Myia Williams
Associate, New York
Myia Williams
Associate, New York
Myia Williams is an associate in Cohen & Gresser’s New York office, where she is a member of the Corporate practice group. Her work focuses on corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.
In her prior roles, Myia has provided guidance throughout the deal cycle, managed the due diligence process, and drafted and negotiated primary and ancillary transaction documents. On the corporate governance side, Myia has executed board and stockholder consents, attended company board meetings, and reviewed and revised charter and organizational documents, commercial contracts, and purchase and financing agreements.
Prior to joining the firm, Myia was a Corporate associate at McDermott Will & Emery and Willkie Farr & Gallagher, where she represented clients in connection with public equity and high-yield debt offerings as well as corporate governance issues.
Myia previously served as a student attorney at the Investor Justice Education Clinic, as a legal intern at the Federal Aviation Administration, and as a New Applications Patent Specialist at Oliff, PLC, where she reviewed new patent applications, provided a red flags summary to IP specialists, and worked closely with the USPTO on patent filings and post-filing deadlines and issues.
Myia received her J.D. from Howard University School of Law, where she served as a Staff Editor of the Howard Human Rights & Civil Rights Law Review. She is also a graduate of the University of South Carolina, where she received her B.S. in Insurance and Risk Management and Anthropology and minored in Political Science.
Myia Williams is an associate in Cohen & Gresser’s New York office, where she is a member of the Corporate practice group. Her work…
Education
Howard University School of Law (J.D., 2019); University of South Carolina (B.S., 2015)
Bar Admissions
New York State
This latest financing brings Sierra Space’s total capital raised to $1.7 billion, which is the largest ever capital raise by a commercial space company and brings Sierra Space’s valuation to $5.3 billion.
MUFG, Japan’s largest bank, trading company Kanematsu Corporation, and Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Japan’s largest property and casualty insurer, led the Series B round, which also included participation from Sierra Space’s existing investors, including General Atlantic, Coatue, Moore Strategic Ventures, and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock Private Equity Partners and others.
Cohen & Gresser served as counsel to our client Sierra Holding on all aspects of the transaction. “We are proud of the opportunity to assist Sierra Holding in this follow-on transaction to support the future of space travel,” said Jeffrey M. Bronheim, lead partner on the engagement for Cohen & Gresser.
The Cohen & Gresser team was led by Jeffrey M. Bronheim, Daniel H. Mathias, and Bonnie J. Roe, with assistance from associate Myia Williams.
Read Sierra Space Corporation’s press release here.
Nature Planet was founded with a clear focus on building strong long-term relationships with its customers in the attractions industry, particularly focused on the zoo and aquarium segment. Today the company supplies more than 5,000 customers in Europe and the United States. The acquisition of Phillips International adds jewelry as a new product category, making Nature Planet a one-stop-shop for the attractions industry.
Cohen & Gresser served as counsel to our client Procuritas and its portfolio company Nature Planet on all aspects of the transaction. The Cohen & Gresser team was led by Daniel H. Mathias and Robert Gavigan, with assistance from associates Myia Williams and James Mossetto. C&G partners Karen Bromberg (Employment and Intellectual Property), Bonnie Roe (Corporate) and Nicholas J. Kaiser (Tax) provided additional deal support. The terms of the transactions were not disclosed.
Under revised Rule 13d-1(b)(2), an investor eligible to report on Schedule 13G must file an initial report on Schedule 13G within 45 days after the end of the first calendar quarter in which the investor becomes a beneficial owner of more than 5% of a class of equity securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Previously, such reports were due within 45 days of the end of the first calendar year in which beneficial ownership exceeded 5%. If an investor becomes the owner of more than 10% of a class in any month before the filing of the initial Schedule 13G, the initial Schedule 13G must be filed within 5 business days after the end of the month in which the 10% threshold was crossed.
Under the new rules, if an investor becomes the beneficial owner of more than 5% in the quarter ended September 30, 2024, the investor must report such interest by November 14, 2024. To cover the transition between the old and the new rules, if an interest in more than 5% was acquired in the first or second quarter of calendar year 2024, a Schedule 13G would also be due on November 14, 2024, reporting such interest as of September 30, 2024.
The rules regarding amendments have also changed. In general, material changes occurring during a calendar quarter must be reported within 45 days of the end of the calendar quarter. As was previously the case, a material change includes an increase or decrease in beneficial ownership amounting to at least 1% of the outstanding shares of the relevant class of securities. If an investor acquires more than 10% of a class, an amendment reporting such fact must be made within 5 business days after the end of the month in which the 10% threshold was crossed. Thereafter, increases or decreases of 5% or more must be reported within 5 business days of the end of the month in which they occur.
The new rules also require the use of structured data formatting in the EDGAR filing of Schedule 13G (as well as Schedule 13D). The structured data requirements do not go into effect until December 18, 2024, although early compliance is permitted. In addition, due to the accelerated filing deadlines, the SEC extended filing cut-off times for Schedules 13G (as well as Schedule 13D) from 5:30 pm EST to 10:00 pm EST.
In general terms, a passive investor may report on Schedule 13G, rather than the more rigorous Schedule 13D, if the investor is an institution described under Rule 13d-1(b)(1)(ii) or the investor beneficially owns less than 20% of the class of securities. Investors who acquired their shares prior to a company going public may also be eligible to report on Schedule 13G. Non-U.S. investors must report their interests on Schedule 13D or 13G in the same manner as U.S. investors.