Mergers & Acquisitions

Pillsbury provides responsive, comprehensive counsel on U.S. and cross-border M&A transactions. Our M&A team is supported by the resources of a full-service firm with practices covering all aspects of a transaction: antitrust, employee benefits, environment, global sourcing, finance, intellectual property, litigation, regulation and tax.

Pillsbury's M&A lawyers are recognized for their particular strength in providing counsel on deals in the technology, communications and life sciences industries and on transactions involving REITs, real estate capital markets and government contracts. We also have significant experience representing Boards of Directors and independent Board Committees, including special committees, audit committees and compensation committees in changes of control, going private transactions, shareholder disputes, internal corporate investigations of alleged misconduct, and special committee and audit committee investigations.

Complementing our transactional services, we advise on establishing and maintaining corporate compliance programs as well as internal control procedures and policies, including anti-corruption due diligence for cross-border transactions.

• Recipient of the 2012 M&A Advisor “Corporate/Strategic Acquisition of the Year ($100 million - $200 million)” award for our representation of Atlas Holdings, a private equity firm, in its acquisition of Shorewood Packaging Corporation and its international affiliates from International Paper Company.
• Recipient of the 2012 M&A Advisor “Cross-Border Deal of the Year award ($35 million - $100 million)” award for our representation of the Lenovo Group, the world's second-largest PC manufacturer, in its international joint venture with EMC Corporation, the world's largest maker of data storage computers.
• Chambers USA 2012 ranked our Corporate/M&A practice nationally.
• Legal 500 ranked our M&A: Middle Market (sub-$500m) practice in its 2012 publication.
• At the 2010 Turnaround Atlas Awards, Global M&A Network selected a Pillsbury distressed M&A deal as Deal of the Year in Real Estate, Construction & Services. The transaction, in which Pillsbury helped a Chinese investment group acquire real estate assets under the prior owners’ Chapter 11 proceedings, was a finalist for the Special Situation M&A Deal of the Year (above $100 million).
• Pillsbury ranked 11th as a Top Advisor to U.S. Middle Market, according to FactSet’s Flashwire Advisor.
• Mergermarket’s M&A League Tables ranked our West Coast offices as 14th based on volume of deals.

• Represented Mission West Properties Inc. in its $1.3 billion asset and real property sale to TPG Capital Inc.
• Represented Nicira Inc., a computer networking company, in its sale to VMware, Inc. for $1.26 billion.
• Represented Tesoro Corporation, an oil and gas company, in its acquisition of BP's integrated financing and marketing businesses for $2.475 billion.
• Represented Atlas AGI Holding and AGI Global Holdings Coöperatief in its acquisition of Shorewood Packaging Corporation and its international affiliates from International Paper Corporation. The deal won the 2012 M&A Advisor Corporate/Strategic Acquisition of the Year ($100 million - $200 million) award.
• Represented the Lenovo Group, the world's second-largest PC manufacturer, in its international joint venture with EMC Corporation, the world's largest maker of data storage computers. Named Cross-Border Deal of the Year ($35 million - $100 million) by M&A Advisor in 2012.
• Represented Atheros Communications, Inc., a global leader in innovative technologies for wireless and wired communications, in its acquisition by wireless technology company Qualcomm, Inc.
• Represented Wells Fargo & Company on the formation of the Pariter Solutions LLC joint venture with Bank of America. Pariter is the largest automated clearinghouse (ACH) platform in the U.S.
• Represented WebEx Communications, Inc., a leader in online meeting applications with 64% market share, in its $3.2 billion cash tender acquisition by Cisco Systems.