BDO Talks Transactions: Navigating the Path to IPO

Tom Conaghan is co-head of the firm’s Media, Entertainment & Sports practice, co-head of the firm’s Capital Markets and Public Companies Practice Group, and partner-in-charge of the Corporate Group in the Washington, DC office.

As leader of the firm’s award-winning Sports practice, Tom represents teams, owners, and investors across all major U.S. professional sports leagues, as well as US, and international and emerging leagues, on a broad range of matters, including ownership transfers, capital raising transactions, and M&A transactions. Tom frequently represents clients on high-profile deals across the industry, helping drive the continued growth of McDermott’s Sports practice, which was named “Practice Group of the Year” by Law360 in 2025 and ranked among the leading Sports Law practices in the US by Chambers USA and The Legal 500 in 2026.

As the co-head of the Capital Markets practice, Tom represents public and private companies, underwriters and other sources of capital, corporate boards and board committees, and corporate executives. He advises US- and foreign-based public companies on issues relating to mergers and acquisitions (M&A), joint ventures, strategic investments, spin-offs, public and private offerings of securities (including initial public offerings (IPOs)), disclosure, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting, corporate governance, executive compensation, and the stock exchange-listed company rules.

Tom is also rated in Chambers USA and The Legal 500 for his M&A work, and is cited for being a “strong M&A lawyer who anticipates clients’ needs, exhibits strong management over deals, and translates his breadth of knowledge in a way that clients can easily understand and use.”

Merrill M. Kraines advises life sciences and technology clients in corporate, securities, and mergers and acquisition transactions. He has in-depth experience representing biotechnology, therapeutic, diagnostic and medical device companies. Merrill also represents emerging companies in various business and finance transactions in many industries, including: software, Internet, healthcare, IT, alternative energy, financial services, IT consulting, educational publishing, entertainment, office products, advertising, telecommunications, paper and more. Merrill handles numerous IPO’s and secondary offerings, including fully marketed underwritten offerings, registered direct and confidentially marketed offerings, uplistings, off-the-shelf takedowns, private placements, PIPE financings, and cross-over and venture capital financings.

Merrill also represents investment banking firms in connection with public offerings, private placements, sale advisory transactions, fairness opinions and other matters. He handles numerous mergers and acquisitions, licensing and distribution arrangements, joint ventures and cross-border transactions. Merrill has significant experience representing private equity and venture capital firms, both independent and those associated with commercial banks, corporations, universities and medical centers in their fund formation, investment and restructuring activities.

In addition, Merrill advises public companies on matters of corporate governance, securities filings, NYSE and NASDAQ compliance, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and government investigations.