Mergers and Acquisitions

Practice Contacts

Mergers and Acquisitions

Taft’s Mergers and Acquisitions team guides private companies, public companies, and financial sponsors through some of their most demanding and complex business transactions. We represent a diverse clientele that includes multinational corporations and private equity investors and other financial sponsors in a wide array of sophisticated domestic and international M&A transactions.

We are regularly called upon to represent clients in multimillion- and multibillion-dollar deals, and our team is thus fluent in the latest market trends, deal terms, and best practices. Our clients rely on our market knowledge, full-spectrum support, and our reputation for devising innovative solutions to complex challenges.

Because M&A transactions present challenges in various legal domains, our core M&A team collaborates with our deep bench of subject matter specialists to support the entire transaction. Using this multi-disciplinary approach, we are able to quickly and efficiently manage and resolve the myriad issues presented in complex transactions, including those arising in the context of finance, tax, employment and labor relations, real estate, environmental, intellectual property, antitrust, litigation, and employee benefits and executive compensation. Utilizing this collaborative approach, we are able to bring the breadth of our collective experience to bear on our clients’ most sensitive and time-constrained transactions.

In addition to our work on behalf of acquiring and divesting parties, we regularly represent boards of directors, special committees, and management teams as special counsel in specific issues affecting them in merger and acquisition transactions.

Our firm and our lawyers are nationally recognized for their M&A practice and have received numerous honors from a variety of publications, including Chambers USA, Best Lawyers in America®, U.S. News – Best Lawyers® Best Law Firms, and Super Lawyers.

Private Equity

We represent many notable private equity funds, family offices, and independent sponsors in connection with the acquisition and divestiture of their portfolio companies. Our private equity M&A lawyers have a deep understanding of the private equity market and the unique issues faced by our private equity clients.

Strategic Transactions

Many public companies and well-capitalized private companies routinely hire our firm to guide them through transformative strategic M&A transactions, from mergers of equal transactions to acquisitions and divestitures of business or strategic units. Many of our institutional clients are multi-national corporations involved in M&A transactions throughout the world.

Founder and Family-Owned Businesses

Founder and family-owned businesses face unique challenges when looking to transition their business or partner with private equity investors. Because we are well versed in representing private equity sponsors investing in these businesses, we understand the issues closely-held businesses face when involved in transactions involving the investment of a first round of institutional capital or a sale of the business. We regularly guide family-owned businesses through these matters, including structuring tax-deferred rollover investments and negotiating purchase agreements, post-closing employment agreements, and minority investor protections.

Distressed M&A

Our M&A lawyers have deep experience acquiring and selling financially distressed companies. Working closely with our creditors’ rights team, we guide buyers and sellers through the unique aspects of these transactions, whether structured as 363 bankruptcy sales, Article 9 sales, or a traditional sale with the attended financial constraints of a distressed seller.

Other Representations

The following is an illustrative list of the types of transactions in which we are regularly involved:

Public and private mergers, acquisitions, and dispositions.
Leveraged acquisitions and divestitures for private equity funds, venture capital funds, family offices, and independent and other equity sponsors.
Joint ventures and strategic alliances.
Leveraged buyouts.
Noncontrolling investments.
Recapitalizations, restructuring, and tax-free organizations.
“Going private” transactions.
Hostile bids, tender offers, and proxy contests.
Distressed merger and acquisition transactions.
Spin-offs.
Transactions involving ESOPs.
Cross-border deals.
Regulatory compliance, including the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and CFIUS compliance and filings.
Antitrust and anticompetition concerns.
Post-closing M&A integration.

Related Practices

Related Industries

Awards

Ranked National Tier 1 in Mergers and Acquisitions Law by Best Lawyers^® “Best Law Firms”

(2022 – 2025)
Ranked National Tier 1 in Corporate Law by Best Lawyers^® “Best Law Firms”

(2015 – 2025)

Case Studies

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Relationships That Ignite Mobility

BraunAbility has been the world leader in wheelchair accessible vehicles and wheelchair lifts since its founding 50 years ago. When an investor pursued an acquisition, BraunAbility turned to Taft to facilitate a successful acquisition and collaborate on the future growth of the brand.