Whether the impetus is consolidation in the marketplace, a plan for strategic growth or simply opportune timing, at some point every company must face a merger, acquisition or divestiture. At that time, a company must secure the right partner.

Each year, our mergers and acquisitions attorneys close hundreds of transactions, ranging from $1 million to over $1 billion. Historically, we have represented a broad base of clients ranging from large, publicly traded national and international corporations to venture stage or "seed" capital companies. As a result, our mergers and acquisitions team is comprised of seasoned negotiators and deal-makers who are familiar with the latest industry trends and who draw on extensive public and private sector experience to help both purchasers and sellers obtain the results they need.

Our advice spans a broad range of transactional settings, including friendly acquisitions of both a strategic and financial nature, leveraged buy-outs, "change of control" transactions involving public companies, mergers, tender offers, divestitures, proxy contests, employee stock ownership plans, corporate takeover strategies and defenses and Hart-Scott-Rodino compliance. In addition, we have provided assistance in debt and equity restructurings and assisted clients in acquiring assets from bankrupt entities, often through a bidding process.

Together, we have advised and represented:

• SCI Systems, Inc. in its successful merger with Sanmina Corporation. This was 2001's largest American telecommunications deal, valued at more than $6 billion, and we continue to provide significant legal services to the merged company
• One of the largest outdoor advertising companies in a merger valued at $9.2 billion
• The world's largest manufacturer of carpeting in a merger valued at $2.3 billion
• The two largest shareholders of a major radio broadcast company in the successful $12 billion tender offer by a major television network
• A number of telecommunications companies in acquisitions of publicly and privately held companies
• A company in the acquisition of the assets of a 450-store national retailer
• A leading specialty health care finance company in a $490 million merger with a nationally recognized financing company
• The acquirer in the first merger of two publicly traded health care real estate investment trusts
• A leading international electronics manufacturing services provider in the acquisition of manufacturing facilities in Australia, Belgium, Canada, China and Israel