On June 21, 2019, Kemmerer Operations LLC, an entity established by the secured lenders (“WMLP Secured Lenders”) to Westmoreland Resource Partners LP and its subsidiaries (“WMLP Debtors”), acquired the Kemmerer coal mine and certain other assets out of the WMLP Debtors’ Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in exchange for a $300-million credit bid. Westmoreland Coal Company and certain of its affiliates, including the WMLP Debtors, had filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas on October 9, 2018. The WMLP Secured Lenders agreed, as part of the Kemmerer sale, to fund the payment of certain claims and wind-down costs enabling the WMLP Debtors to confirm their Chapter 11 plan and emerge from bankruptcy. The Schulte team worked with the WMLP Secured Lenders to, among other things, put new management and operations in place and facilitate the successful acquisition of the assets.

The Schulte team representing the WMLP Secured Lenders in connection with the Westmoreland Chapter 11 cases, including the WMLP Secured Lenders’ acquisition of the Kemmerer mine and the other assets, was led by business reorganization partner Kristine Manoukian. The team also included business reorganization associate Kelly (Bucky) Knight; employment & employee benefits partners Ronald Richman and Ian Levin and special counsel Scott Gold; litigation partner Peter White and special counsel Jason Mitchell; tax partner Dan Kusnetz; environmental special counsel Theodore Keyes; and former Schulte lawyers Andrew Fadale, Marc Friess, Richard Presutti, Lucy Kweskin, Christian Bonser and Sarah Sullivan.

McDermott Will & Emery is advising Dogfish Head Brewery on its merger with the Boston Beer Company, the maker of Samuel Adams beer, Angry Orchard hard cider and Truly Hard Seltzer. The merger will bring together two pioneering independent craft breweries and two illustrious founders and brewers, Jim Koch and Sam Calagione. The transaction, valued at approximately $300 million, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2019, subject to closing conditions.

Delaware-based Dogfish Head first opened as the smallest American craft brewery 23 years ago. The independent brewery is now a top-20 craft brewery, which has won numerous awards and expanded to include a distillery and brewpubs.

McDermott’s top-ranked and widely recognized Alcohol Industry Group, led by Marc Sorini, has served as advisor to Dogfish Head on regulatory matters for nearly 20 years. In 2015, McDermott advised the company in connection with the sale of a 15 percent interest to a private equity firm.

“I grew up in this craft beer community with Jim Koch. And I remember the first time I shared a beer with Marc Sorini at a beer tasting event at the Brickskeller over two decades ago. The craft beer landscape has changed so much in those two decades,” said Sam Calagione, Founder & Brewer, Dogfish Head. “Together we are slightly mighty at less than two percent market share in beer, but firmly and proudly within the indie American craft beer community. Jim and I believe this merger better positions our brands and co-workers to grow and be better resourced to compete, innovate, and win for decades to come. The team of leaders at McDermott have been instrumental in helping this merger come to fruition. Namaste team McDermott!”

The McDermott team advising Dogfish Head was led by Tom Conaghan and Marc Sorini, with substantial assistance provided by Christine Kretkowski. Dogfish Head’s General Counsel and former McDermott associate, Shauna Barnes, led the internal team for Dogfish Head. Patrick McCurry led the tax team, with assistance from Dan Zucker, Tom Young and Kevin Hall. Jon Dubrow led the antitrust effort with assistance from Ryan Leske and Matt Evola. Additional assistance was provided by Andrew Kim, Art DeCelle, Daphne Trotter, Maureen O’Brien, David Lipkin, Aimee Lin and Beth Hatef.

Additional information is available in the companies’ press release here.

McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. With more than 20 locations on three continents, our team works seamlessly across practices, industries and geographies to deliver highly effective—and often unexpected—solutions that propel success. More than 1,100 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.

McDermott Will & Emery continues to build on the momentum of the past year by elevating new leaders to deliver on the Firm’s vision and core values in service of its clients. Across practice areas and offices, these individuals will drive strategic growth, increase productivity and help nurture a culture where excellence and happiness go hand in hand.

• Sarah Bro, Managing Partner, Orange County
  Sarah is a trusted advisor on a range of trademark enforcement and brand portfolio management issues for domestic and international companies. She has served on a number of McDermott’s internal committees, including Pro Bono, Gender Diversity, Integrity and Compliance and the Orange County Recruiting Committee. She will apply her knowledge of the Firm and best practices across the legal industry and the California market to focus on strategic growth within the Orange County office while furthering the office’s steadfast commitment to excellence in client service, diversity and inclusion as well as happiness and wellness.
• Giancarlo Castorino, Managing Partner, Milan
  A seasoned corporate lawyer, Giancarlo joined McDermott in mid-2017 to launch the Firm’s banking capabilities in Italy. Since that time, he and his team have significantly enhanced McDermott’s Italian transactions footprint with a large volume of complex and very high profile transactions. At the helm of the Milan office, Giancarlo will work to further grow and strengthen the Firm’s transactions capabilities in Italy while building a premier practice for our Italian and international clients.
• Jason Krieser, Managing Partner, Dallas & Houston
  Jason, who also serves as the co-head of McDermott’s Technology & Outsourcing Practice, will bring his innovative thinking to bear as he guides the Dallas and Houston offices into the future. He will help drive strategic growth of these offices by focusing on recruitment within McDermott’s core strengths and those practice areas of particular importance to the vibrant economy in Texas. Clients trust the Dallas and Houston teams with important matters for their businesses and depend on them to offer creative, practical solutions. Jason is committed to being the local contact point for clients to tap into the Firm’s network and harness the power of McDermott’s capabilities globally.
• Christina (Tina) L. Martini, Co-National Hiring Partner
  Christina Martini, alongside Eric Gilbert, oversees the law student recruiting program by working with the McDermott leadership team to develop and implement strategic hiring practices to enhance the firm’s stellar pipeline of talent. Tina brings to the role more than two decades of experience in associate and partner recruiting. She and Eric will focus on enhancing the Firm’s brand at law schools and in the market, as well as on optimizing the recruiting process and the McDermott summer associate experience. The hiring partners will also collaborate with the Firm’s practice groups and the Diversity & Inclusion Committee to help ensure that new associates are well-positioned for success in their careers at McDermott.
• Joseph Marx, Managing Partner, Frankfurt
  A corporate lawyer with over 20 years of extensive experience in international capital markets transactions, Joe will lead the Firm’s office in Frankfurt, one of Europe´s key financial centers. Over the last few years, the Frankfurt office has strategically grown with a number of high-profile appointments to support an enhanced corporate, tax and arbitration practice and an impressive portfolio of deals. Joe will draw upon the recent momentum to continue enhancement of the office’s capabilities in support of international transactional work with the recruitment of additional talent, including such notable hires as Dr. Rüdiger Herrmann and Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Haarmann.
• Jane Wells May, Global Head, McDermott’s Tax Practice
  Jane has been with the firm for 18 years and has played a key role in building and maintaining McDermott’s best-in-class tax reputation through her role as head of the State & Local Tax Practice over the past eight years. Under her broader leadership, her focus will be further cementing the Tax Practice’s industry leading position at the forefront of the critical business and legal tax issues impacting the world’s largest organizations. Jane will work to cultivate the strengths of those around her, recruit the most talented lawyers to join the group in key markets, and support the group’s success in partnering with clients to optimize opportunities, mitigate risks and navigate the new reality of reform.
• Jeffrey Steiner and Todd Finger, Co-Managing Partners, New York
  Jeff and Todd have demonstrated a strong commitment to leadership with Jeff serving as global head of the Firm’s Real Estate Finance Group and Todd serving as co-head of the New York office’s Transactions Practice Group. They will co-manage the New York office with a focus on recruiting, nurturing and retaining talented lawyers in a number of key practice areas. They will also be at the helm to oversee the office’s much-anticipated move to One Vanderbilt. Jeff and Todd will guide their colleagues through this exciting physical transformation and will draw upon the momentum to invigorate and strategically grow McDermott’s capabilities at the epicenter of the commercial and financial world.
• Hamid Yunis, Managing Partner, London
  An experienced and well-known corporate transactional lawyer with a focus on health care, Hamid joined McDermott in 2016 to bolster its first class global health offerings and expand the Firm’s health transactional capabilities. Two years after his arrival, McDermott’s London office now boasts a leading health transactional team that has already made its mark in the industry.
  As managing partner for the firm’s London office, Hamid will draw on his experience of building a premier practice as a platform for further growth of the office focused on delivering superior and sustainable results for clients.
• Eric Zimmerman, Global Head, Health Industry Advisory Practice
  An acclaimed thought leader on health care law and policy, Eric has a strong history of guiding clients through the difficult crossroads of innovation and regulation. Under his leadership, the Health team will use cutting-edge market insight and ingenuity to lead the way in areas such as collaborative transformation, digital health, heath care litigation and private equity, helping clients navigate the complex and ever-evolving challenges of the industry. Eric has played an integral role in shaping McDermott’s health practice into an industry-leading brand, previously serving as partner-in-charge of the group in Washington, DC. Eric also served as president of the American Health Lawyer’s Association. With Eric leading the global Health Practice, McDermott will continue to be at the forefront of the industry, working with clients to shape the future of health care.

In addition to promoting lawyers to important new leadership roles, McDermott is investing in talent to ensure it remains at the forefront of technological developments and able to offer the very best infrastructure to protect its clients’ sensitive information. Michael Shea recently joined the Firm as its Chief Technology Officer to direct IT operations and information governance and offer innovative solutions to McDermott’s clients and employees. Michael brings experience managing the complex and changing needs of an AmLaw 25 law firm. Andrew Pope became McDermott’s Privacy Officer to oversee internal compliance relating to privacy and data protection, including regulations such as HIPAA and GDPR. Andrew will work to ensure that McDermott meets the standards clients, employees and regulatory authorities demand, and to protect it from the risks of reputational damage, regulatory challenge or sanctions.

Schulte advised Wellington Management Company in challenging the $74-billion takeover of global biopharmaceutical company Celgene Corporation by Bristol-Myers Squibb.

The Schulte team advising Wellington Management was led by Ele Klein, partner and co-chair of the firm’s global Shareholder Activism Group. The team also included special counsel Adriana Schwartz and associate David Rothenberg.

McDermott Will & Emery advises HyoSeong on the acquisition of the business operations of HKR Seuffer. HKR Seuffer was taken over by a German–Korean bidder consortium consisting of HyoSeong and KRAH Group. The transaction also includes the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in the Chinese joint venture Shanghai Krah Seuffer Electronics Co. Ltd, and is expected to be closed in April 2019. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

HyoSeong and KRAH plan to continue and successfully expand HKR’s business operations by contributing their expertise. All jobs at the HRK sites in Kupferzell and Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany, as well as all customer and supplier relationships will be preserved.

HKR Seuffer Automotive GmbH & Co. KG has been developing and producing power electronics for high-voltage applications in the automotive sector for more than 20 years. HKR’s customers include well-known OEMs and system suppliers in Europe, Asia and the US. The company filed for insolvency in November 2018 and was now sold to the bidder consortium in a structured M&A process.

HyoSeong Electric Co., Ltd is a family-owned automotive supplier headquartered in Busan, South Korea. Founded in 1973, the company manufactures blower motors for HVAC and EC applications as well as motors for use in power steering, ABS and parking brakes. HyoSeong employs counts more than 1,200 staff at seven locations in Asia, Europe and North America.

KRAH Unternehmensholding GmbH & Co. KG is a medium-sized family business based in Drolshagen, Germany, that produces electronic components for automotive, e-mobility and industrial applications. KRAH employs more than 1,900 people at ten sales, development and production sites in Europe, Asia, South and North America.

McDermott advised in HyoSeong with an international team of lawyers from the Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Seoul and Shanghai offices, where the firm has maintained a strategic alliance with MWE China Law Offices for many years.

The McDermott team advising HyoSeong was led by Frankfurt Corporate partners Michael Cziesla and Norman Wasse and included Oliver Hahnelt (Finance, Frankfurt), Thomas Gennert (Employment), Alexa Ningelgen (Public Law), Marc Oberhardt (Restructuring), Jens Ortmanns, Jessica Hanke (both Real Estate, all Düsseldorf), Paul J. Kim (Corporate M&A, Seoul); Associates: Tobias Riemenschneider, Isabelle Müller, Marion von Grönheim (all Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), Mirjam Büsch (Public Law), Sakai Shabo, Sara Brinkmann (both Real Estate), Josepha Afra Hettich (Employment, all Düsseldorf). From MWE China Law Offices in Shanghai Molly Quin, Wendy Wu and Yi Liu were part of the team.

McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. With 20 locations on three continents, our team works seamlessly across practices, industries and geographies to deliver highly effective—and often unexpected—solutions that propel success. More than 1,100 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.