According to the recent Mergermarket and Merrill DataSite report “Deal Drivers Americas,” which focuses on data from the first half of 2015, Goodwin is ranked as a top legal advisor for mergers and acquisitions in 13 sectors and is a top ten firm in 11 areas. Notably, Goodwin is recognized as the number one legal advisor by deal volume in the middle market for all sectors and number two by deal volume in the New England region. The firm’s top five rankings include:
#1 by volume – All Sectors (Mid-Market)
#2 by volume – New England
#4 by volume – Life Sciences & Healthcare
#4 by volume – Technology, Media & Telecom
#5 by value – All Sectors (Mid-Market)
Goodwin increased or maintained its rankings in each of the 13 sectors in a year-over-year comparison against the first half of 2014.
Included among the numerous deals the firm advised on this year were blockbuster life sciences transactions Abbvie’s $21 billion acquisition of Pharmacylics, Teva Pharmaceuticals’ $3.2 billion acquisition of Auspex and Foundation Medicine’s more than $1 billion strategic transaction with Roche. All three transactions were highlighted as top deals by Mergermarket.
The firm was also active in the financial services sector with Tom LaFond, a partner in Goodwin’s Financial Institutions Group, commenting to Mergermarket, “Low interest rates have buoyed asset management M&A, as banks, PE firms and diversified financials have looked to asset managers as dependable sources of current income.” He also pointed to succession planning and attractive valuations as drivers of transactions.
In addition, Goodwin’s Private Equity Group, focused primarily in the middle market, represented Partners Group in its $1.1 billion leveraged buyout of Dynacast International and TA Associates, its portfolio company Fotolia and Fotolia’s CEO and Co-Founder Oleg Tscheltzoff in Fotolia’s $800 million sale to Adobe Systems.
Learn more about Goodwin’s M&A, Life Sciences, Financial Institutions and Private Equity practices.