Overview
Trusted Pragmatic Counsel
Vorys represents private equity firms and their portfolio companies in platform acquisitions, portfolio company add-on acquisitions, debt facilities, other financing arrangements, and a broad range of other matters across the United States. Our private equity clients and their portfolio companies have told us that they return to Vorys because of our pragmatic, efficient and engaged counsel. Our lawyers rely on their broad and deep experience to achieve outstanding results for our clients, whether working across the table from the largest law firms in the country or in negotiating smaller acquisitions. Our experience spans transactions ranging from $1 million to over $750 million in enterprise value.
Value and Service
We provide high-touch, responsive, and sophisticated counsel in line with our roots as a client-centered Midwestern firm. Our rate structure and staffing model permit our most experienced partners to be deeply involved in transactions at a price point that is significantly more favorable than many larger law firms. Our private equity experience includes working with private equity firms and portfolio companies to develop standardized processes and documents that drive efficiencies in the acquisition and financing processes and reduce legal transaction expenses.
Comprehensive Services
Our private equity clients and their portfolio companies benefit from our broad range of substantive experience and our inter-disciplinary, team-based approach to providing legal services. Our teams routinely work with private equity clients in the following areas:
- M&A and joint ventures, including take-private transactions
- Equity finance, including exempt securities offerings
- Debt facilities, including acquisition and working capital credit facilities
- Tax structuring and federal, state, and local tax matters
- Corporate governance and capital markets
- Real estate, economic development, and tax incentives
- Employee benefits, executive compensation, and equity incentive compensation structuring
- Labor, employment, health & safety, and workers’ compensation
- Privacy and data security
- Information technology
- Environmental
- Bankruptcy, distressed M&A, workouts and restructurings
- Supply chain, logistics and e-commerce
- Franchise
- Energy, oil & gas
- General corporate matters
- Intellectual property prosecution, protection and transactions
- Corporate, shareholder and commercial litigation
- Strategic communications and crisis management
- Antitrust and trade regulation
Representative Transactions
M&A
- Air Transport Services Group in its $3.1 billion go-private acquisition by Stonepeak Partners, LP
- A NYSE-listed New York based mezzanine fund in financing multiple acquisitions, including a diversified national plastics manufacturer; a multi-state heavy equipment rental company; an IT services firm; an international provider of automation vending equipment; a manufacturer of rigging and safety gear; an integrated engineering, procurement and construction management company; an industrial packaging component supplier; a global developer and manufacturer of pre-hospital gear; a strategic aerospace, defense, technology, health care and life sciences consulting firm; and a marketing firm
- A private equity firm in its capital raise, acquisition and financing of an international specialty gauge and sensor manufacturer
- A New York-based private equity firm in numerous portfolio company add-on acquisitions throughout the United States
- A Toronto-based private equity firm, as U.S. counsel, in the acquisition of a market-leading bakery company
- A Fortune 500 company in the sale of its limited partnership interest in a fund
- A private equity firm in its acquisition of a media company
- A multifamily investment company in multiple joint ventures among the client, insurance companies, real estate investment trusts and large public pension funds relating to multifamily real estate projects across the U.S
- A venture capital firm in the acquisition of a product lifecycle management software company
Financing
- A private equity firm in multiple debt and equity capital raises and acquisitions and/or recapitalizations of five portfolio companies in various industrial related industries and located throughout the United States and internationally
- A consortium of private equity firms led by an affiliate of the Blackstone Group in $1.7 billion financing of debt and equity to Oklahoma-based American Energy Partners
- A New York-based hedge fund in financing the acquisition of a national oil and gas exploration company
- Multiple sponsors in the structuring, organizing and financing of multiple funds
- A private equity firm in a $477 million financing transaction for an oil and gas exploration company
- An Australian sovereign fund in connection with senior secured financing provided to global wind energy development company Windlab Limited, which operates in Australia, South Africa, Tanzania and the United States
- Lead debt providers in syndicated, leveraged private equity acquisitions ranging from $20 million to more than $100 million across the United States
Strategic Investments
- Several venture capital funds and family offices in strategic investments in companies in biotechnology, software, pharmaceutical and various other sectors
- An e-commerce logistics software technology company in its Series A and Series B preferred venture capital investment rounds and $20 million Reg. D notes/warrants offering
- A strategic venture capital investor in an investment in a company that develops commercializes and manufactures nanofibers for use in advanced performance materials
- A “fund of funds” in its investment in an Ohio-based fund
- A global Chinese headquartered public company in its direct venture capital investment in a Silicon Valley-based software technology company
- A venture capital fund in an investment in a California-based company that assists businesses with lowering the costs associated with meeting their regulatory compliance and audit requirements
- A venture capital fund in an investment in an Ohio-based biopharmaceutical company
