DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT / PRESS RELEASE
McDermott Represents Calvin Ford in Equity Investment in German Soccer Team SSV Ulm 1846 Fußball GmbH & Co. KGaA
June 4, 2024
Read time: 4 min
The transaction:
- International law firm McDermott Will & Emery represented Calvin Ford in connection with his equity investment in German soccer team SSV Ulm 1846 Fußball GmbH & Co. KGaA (Ulm).
- The Investment Agreement was signed on April 2, 2024, and closed on May 7, 2024.
Team background:
- Ulm quickly established itself in Germany’s Third Division in 2023 and remained unbeaten in the league in 2024, including a final seven-game winning streak.
- Winning the Third Division Championship secured Ulm’s second consecutive promotion, elevating them to Germany’s Second Division, 2. Bundesliga.
Why it matters:
- Ford’s investment provides substantial support for Ulm in its endeavors to establish itself in Germany’s Second Division alongside long-time traditional German powers such as Schalke 04 and FC Koln, as well as to comply with certain Bundesliga requirements for teams in higher divisions.
The McDermott cross-border team was led by Tom Conaghan, Scott Bowman and Greg Berson, with substantial assistance from Thomas Ammermann, Philipp Grenzebach, Wolfgang von Frentz and Annabelle Juliette Rau.
About McDermott’s Family Office Capital & Investment Strategies (FOCIS) Group Advising on Sports Law
FOCIS is a multi-practice team within McDermott that draws on the experience of our Private Client, Tax and Transactional lawyers to provide creative and holistic solutions across all levels of a family wealth structure including with respect to direct investing across several industries, including sports, media and entertainment. By taking a comprehensive and multi-level approach, we aim to achieve enhanced economic returns through optimal planning for families, returns that would otherwise be lost when working with external advisors with a narrower lens.
This approach is critical in professional sports investing and ownership, where tax and estate planning are key structural elements. McDermott advises family groups and business owners on numerous sports-related investments, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, real estate, tax and estate planning.
McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. Our team works seamlessly across practices and industries to deliver highly effective solutions that propel success. More than 1,400 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.
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Pankit Doshi and Gary Gertler Named to BTI Consulting Group’s 2024 Client Service All-Stars List
AWARDS & RANKINGS / PRESS RELEASE
Pankit Doshi and Gary Gertler Named to BTI Consulting Group’s 2024 Client Service All-Stars List
June 4, 2024
Read time: 3 min
June 4, 2024 – International law firm McDermott Will & Emery is pleased to announce that Pankit Doshi and Gary Gertler have been recognized as part of BTI Consulting Group’s 2024 Client Service All-Stars list in their respective fields of labor and employment and healthcare transactions.
Pankit serves as the office managing partner for the Firm’s San Francisco and Silicon Valley offices. He focuses his practice on preventative counseling and representing employers in both state and federal courts up through trial and appeal. Pankit serves as lead counsel on cases involving issues related to prosecution and defense of unfair business competition claims, including trade secret misappropriation and restrictive covenant enforcement, independent contractor misclassification, whistleblower complaints, wage and hour disputes.
Gary represents hospitals, healthcare systems, managed care organizations, multispecialty and single specialty medical groups, healthcare companies, ancillary management companies and other healthcare providers. He focuses his practice on mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; strategic affiliations; private equity and debt transactions; hospital-affiliated group practices; joint ventures and syndications; and healthcare regulatory and corporate matters.
BTI conducts the longest-running independent study that finds and celebrates the lawyers who top legal decision makers say deliver extraordinary client service. Now in its 23rd year of publication, BTI’s Client Service All-Stars list draws solely on in-depth interviews as part of its ongoing Annual Survey of General Counsel. This year, BTI probed more than 350 top legal decision makers at large organizations with more than $700 million in revenue.
View the full BTI Client Service All-Stars 2024 report.
McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. Our team works seamlessly across practices and industries to deliver highly effective solutions that propel success. More than 1,400 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.
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McDermott Boosts Global Finance Offering With Market-Leading Appointment In London
PRESS RELEASE
McDermott Boosts Global Finance Offering With Market-Leading Appointment In London
June 3, 2024
Read time: 4 min
International law firm McDermott Will & Emery welcomes Christopher (Chris) Kandel as a partner in its Transactions Practice Group in London. Chris focuses his practice on leveraged finance, special situations, acquisition and other event driven finance and restructurings.
“Chris is one of the leading acquisition finance lawyers in London and is conversant with both US and European products,” said Harris Siskind, global head of McDermott’s Transactions Practice Group. “He brings exceptional depth to our finance capabilities across mid-market and large caps and is extremely complimentary to our international private credit and private equity practices.”
With over three decades in the European market, Chris brings extensive experience in various areas of finance beyond his main focus, including high-yield and debt capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, margin loans, securitization, derivatives fund finance, investment grade, pre- and post-initial public offering financings and other related fields under English and US law.
Notably, Chris has advised on a number of groundbreaking transactions, including the first super senior revolver in Europe, the first pari passu secured bank/bond issue in Europe, the largest margin loan on shares of a private (unlisted) company, the now-second largest leveraged buyout (LBO) financing in Asia and a pioneering Western-sponsor-style LBO financing in Russia.
“I am excited to be part of McDermott’s growth, and the chance to help expand its high-value finance practice in London, Europe and the United States is very attractive, as is working again alongside Aymen Mahmoud,” said Chris. “McDermott’s strong European platform and service offering, with PE, restructuring, real estate and finance in Paris, Frankfurt/Munich and Milan, makes McDermott a compelling offering to clients.”
In The Legal 500 UK, clients referred to Chris as being “one of the best leveraged finance lawyers out there, very capable acting for the banks, but equally adept acting for sponsors.” He also has been honored as part of the Financial Times’ Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe for his contributions to the Pirelli take-private financing.
“Chris is an outstanding lawyer with substantial experience and demonstrates an unwavering commitment to client service,” said Aymen Mahmoud, London office managing partner. “Furthermore, this appointment provides an important signal to the market of McDermott’s continued aspiration to grow – and to do so with the best lawyers in the market.”
This appointment follows the recent additions of Michal Berkner, Graham White and Fatema Orjela.
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McDermott Advises IK Partners on its Majority Stake in BIOBank
DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT / PRESS RELEASE
McDermott Advises IK Partners on its Majority Stake in BIOBank
May 30, 2024
Read time: 3 min
McDermott Will & Emery advised IK Partners on its acquisition of a majority stake, via its IK Small Cap III fund, in BIOBank, a leading manufacturer and distributor of bone allografts for orthopaedic, spinal, dental and cranio-maxillo-facial surgery, alongside management and the historical shareholders Verto Growth and Capital Croissance.
The McDermott team that advised IK Partners comprised:
- Diana Hund, Herschel Guez, partners, and Sarah Louifi, associate, on corporate aspects
- Sabine Naugès, Laurent Ayache, partners, and Zakarya Mahi, associate, on regulatory aspects
- Côme de Saint Vincent, Counsel, on tax aspects
McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. Our team works seamlessly across practices and industries to deliver highly effective solutions that propel success. More than 1,400 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.
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Schulte Roth & Zabel to Host 14th Annual Shareholder Activism Conference
PRESS RELEASE
Schulte Roth & Zabel to Host 14th Annual Shareholder Activism Conference
May 30, 2024
Read time: 3 min
Schulte Roth & Zabel, which has represented clients in some of the highest-profile and most complex campaigns in investor engagement, is excited to announce its 14th Annual Shareholder Activism Conference, which will take place on Wednesday, June 5. The Conference is a platform for stakeholders to discuss best practices for influencing corporate behavior through active ownership and an opportunity to connect the corporate governance community. Attendees will gain insights into the latest trends and legal frameworks governing shareholder activism, in addition to the experiences of people involved in the year’s most significant campaigns.
Conference Highlights:
Speakers: Renowned industry leaders and practitioners in shareholder activism and corporate governance will engage in impactful conversations. Confirmed speakers include leading activists, advisors, and journalists.
Panel Discussions: Interactive panels will include:
- A Conversation with Cristiano Guerra, Head of Institutional Shareholder Services’ Special Situations Research team
- Fireside Chat with Leading Activists
- Perspectives on the 2024 Proxy Season
- Updates to the Activism Litigation Landscape
- Private Capital and Regulatory Trends
Networking: Opportunities to connect with institutional investors and corporate governance leaders that shape the activism space.
To register, please reach out to your Schulte representative.
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McDermott Represents LNR Partners, LLC in Large Commercial Mortgage Foreclosure
DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT / PRESS RELEASE
McDermott Represents LNR Partners, LLC in Large Commercial Mortgage Foreclosure
May 29, 2024
Read time: 3 min
International law firm McDermott Will & Emery McDermott represented LNR Partners, LLC (LNR) as Attorney-in-fact for U.S. Bank National Association, in its capacity as Trustee for Morgan Stanley Bank of America Merrill Lynch Trust 2012-C6, Commercial Mortgage Pass-through Certificates, Series 2012-C6. This occurred in the foreclosure of a mortgage in the principal amount of $125,000,000 encumbering the commercial condominium unit at 1880 Broadway (15 Central Park West) New York, New York.
The McDermott team was led by Andrew Kratenstein, Scott Weinberg and Charles Gibbs.
McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. Our team works seamlessly across practices and industries to deliver highly effective solutions that propel success. More than 1,400 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.
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McDermott Advises STADA on Exclusive Agreement with Bio-Thera for Planned Biosimilar in the EU and UK
DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT / PRESS RELEASE
McDermott Advises STADA on Exclusive Agreement with Bio-Thera for Planned Biosimilar in the EU and UK
May 29, 2024
Read time: 3 min
Frankfurt, May 29, 2024 – McDermott Will & Emery advised STADA Arzneimittel AG on entering into an exclusive commercialization and license agreement with Bio-Thera Solutions. Ltd. for BAT2506, a biosimilar candidate to Simponi® (golimumab).
Under the agreement, Bio-Thera will maintain responsibility for the development, manufacturing and supply of BAT2506. STADA will receive exclusive rights to commercialize the product in the EU, the UK, Switzerland and selected other countries under its own marketing authorization.
Bio-Thera will receive payments, including development and commercialization milestones, of up to USD 157.5 million, subject to certain conditions being met.
Bio-Thera Solutions is a biopharmaceutical company based in Guangzhou, China, specializing in the development of novel therapeutics for, among others, the treatment of cancer, autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases as well as biosimilars for existing branded biologics.
STADA Arzneimittel AG, based in Bad Vilbel, Germany, focuses on a three-pillar strategy consisting of consumer healthcare products, generics and speciality pharma. The company sells products in around 115 countries worldwide. In the financial year 2023, STADA generated consolidated sales of EUR 3.73 billion, and employed over 11,600 people worldwide as of 31 December 2023.
The McDermott team advising STADA was led by counsel Monika Richter and included counsel Gary Howes, partner Deniz Tschammler, partner Henrik Holzapfel, counsel Laura Stammwitz, and associate Katharina Hoffmeister.
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McDermott Advises Perwyn on Significant Investment in Rubel & Ménasché
DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT / PRESS RELEASE
McDermott Advises Perwyn on Significant Investment in Rubel & Ménasché
May 29, 2024
Read time: 3 min
McDermott Will & Emery has advised European private equity player Perwyn on a significant investment in Rubel & Ménasché, alongside the management team, to accelerate the company’s growth.
Rubel & Ménasché is a leading French diamond merchant of international stature, based at Place Vendôme in Paris.
With this transaction, Rubel & Ménasché intends to take a new step forward in its development.
The McDermott team advising Perwyn included :
- Grégoire Andrieux (partner), Stanislas Offroy (associate) and Aïda Fraikech Bouhalka (legal counsel) on the corporate aspects of the transaction
- Shirin Deyhim (partner) and Antoine Venier (associate) on financing
McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. Our team works seamlessly across practices and industries to deliver highly effective solutions that propel success. More than 1,400 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.
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McDermott Represents lifespin on a Strategic Collaboration with Acibadem in the Field of AI-based Metabolomics Precision Medicine
DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT / PRESS RELEASE
McDermott Represents lifespin on a Strategic Collaboration with Acibadem in the Field of AI-based Metabolomics Precision Medicine
May 29, 2024
Read time: 3 min
Frankfurt, May 29, 2024 – McDermott Will & Emery represents German lifespin GmbH, a pioneer in health status detection software, on forming a partnership with Acibadem University (ACU) and Acibadem Healthcare Group (AHG). The collaboration serves to launch a precision medicine initiative in the area of personalized healthcare.
Under the collaboration agreement, lifespin and ACU will combine their expertise to establish a state-of-the-art, AI-based metabolomics precision medicine platform. lifespin will offer their services across ACU’s extensive network through a Software as a Service (SaaS) model.
lifespin GmbH is a deep-data company that develops omni-intelligent health status assessment software enabled by proprietary AI algorithms. lifespin has built one of the largest databases of metabolomic health profiles across 240,000+ healthy and diseased individuals covering multiple age and biological sex groups as well as specific diseases in neurology, oncology, and inflammation.
Acibadem Healthcare Group was established in 1991, rapidly becoming one of the leading institutions in Turkey within the field of private healthcare services. Acibadem is part of the world’s second largest healthcare chain with its 24 hospitals and 15 outpatient clinics, as well as 7 cancer centers.
The McDermott team was led by partner Deniz Tschammler and comprised partners Jana Grieb and Florian Lechner, counsel Markus Fischer as well as associates Lea Hachmeister and Katharina Hoffmeister.
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Yesenia Gallegos Named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Women of Influence: Attorneys 2024 List
AWARDS & RANKINGS / PRESS RELEASE
Yesenia Gallegos Named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Women of Influence: Attorneys 2024 List
May 28, 2024
Read time: 3 min
May 28, 2024 – International law firm McDermott Will & Emery is pleased to announce that Yesenia Gallegos has been named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Women of Influence: Attorneys 2024 list.
Yesenia is a litigator with substantial experience representing employers in wage and hour class actions, Fair Credit Reporting Act class actions, California Private Attorneys General Act representative actions and embezzlement disputes. She defends against discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, and she provides strategic advice to employers and the C-suite on mitigating risk in mergers and acquisitions, pay equity, executive compensation, employment investigations, enforcement or avoidance of restrictive covenants, managing leaves of absence, and reductions in force. Yesenia also serves as co-office managing partner of McDermott’s Southern California offices
The Los Angeles Business Journal’s Women of Influence: Attorneys list honors the LA area’s most influential women legal professionals.
McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. Our team works seamlessly across practices and industries to deliver highly effective solutions that propel success. More than 1,400 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.
