Firms reported 18 big deals to Law Week in our first quarter survey for 2024, slightly below the number of deals reported in the final quarter of 2023.
Last year, firms reported 29 deals to Law Week in the first quarter. Deal volume has cooled in the face of economic uncertainty and pessimistic forecasts for the past few years.
Overall, economists this year predict slight growth at around 3% globally on the conservative end, while more optimistic market reports project 8 to 9% growth. Economists also seem to anticipate more modest consumer spending this year.
The following deals were submitted to Law Week by the firms who worked on them. Deal notes and details were edited for clarity, length and style.
Acquisitions
CONFIDENTIAL
Holland & Hart
Client: Sovos Compliance, LLC
Team: Hallee Moore, partner; Nabil Rodriguez, associate; Sloane Dreyer, associate; Timothy Getzoff, partner; David Glynn, of counsel; Conrad Kranz, associate; Dora Lane, partner; John Ludlum, partner; Camila Moreno, associate; Lindsay Silber, partner; Rich Spilde, partner; Trent Timmons, associate
Other parties: Aatrix Software, Inc. represented by Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
Notes: Holland & Hart represented Sovos Compliance, LLC, a global enterprise focusing on providing tax compliance software and services, in its acquisition of North Dakota-based Aatrix Software, Inc. Aatrix offers various tax and accounting software solutions on an OEM and standalone basis, including end-to-end payment processing, preparation of end-of-year forms and electronic filing capabilities.
CONFIDENTIAL
KO Law PC
Client: soona
Team: Charles Ciaccio, partner; Dan Fredrickson, partner; Elizabeth Ho, attorney; Caitlyn Knudson, paralegal
Other parties: zerolens GmbH, maker of Mokker AI
Notes: KO client soona, a platform that helps e-commerce brands take pictures of their products, recently announced the acquisition of Vienna-based Zerolens GmbH and its generative AI product Mokker.ai. According to the announcement, the acquisition brings generative AI tools for product photography into soona’s software to combine existing visual assets with AI props and backgrounds via a digital canvas in the browser.
CONFIDENTIAL
KO Law PC
Client: EMI Sportswear
Team: John Gaddis, partner; Melissa Mellen, counsel; Sara Richissin, paralegal
Other parties: Lakeshirts
Notes: EMI Sportswear was acquired by Minnesota-based apparel company Lakeshirts. This deal closed April 4.
CONFIDENTIAL
KO Law PC
Client: Havenly
Team: Kevin Gibson, partner; Charles Ciaccio, partner; Melissa Mellen, counsel; Matt McKinney, partner; Erin Locker, partner; Elizabeth Ho, attorney; Krystal Rushton, paralegal; Cory Helton, attorney
Other parties: The Citizenry
Notes: KO client and online interior design company Havenly announced it acquired home decor retailer The Citizenry. The Citizenry collaborates with artisans globally to produce limited-edition handcrafted home goods. The acquisition is Havenly’s third in two years, and enables Havenly to expand its offerings in furniture, textiles and home decor.
CONFIDENTIAL
KO Law PC
Client: Column Software
Team: Jon Taylor, partner; Dan Fredrickson, partner; Ryan Ivey, attorney; Elizabeth Ho, attorney
Other parties: Modulist
Notes: KO client Column Software, a public notice software platform, announced it reached an agreement with Forum Communications in late 2023 to acquire Modulist, a software company focused on celebrations, obituaries and announcements. Column has deployed its software platform across more than 500 newspapers and publications to facilitate the transaction of public notices and legal ads with tens of thousands of law firms, government agencies and businesses since the company’s launch in 2020.
CONFIDENTIAL
Perkins Coie LLP
Client: Upper Crust Holdings, LLC
Team: Jessica Batzell, partner
Notes: Acquisition of Campus Cooks, LLC.
CONFIDENTIAL
Perkins Coie LLP
Client: Bertram Capital Management
Team: Nate Ford, partner; Blake Schell, counsel
Other parties: Founders Advisors and Everberg Capital (lender) represented by Jones Walker LLP and Paul Hastings LLP.
Notes: Leveraged acquisition by client Bertram Capital of Ridgeline Roofing & Restoration LLC.
CONFIDENTIAL
Perkins Coie LLP
Client: Tramec, L.L.C.
Team: Ted Wern, partner; Hannah Schuppner, associate; Sara Schroeder, associate
Other parties: Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
Notes: Acquisition of Johnson Welded Products.
CONFIDENTIAL
Perkins Coie LLP
Client: U.S. BioTek Laboratories LLC
Team: Jim Cruger, partner; Michelle Han, partner; Hannah Schuppner, associate
Other parties: Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Notes: Acquisition of RealTime Laboratories.
Dispositions
CONFIDENTIAL
Sherman & Howard L.L.C.
Client: Fit and Furry, Inc.
Team: Bill Peffer, member; Ryan Christ, member; Alex Thomas, associate.
Other parties: Best Friends Pet Care, Inc. represented by McGuire Woods LLP
Notes: Sale of business and related assets to private equity-backed buyer.
CONFIDENTIAL
Sherman & Howard L.L.C.
Client: WagBNB
Team: Bill Peffer, member; Ryan Christ, member; Vince Luparell, associate.
Other parties: Best Friends Pet Care, Inc. represented by McGuire Woods LLP
Notes: Sale of business and related assets to private equity-backed buyer.
Equity finance
$80,000,000
Perkins Coie LLP
Client: Bank of America Corporation, Jefferies LLC, Leerink Partners LLC
Team: Ned Prusse, partner; Jonathan Schulman, partner; Chris Wassman, counsel; Ben Dale, associate
Other parties: Fate Therapeutics, Inc. represented by Goodwin Proctor LLP
Notes: Represented the underwriters in a registered offering of shares of common stock of Fate Therapeutics, Inc.
$17,250,000
Perkins Coie LLP
Client: Ideal Power Inc.
Team: Ned Prusse, partner; Rebecca Emerson, associate
Other parties: Titan Partners Group represented by Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP
Notes: Represented Ideal Power in an underwritten offering of shares of common stock.
$3,400,000
Perkins Coie LLP
Client: Meta Materials Inc.
Team: Ned Prusse, partner; Jonathan Schulman, partner; Rebecca Emerson, associate
Other parties: A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners represented by Ballard Spahr LLP
Notes: Represented Meta Materials in a registered direct offering of shares of common stock.
$2,000,000
Perkins Coie LLP
Client: Energous Corporation
Team: Ned Prusse, partner; Rebecca Emerson, associate
Other parties: Roth Capital Partners represented by Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP
Notes: Represented Energous Corporation in a registered direct offering of shares of common stock.
Debt finance
$2,100,000,000
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Client: The Williams Companies Inc.
Team: Robyn Zolman, partner; Nick Linke, associate; Sarah Ediger, associate
Other parties: Barclays, Citigroup, Truist and Wells Fargo served as representatives of the underwriters. These parties were represented by Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.
Notes: Gibson Dunn represented Williams in connection with its offering of $2.1 billion of SEC-registered debt securities, consisting of $1.1 billion of 4.900% Senior Notes due 2029 and $1.0 billion of 5.150% Senior Notes due 2034.
Other
$654,000,000
Holland & Knight LLP
Type of deal: Merger
Client: Luther Burbank Corporation
Team: Shawn Turner, partner; Jeffrey Haas, partner; Kerry Halpern, partner; Ross Tuminello, partner; Linda Alderdice, partner; Mary Ellen Stanley, associate; Amelia Occhino, associate; Emma O’Connell, associate; Nicole Martini, associate; and Bryce Klein, associate
Other parties: WaFd Inc. represented by Davis Wright Tremaine
Notes: Holland & Knight advised Luther Burbank Corporation (formerly Nasdaq: LBC), the bank holding company for Luther Burbank Savings, in its merger with WaFd Inc. (formerly known as Washington Federal Inc.) (Nasdaq: WAFD). The merger was effective on March 1 after receiving regulatory approval on Jan. 30. The all-stock transaction was valued at approximately $654 million at announcement. Luther Burbank Corporation was headquartered in Santa Rosa, California, and, through Luther Burbank Savings, operated 10 full-service branches in California, one full-service branch in Washington and loan production offices in California and Oregon. As of Dec. 31, 2023, Luther Burbank had total assets of $8.2 billion, total loans of $6.8 billion and total deposits of $5.8 billion. Prior to the merger, Luther Burbank Savings was among California’s most active banks, underwriting multifamily and single-family residential loans in low- and moderate-income tracts. Through its Grow and Daisy loan programs, Luther Burbank Savings provided home loan options to first-time homebuyers. Based in Seattle, WaFd Inc. is the bank holding company for WaFd Bank, which was founded in 1917 and has grown to more than 200 branches in eight western states. As of Dec. 31, 2023, WaFd Inc. had total assets of $22.6 billion, total loans of $17.6 billion and total deposits of $16.0 billion.
CONFIDENTIAL
KO Law PC
Type of deal: Collaboration
Client: Predicine
Team: Brad Schoenfeld, partner
Other parties: Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, a Johnson & Johnson company
Notes: KO client Predicine, Inc., a molecular insights company working in oncology, announced a collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, a Johnson & Johnson company, to develop PredicineCARE™ as a companion diagnostic assay in localized bladder cancer. The collaboration uses genomic profiling to detect select alterations in localized bladder cancer that may benefit from targeted therapy.
CONFIDENTIAL
KO Law PC
Type of deal: Merger
Client: Giving Place
Team: Jon Taylor, partner; Elizabeth Ho, attorney; Michael Wysolmerski, attorney; Erin Locker, partner; Matt McKinney, partner; Caitlyn Knudson, paralegal
Other parties: TIFIN Give
Notes: KO client Giving Place, a software for charitable giving for family offices and foundations, recently announced its merger with TIFIN Give. The merger enables TIFIN Give to expand its reach as a philanthropy platform for wealth enterprises.