Practice Highlights
- We provide advice on a wide range of transactions from early and growth stage financings through more complex later stage leveraged financings.
- We represent private equity and venture backed companies in all aspects of their legal needs as well as venture capital and private equity funds with formation and compliance matters.
- Our broad based network of contacts and involvement in the venture capital and private equity community allows us to identify opportunities and make introductions for our clients to potential financing sources, co-investors and/or deals.
Practice News
- October 27, 2020Private Equity Law Report
Events
- February 25, 2021
Publications
- November 2020
Cases & Deals
Private Equity and Venture Capital
Private Equity and Venture Capital firms and the entrepreneurs and companies in which they invest require a partnership approach; value is created only when the investor and the invested agree on mutually beneficial terms which align their interests to provide a strong platform for future growth and success.
Our Private Equity and Venture Capital Group views itself as a key component to such partnership. The Group is comprised of lawyers with extensive experience representing both investors and their portfolio companies. We have a deep understanding of the relationship between investors and entrepreneurs and an appreciation for the need to address transactions from the perspective of the client’s business goals. We pride ourselves on spending the time to truly understand our client’s business.
Our lawyers provide advice on a wide range of transactions from early and growth stage financing through more complex later stage leveraged financing. We structure and negotiate acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and strategic alliances. We represent private equity and venture backed companies in all aspects of their legal needs from the first interaction with an investor through exit, often acting as outside general counsel. Our lawyers also have extensive experience assisting with debt financing ranging from earlier stage convertible note financing and venture debt to mezzanine financing, institutional credit facilities and asset based loans.
Members of the group also have experience representing venture capital and private equity funds with formation and compliance matters and have assisted funds with their own capital finance needs, including capital call bridge facilities, management company facilities and mezzanine financing.
Our representations cover a wide variety of industries including technology, medical devices and life sciences, consumer products, food and beverage, fashion and textiles, retail and manufacturing, service companies, real estate, financial institutions, media and sports.
We use an interdisciplinary cross-practice approach to draw upon the resources of the firm’s lawyers in other practice areas such as tax, employee benefits, labor and employment, intellectual property and real estate. As a full service firm with depth and experience across industries and at all stages in a client’s life cycle, we are able to scale with our clients to provide the comprehensive services they require while still maintaining the flexibility, efficiency and responsiveness that they expect to meet their business goals.
Our broad based network of contacts and clients and involvement in the venture capital and private equity community also allows us to identify opportunities and make introductions for our clients to potential financing sources, co-investors and/or deals. Members of our group are often invited to speak at industry trade shows and other events and are involved with various industry related organizations such as the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), the MIT Enterprise Forum, Pennsylvania BIO, the Greater Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies (PACT) and Astia.
Our experience includes:
- Structuring and formation of entities
- Angel and venture capital financings
- Private placements
- Later stage private equity investments (both minority and control transactions)
- Private company mergers and acquisitions
- Leveraged buyouts
- Management buyouts
- Distressed and bankruptcy acquisitions
- PIPE transactions
- Roll-up transactions
- Joint ventures and strategic alliances
- Technology transactions
- Cross-border transactions
- Private equity and venture capital fund formation and compliance
Representative Matters
- Represented Stadium Goods, a streetwear and sneaker resale store and e-commerce site, in its backing from LVMH Luxury Ventures
- Represented iNovia Capital in multimillion dollar Series A and seed investments of ROSS Intelligence
- Represented the strategic investment arm of a life and disability insurer in connection with an investment in a special purpose acquisition vehicle which acquired a controlling interest in a provider of trade credit risk management technology solutions
- Represented a $1.4 billion private equity firm in the acquisition of an add-on company for a manufacturer and distributor of utility truck bodies
- Counseled the strategic investment arm of a life and disability insurer through a Series C preferred equity round for a co-working space company
- Represented a multinational tier two supplier in the automotive industry in the sale of its core business to a Hong Kong based private equity firm
- Represented a privately held U.S. based pharmaceutical manufacturing and development company in obtaining private equity financing from U.S. and European based private equity firms
- Advised early stage company obtaining Series A round financing from a group of private equity investors, including drafting and negotiation of investor rights agreement and advised and negotiated subsequent additional rounds of bridge financing from private equity investors
- Represented private equity firm in co-investing transactions with other private equity firms
- Represented “fundless” sponsors in several manufacturing sector leveraged acquisitions
- Represented a recruiting firm in negotiation of minority investment from a private equity firm
- Represented food and beverage company in sale of subsidiary to a private equity firm
- Represented chemical logistics company in negotiation of Series A – E preferred stock financings from various venture capital firms
- Represented specialty refractory company in the negotiation of early stage venture capital financing
- Represented family office in investment in life sciences company
- Represented venture backed technology company in sale to major mobile communications company
- Represented angel investors in convertible note financing in security technology company
- Represented online consumer electronics database company in several rounds of angel and venture financing
- Represented online search company in negotiation of Series A financing from leading venture capital firms
- Represented several venture capital firms in investment in BVI entity formed to invest in Russian technology company
- Represented demand management cleantech company in connection with Series A and B financing, convertible bridge loans and venture debt financing
- Represented international angel fund in connection with investment in US secondary trading market
- Represented sponsor of multiple private equity funds, including with respect to fund formation and portfolio investments
- Represented leading provider of healthcare eligibility verification tools in connection with private equity investment
News
- October 27, 2020Private Equity Law Report
- August 14, 2020
- August 7, 2020
- July 23, 2020ACG's Middle Market Growth
- February 25, 2020
- July 29, 2019
- October 21-23, 2019
- October 22-23, 2019
- February 11, 2019
- October 24 - 25, 2018
- September 25, 2018
- August 27, 2018
- February 16, 2018
- October 3 - 4, 2017
- September 19, 2017
- April 24, 2017Money Matters TV
- August 15, 2014
- November 7-8, 2012
- October 16-17, 2012
- October 8, 2012
- June 2012
- May 30-31, 2012
- October 26, 2011
- October 11-12, 2011
- October 3, 2011
- October 2011
Events
- Angel Venture Fair | 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM ESTFebruary 25, 2021
- 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM ESTJanuary 22, 2021
- Virtual ExperienceOctober 26-28, 2020
- Opus Connect WebinarSeptember 22, 2020
- ACG New YorkJuly 20, 2020
- The Private Investor's Forum (Philadelphia, PA)December 12, 2019
- White and Williams LLP (Philadelphia, PA)October 2, 2019
- CBI's Finance & Accounting for Bioscience Companies (Cambridge, MA)September 24, 2019
- White and Williams LLP (New York, NY)June 13, 2019
- White and Williams LLP (New York, NY)March 7, 2019
- White and Williams LLP (New York, NY)February 28, 2019
- Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA)February 22, 2019
- 21st Annual Angel Venture Fair Education Day (Philadelphia, PA)February 7, 2019
- BioLabs Incubator (New York, NY)January 22, 2019
- White and Williams LLP (New York, NY)December 4, 2018
- New York, NYOctober 16, 2018
- Angel Venture Fair Education Day (Philadelphia, PA)February 15, 2018
- Finance & Accounting for Bioscience Companies (New Brunswick, NJ)September 27, 2017
- WebinarMay 17, 2017
- University of the Sciences (Philadelphia, PA)March 7, 2017
- ELabNYC Bootcamp (New York, NY)January 19, 2017
- Licensing Executives Society, Philadelphia ChapterSeptember 27, 2016
- 2016 Angel Capital Association Summit (Philadelphia, PA)May 10, 2016
- University of the Sciences (Philadelphia, PA)March 3, 2015
- Philadelphia, PAOctober 28 - 29, 2014
- Philadelphia, PAOctober 7 - 8, 2014
- Legal Issues for Startups: What a Founder Needs to KnowThe Greenhouse Accelerator (New York, NY)July 31, 2014
- Philadelphia, PAMay 1, 2014
- NYIT Auditorium on Broadway (New York, NY)April 22, 2014
- Tribeca Grand Hotel (New York, NY)March 27, 2014
- Life Sciences Collaborative, University of the Sciences (Philadelphia, PA)March 6, 2014
- MIT Enterprise Forum of NYC and MIT Sloan Club of NY (New York, NY)December 5, 2013
- Philadelphia, PAOctober 22-23, 2013
- October 8-9, 2013
- Angel Capital Association WebinarAugust 6, 2013
- MIT Enterprise Forum of NYC (New York, NY)March 6, 2013
- MIT Enterprise Forum of NYC (New York, NY)October 18, 2012
- Penn State Great Valley, Malvern, PAJuly 24, 2012
- The New York Academy of Sciences, New York, NYJune 20, 2012
Publications
- November 2020
- May 13, 2020Corporate and Securities Alert
- May 5, 2020Corporate and Securities Alert
- April 28, 2020Corporate and Securities Alert
- March 19, 2020Taking Care of Business
- March 13, 2020Corporate and Securities Alert
- June 18, 2019Taking Care of Business
- March 25, 2019JD Supra Corporate Law Report
- August 20, 2018Law360
- May 8, 2018Tax Alert
- April 25, 2018Corporate and Securities Alert
- April 24, 2018Tax Alert
- April 10, 2018Directors and Officers Alert
- April 9, 2018Taking Care of Business
- March 15, 2018Healthcare Alert
- June 23, 2017Corporate and Securities Alert
- June 16, 2017Corporate and Securities Alert
- June 15, 2017Corporate and Securities Alert
- April 25, 2017Healthcare Talks
- September 13, 2016Private Equity Alert
- February 9, 2016Corporate and Securities Alert
- March 18, 2015Private Equity and Venture Capital Alert
- October 2, 2014Corporate and Securities Alert
- September 23, 2013Securities Alert
- July 22, 2013Securities Alert
- July 17, 2012Securities Alert
- June 2012imPACT Times
- February 20, 2012Securities Alert
- February 6, 2012
Cases & Deals
- March 9, 2020
- December 11, 2019
- February 26, 2019
- December 21, 2018
- November 16, 2018
- February 23, 2018
- February 8, 2018
- February 1, 2018
- January 19, 2018
- January 19, 2018
- October 20, 2017
- October 11, 2017
- May 4, 2017
- January 12, 2017
- December 15, 2016
- November 3, 2016
- February 24, 2016
- January 5, 2016
- November 2, 2015
- October 31, 2015
- October 23, 2015
- February 11, 2014
- July 25, 2012
- June 1, 2012
- May 15, 2012
- May 1, 2012
- March 8, 2012
Practice Contacts
- Lori Smith
Co-Chair
212.714.3075 | Email | vCard - Ryan Udell
Co-Chair
215.864.7152 | Email | vCard