DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT / PRESS RELEASE
McDermott Advises CAPZA on Minority Investment in Groupe NEO2
July 28, 2023
Read time: 3 min
McDermott Will & Emery has advised CAPZA on a minority investment in Groupe NEO2, a consulting firm specializing in the process industry and infrastructure, alongside management, Bpifrance and Turenne Groupe, which is reinvesting in the new transaction.
With the support of CAPZA, NEO2 aims to accelerate its growth through the development of new offerings and the opening of new offices in France and Europe. The Group also intends to pursue a dynamic external growth strategy, through targeted acquisitions in complementary geographies, service offerings or sectors.
The McDermott team advising CAPZA included:
- Henri Pieyre de Mandiargues, partner, Stanislas Offroy, Julien-Pierre Tannoury and Pénélope Renard, associates (Corporate)
- Pierre-Arnoux Mayoly, partner, Stanislas Chenu, Martin Baffou and Clarisse de Roux, associates (Financing)
- Antoine Vergnat, partner, and Paul-Henry de Laguiche, associate (Tax Law)
- Naré Arshakyan, associate (Employment Law)
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.
Media Contact
McDermott Shortlisted for Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe
AWARDS & RANKINGS / PRESS RELEASE
McDermott Shortlisted for Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe
July 28, 2023
Read time: 3 min
International law firm McDermott Will & Emery is pleased to announce that it has been shortlisted for Innovation in Digital Solutions and Innovative Lawyers in Impact and ESG as part of the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe.
- Innovation in Digital Solutions: Spearheaded by McDermott’s German Legal Tech team and led by Dr. Thomas Hauss, the Firm’s Check of Regulatory Authorizations (CORA) tool was launched to help navigate the highly complex landscape of German and European financial regulatory laws.
- Innovative Lawyers in Impact and ESG: McDermott’s Impact Finance team, led by Ranajoy Basu and supported by Priya Taneja and Siddhartha Sivaramakrishnan, acted as lead counsel to the United Nations in launching a landmark Global Fund for Refugees – an innovative, first-of-its-kind USD 500,000,000 Shariah-compliant global fund, established to address the developmental and humanitarian needs of millions of forcibly displaced people.
The 2023 Innovative Lawyers Europe report, launching in September, will highlight the firms and in-house teams that are digitally advanced and using innovative approaches to deliver exceptional value to business and society. The report will also highlight outstanding leaders and individuals bringing innovation to the practice of law.
You can read more about the Innovative Lawyers Awards.
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.
Media Contact
McDermott Advises Galiena Capital on its Acquisition of a Stake in Groupe Topia
DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT / PRESS RELEASE
McDermott Advises Galiena Capital on its Acquisition of a Stake in Groupe Topia
July 26, 2023
Read time: 3 min
McDermott Will & Emery advised Galiena Capital on its acquisition of a stake in Groupe Topia, a specialist in the development and maintenance of green spaces in south-eastern France.
This acquisition by Galiena Capital should enable Groupe Topia to accelerate its development and expand its geographical position through acquisitions.
The McDermott team that advised Galiena Capital comprised:
- Diana Hund, partner, Marie-Muriel Barthelet, counsel, Sarah Louifi and Elodie Pieraggi, associates, on the private equity aspects
- Pierre-Arnoux Mayoly, partner, Stanislas Chenu and Clarisse de Roux, associates, on financing aspects
- Côme de Saint-Vincent, counsel, on tax law aspects
- Oriane Beauvois, associate, 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.
Media Contact
McDermott Advises Heritage-Crystal Clean On Its $1.2 Billion Merger With J.F. Lehman & Company, A Leading Private Equity Investment Firm
DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT / PRESS RELEASE
McDermott Advises Heritage-Crystal Clean On Its $1.2 Billion Merger With J.F. Lehman & Company, A Leading Private Equity Investment Firm
July 25, 2023
Read time: 3 min
International law firm McDermott Will & Emery represented Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc. (Nasdaq: HCCI) (“Crystal Clean”) on its definitive merger agreement to be acquired by an investment affiliate of J.F. Lehman & Company in an all-cash transaction that values Crystal Clean at approximately $1.2 billion.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, J.F. Lehman & Company will acquire all the outstanding shares of Crystal Clean for $45.50 per share in cash. The purchase price represents a premium of approximately 24.9% to Crystal Clean’s 60-day volume-weighted average price on July 19, 2023. The merger agreement also provides for a “go-shop” provision under which Crystal Clean and its Board of Directors may actively solicit, receive, evaluate and potentially enter negotiations with parties that offer alternative proposals during a 35-day period following the execution date of the definitive agreement, expiring at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 23, 2023.
Crystal Clean provides parts cleaning, used oil re-refining, hazardous and non-hazardous waste disposal, emergency and spill response, and industrial and field services to vehicle maintenance businesses, manufacturers and other industrial businesses, as well as utilities and governmental entities.
J.F. Lehman & Company is a leading private equity investment firm focused on the aerospace, defense, maritime and environmental sectors. Headquartered in New York, NY, the firm currently has approximately $4.5 billion of assets under management.
McDermott’s team was led by partners Heidi Steele, Ann Marie Brodarick and David Lipkin, and included partners Anh Lee and Sunyi Snow with associates Jack Beauchamp, Ryan Forman, Delaney Prunty and Nicole Briody.
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.
Media Contact
McDermott Represents Monumental Sports & Entertainment in its Minority Investment by Qatar Investment Authority
PRESS RELEASE
McDermott Represents Monumental Sports & Entertainment in its Minority Investment by Qatar Investment Authority
July 24, 2023
Read time: 3 min
Washington, DC – (July 24, 2023) – International law firm McDermott Will & Emery represented Monumental Sports & Entertainment, one of the largest integrated sports and entertainment companies in the country, in connection with a minority investment by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).
Monumental Sports & Entertainment, led by founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ted Leonsis, owns and operates seven professional and amateur team franchises, six venues and two media networks, among additional assets. Their portfolio includes the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals, NBA’s Washington Wizards, WNBA’s 2019 Championship Washington Mystics, NBA G League’s Capital City Go-Go, and the 2021 and 2020 NBA 2K League Champion Wizards District Gaming and Caps Gaming, an esports sub-brand of the Capitals. They are also a co-owner of aXiomatic, which has a controlling interest in global esports franchise Team Liquid.
McDermott also represented Monumental Sports & Entertainment in its minority investment by former eBay President Jeff Skoll.
The McDermott deal team was led by Tom Conaghan with substantial support provided by Christine Kretkowski, Scott Bowman, Carl William (Will) Rush, Greg Berson and Fon Bisalbutr. Patrick McCurry, Alex Farr and Andrew Granek advised on tax issues and David Levine and Lisa Richman advised on regulatory issues.
Read Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s press release.
ABOUT MCDERMOTT
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.
Media Contact
McDermott Comment | EU Tightens Rules On Leverage For Private Credit Funds
PRESS RELEASE
McDermott Comment | EU Tightens Rules On Leverage For Private Credit Funds
July 24, 2023
Read time: 2 min
Aymen Mahmoud, a partner at law firm McDermott Will & Emery, said:
“Private credit is an asset class that has attracted significant attention in recent years because of its vast successes. It is unsurprising that regulators have turned their attention to it on that basis, even if other parts of the financial and investing sphere remain largely unregulated. This won’t make much difference to how private credit conducts itself in terms of investment discipline but legislators must be careful not to undermine the economic stability that credit markets have afforded the current economic environment when compared to the global financial crisis of 2008.”
Media Contact
McDermott Advises Siparex on its Acquisition of a Majority Stake in Passman
DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT / PRESS RELEASE
McDermott Advises Siparex on its Acquisition of a Majority Stake in Passman
July 21, 2023
Read time: 3 min
McDermott Will & Emery has advised Siparex on its acquisition of a majority stake in Passman, the leading provider of network management and digital solutions for the hospitality industry.
Andera Partners, a long-standing shareholder, is reinvesting in this new round of financing, alongside the founding directors, Frédéric Levy, Patrick Layani and Sylvain Layani, and the main managers.
The McDermott team advising Siparex included:
- Grégoire Andrieux, partner, Herschel Guez, counsel and Elodie Pieraggi, associate, on Corporate aspects.
- Antoine Vergnat, partner, Côme de Saint-Vincent, counsel, and Paul-Henry de Laguiche, associate, on Tax aspects.
- Pierre-Arnoux Mayoly, partner, Shirin Deyhim, counsel, Elizabeth Amzallag and Martin Baffou, associates, on financing 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.
Media Contact
McDermott Advises Gemspring Capital On Its Platform Acquisition Of Bradford, A Leading Beauty & Personal Care Product Developer, Formulator And Manufacturer
DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT / PRESS RELEASE
McDermott Advises Gemspring Capital On Its Platform Acquisition Of Bradford, A Leading Beauty & Personal Care Product Developer, Formulator And Manufacturer
July 19, 2023
Read time: 4 min
International law firm McDermott Will & Emery represented Gemspring Capital Management, LLC, a Connecticut-based private equity firm (“Gemspring Capital”), on its platform acquisition of Bradford Soap International, Inc., a leading developer, formulator and manufacturer of beauty & personal care products.
McDermott also advised on the structuring, negotiation and documentation of (i) a Term Loan Credit Agreement with Capital Dynamics US, Inc. as Administrative Agent and (ii) an Asset Based Revolving Loan with Bank of America, N.A. as Administrative Agent. Loan proceeds were used to finance the acquisition and for working capital purposes.
For more than 140 years, Bradford has helped companies build great brands by creating innovative personal care products and offering a range of turnkey solutions from formulation to manufacturing, labeling, and packaging. It is the world’s leading manufacturer of specialty bar soap, cleansing poufs, and anhydrous products, including moisturizers, cleansers, shave sticks, and more. Headquartered in Rhode Island, Bradford also has facilities in Indiana and California.
Gemspring Capital is a middle market private equity firm with $3.4 billion of capital under management focused on companies generating up to $500 million in revenue in the aerospace & defense, business services, consumer services, financial and insurance services, healthcare services, industrial services, software and tech-enabled services, or specialty manufacturing sectors.
The McDermott team was led by partners Harris Siskind (Miami), Frank Steinherr (New York) Lindsey Reighard (Dallas) and associates Nathaniel Wolfe (New York), Adam Perlman (New York) and Michael Kim (New York). Partners Alejandro Ruiz (San Francisco), Michelle Strowhiro (Orange County), Marjorie Soto Garcia (Orange County), Jennifer Mikulina (Chicago), Scott Weinstein (Washington DC), Elias Eliopoulos (New York) and Daphne Trotter (Washington DC); counsel Anisa Mohanty (Washington DC) and Patrick Ryan (Chicago); associates Kwabena Yeboah (Washington DC), Olivia Kaufman (New York), Cristell Fortune (New York), Jennifer Hill (Atlanta), Eleanor Atkins (Washington DC), Thomas DaMario (Chicago), Stephanie Stein (New York) and Philip Fitzpatrick (New York) also advised.
McDermott’s finance team included partners Samantha Koplik (New York) and Michael Rostov (Los Angeles), with associates Matthew Celentano (New York) Brian Ingram (Chicago) and Sam Scaletta (Chicago), and paralegal assistance from Robin Riley (New York).
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.
Media Contact
Schulte Roth & Zabel adds two key business leaders
PRESS RELEASE
Schulte Roth & Zabel adds two key business leaders
July 19, 2023
Read time: 5 min
Schulte Roth & Zabel is proud to announce the addition of two key members to the firm’s C-suite leadership team with the hires of Jean Lee as Chief People Officer and John K. Johnson as Chief Innovation Officer.
“Our plan has been to build a team of business executives with unique and varied experience, allowing for different vantage points derived from diverse leadership models that will propel our firm into the future,” said David Efron, co-managing partner of Schulte.
“Talent and innovation drive our business so we are very excited to bring on board leaders like Jean and John,” said Marc Elovitz, co-managing partner of Schulte.
Jean will oversee Schulte’s Human Resources, Legal Recruiting and Professional Development departments, and will be responsible for the development and implementation of a talent strategy for the firm’s lawyers and business professionals.
John will be responsible for driving the firm’s innovation priorities and initiatives, which will encompass identifying and evaluating promising new ideas and ways of working together and serving clients. He will collaborate with lawyers and business professionals across the firm to develop, lead and execute on the firm’s innovation strategy.
“I’m honored to join Schulte and further build upon our core values of connectedness, curiosity and courage through people programs that support firm culture and employee engagement, growth and development,” said Jean. “Schulte has a reputation for exceptional client service and I’m excited to support employees’ professional goals and advance the firm’s business objectives.”
“I was attracted by Schulte’s great people and foresight in vision,” said John. “In this new role, I look forward to drawing upon my unique background to drive collaboration and problem solving to serve the firm’s long-term success. As I do, I’ll partner with stakeholders across the firm to prioritize the right issues and co-create and execute informed strategies to make the most of new opportunities and stay ahead of the curve through focused attention to our industry’s evolution.”
Jean spent more than 25 years working across a multitude of industries to ensure that people strategies reflect and enable key business initiatives.
Prior to joining Schulte, Jean was the Global Chief People Officer and held senior human resources positions within the agency network Interpublic Group, helping Weber Shandwick to be named to Ad Age’s “Best Places to Work.”
She also held talent management roles at Avon Products and The Walt Disney Company, in addition to providing human capital and change management solutions to Aon Consulting’s clients for a decade. Her projects have included the post-merger integration following Citigroup’s acquisition of Banamex in 2001, the building of a new HR capability at Goldman Sachs following its IPO in 1999, the cultural integration of GHI and HIP after coming together as EmblemHealth in 2006, and other business initiatives in the human capital space.
Jean earned an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.A. in Communications Studies from University of California, Los Angeles.
John has more than 15 years of legal industry experience from the vantage points of external counsel, member of a corporate compliance monitorship team, senior in-house leader and corporate affairs executive. A key area of focus for John has been leveraging data and programmatic thinking to drive results.
Most recently, he served as the Global Head of Compliance at Spotify. Prior to that he worked as Global Director of Compliance at AB InBev, SA, where he played a key role in launching its award-winning BrewRight platform and was based in India as the Vice President of Legal and Corporate Affairs for AB InBev’s South Asia subsidiary.
He is also a longstanding champion of DEI initiatives, previously serving as the founding board chair of Pipeline to Practice and on the board of the George Crawford Black Bar Association. He is also a member of the board of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce.
John graduated from Columbia Law School, and holds a B.A. in Political Science from Yale College.
Media Contact
McDermott Milan Partner Recognized in Legal 500 Dispute Resolution Powerlist: Italy 2023
AWARDS & RANKINGS / PRESS RELEASE
McDermott Milan Partner Recognized in Legal 500 Dispute Resolution Powerlist: Italy 2023
July 17, 2023
Read time: 4 min
MILAN (July 17, 2023) – International law firm McDermott Will & Emery is pleased to announce that Milan-based partner Fabio Cozzi hast been recognized in the inaugural Private Practice Dispute Resolution Powerlist: Italy 2023. The list recognizes the elite dispute resolution practitioners in the country and provides insights on how these experts navigate the constantly changing disputes practice, against a backdrop of regulatory reforms.
Fabio Cozzi heads the Italian dispute resolution practice and focuses on cross-border litigation, domestic and international arbitration, compliance, financial crime and international trade. He joined McDermott in April 2023 bolstering the Firm’s global litigation practice, in response to an increased demand for dispute resolution advice in Italy. McDermott’s Milan practice provides effective, coordinated legal counsel to clients across a broad array of legal issues, including helping Italian clients expand their operations and investments outside national borders and working with international companies looking to enter the Italian market.
The Legal 500 Powerlist publication states: “Fabio Cozzi advises corporations, financial institutions and investment funds in complex disputes often spanning multiple jurisdictions, as well as in domestic and international arbitration proceedings for a range of commercial, corporate, real estate, energy, bankruptcy, financial and technology related matters.” Further noting that he “has represented international clients in a number of urgent proceedings before national courts in support of arbitration as well as in the enforcement of arbitral awards. He also counsels corporate clients and financial institutions on compliance and internal investigations related to corruption, financial crime and international sanctions violations.”
ABOUT THE LEGAL 500 POWERLIST
To collate the list of leading practitioners the Legal 500 team have drawn on their research team’s expertise. Legal 500 have also approached leading arbitrators, arbitral institutions, and general counsel active in the market to help create a definitive list of the leading arbitration and litigation counsel in Italy today.
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.
