Mergers & Acquisitions

Over the past five years, Cooley has handled hundreds of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions, ranging in size from less than $4 million to more than $4 billion, making our practice one of the most active in the country.

We represent all categories of participants in transactions, including buyers, sellers, major stockholders, lenders, financial advisors, management, special board committees, venture capitalists, individual investors, private equity funds, hedge funds and others. 

In addition to handling acquisitions of venture capital-backed corporations and other closely held entities, we regularly negotiate acquisitions involving large, publicly traded companies. 

Our experience and client base of over 100 publicly held companies provides us with a current perspective on market deal points, and a unique position from which we can draw to introduce buyers and sellers.

Cooley has highly skilled transactional attorneys who focus on M&A matters. These attorneys are widely recognized as leaders and experts in their field and are frequently invited to speak on M&A trends and take leadership roles in national professional organizations.

Cooley's M&A attorneys have been honored in numerous publications that list and rank the top attorneys in the United States and the world. Accolades have come from publications such as:

  • The Best Lawyers in America
  • Chambers Global Guide to the World's Leading Lawyers
  • Euromoney's Guide to the World's Leading Mergers and Acquisitions Lawyers
  • Legal 500
  • M&A Advisor – Law Firm of the Year (2004)

Recent Deals

Accolades

  • Top twenty for U.S. deals completed as counsel to principals in 2011. (Source: Thomson Reuters Mid-Market M&A Legal Review 2011)
  • #15 for U.S. deals completed in the first half of 2011 with 44 announced deals. 
    (Source: Bloomberg Global Mid-market Mergers & Acquisitions Rankings 2011)
  • #9 for U.S. deals completed in 2009 as counsel to principals with 66 announced deals. (Source: Bloomberg Global Mid-market Mergers & Acquisitions Rankings 2009)
  • #11 for U.S. deals completed in 2009 with 67 announced deals 
    (Source: Bloomberg Global Mid-market Mergers & Acquisitions Rankings 2009)
  • Ranked #10 nationally and #3 on the West Coast for number of M&A deals completed in 2009 (Source: MergerMarket)

Cross-border Experience

We have handled cross-border deals across 25 different jurisdictions, including:

  • Australia
  • Belgium
  • Canada
  • China
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • India
  • Ireland
  • Israel
  • France
  • Germany
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Romania
  • Singapore
  • South Africa
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • United Kingdom

Related Practices

Related Industries


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