Christopher L. Versfelt

Chris Versfelt is a counsel in the firm's Business Law department and a member of its Real Estate Industry group and REITs and Capital Markets practices. Chris focuses primarily on corporate and securities matters for public and private companies, with a particular focus on REITs and real estate operating companies. He advises clients in mergers and acquisitions, offerings of equity and debt securities, and complex financing transactions. He also regularly counsels companies on Exchange Act reporting, SEC compliance, equity compensation and general corporate governance matters.

Chris is also involved in Goodwin’s PropTech Initiative, which is focused on supporting the intersection of Real Estate and Technology through thoughtful collaboration across the two practice areas. As a participant, Chris stays up to date on relevant market trends impacting the PropTech sector to effectively support clients involved in this space.

Prior to joining Goodwin in 2015, Chris was an associate at a Boston-based law firm. He is a member of the Boston Bar Association and American Bar Association.

Chris’s recent experience includes representing:

• Citrix Systems in its $16.5 billion go-private sale to affiliates of Vista Equity Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital Corporation, an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management L.P.
• Berkshire Grey in its $2.7 billion deSPAC business combination with Revolution Acceleration Acquisition Corp
• EastGroup Properties in its acquisition of a Californian industrial real estate portfolio for approximately $415 million
• TIER REIT in its $7.8 billion merger with Cousins Properties
• Syndicates of multinational investment banks acting as underwriters in approximately $8 billion of various public debt and equity offerings by Digital Realty Trust
• Brookfield Property Partners in its $15.3 billion acquisition of GGP and its restructuring as Brookfield Property REIT, Inc.
• bluebird bio, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, in follow-on equity offerings for $850 million
• Cornerstone OnDemand, a leader in cloud-based learning and human capital management software, in the $300 million strategic investment in the company by Silver Lake and LinkedIn
• Mid-America Apartment Communities in its $3.9 billion acquisition of Post Properties
• Rockwood Capital in investing on behalf of its NorthRock IV Fund in the $190 million closing of two joint ventures structured as REITs, with affiliates of a Singapore private limited company
• A joint venture of The Scion Group LLC, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation in connection with the execution of a Stock Purchase Agreement to acquire a leading student housing portfolio in the United States for approximately $1.4 billion
• Multinational underwriters in various shelf offerings of cumulative redeemable preferred stock by technology and clinical-stage biopharmaceutical companies
• Numerous REITs and technology companies in connection with the filing of shelf registration statements and the establishment of continuous at-the-market equity offering programs

Chris was selected for inclusion in The Legal 500 in 2021. In 2023 Chris was named a Rising Star by The Legal 500 US for Real estate investment trusts (REITs).