Wiggins co-head the M&A and private equity area and are routinely involved in mid-market transactions. Miami partners Santiago Assalini and Sergey Kotelnikov are also key contacts for M&A work.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘The team is very user friendly. Lawyers see the big picture. Andrew Hard is efficient, experienced and pragmatic.’
  • ‘Very personal service. Can always reach the key leaders within the practice and everyone is very responsive. High quality and efficient. Pricing is also very good. They turn documents quickly and accurately. Overall, we're very happy.’
  • ‘Our trusted business partner. It works with us on multiple deals so knows how we operate, which makes communication seamless. David Birke and Sergey Kotelnikov are both good ones.’

Key clients

  • AutoNation
  • HEICO
  • Ferguson Enterprises
  • Comvest Partners
  • Trivest Partners
  • H.I.G. Capital
  • Ondas Holdings
  • New Water Capital
  • The Beekman Group
  • Titan Home Improvement

Work highlights

Advised South Motors and Vista Motors on the sale of nine dealerships and two collision centers to Morgan Auto Group.
Represented Ferguson Enterprises in numerous acquisitions.
Advised KLH Capital, and its portfolio companies on multiple acquisitions.

Lawyers

Hall of fame

The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.

Carl Roston

Leading partners

The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Jonathan Awner

Practice head

Jonathan Awner; David Birke; Carl Roston

Other key lawyers

E. Paul Quinn; Martin Burkett; Kenneth Wiggins; Santiago Assalini; Sergey Kotelnikov; Jed Freeland; Andrew Hard