Private Equity and Venture Capital
We represent private equity and venture capital firms and portfolio companies in financing and acquisition transactions. Our services to funds and their managers include: fund formation; assistance with initial and follow-on investments; corporate governance issues for portfolio companies; and the negotiation and implementation of various exit strategies, such as the sale of the company, an IPO or other public offering, a private refinancing, or the secondary sale of the fund’s investment interest. We counsel funds and their managers with respect to regulatory matters under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Financial Services and Markets Act (UK) and the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (EU), and other financial regulations. We also advise funds and their managers in their various activities and obligations as investors in public and private companies.
We assist managers, funds, and their portfolio companies in transactions with investors and co-investors, and in their strategies for financing and growth, including acquisitions, distressed debt transactions, and public and private offerings.
We also help startup and emerging companies prepare for and negotiate initial rounds of investment and provide advice on all aspects of their business. Our entrepreneurial culture, flexible approach, and understanding of evolving market terms enable us to craft solutions that will meet the needs of growing companies.
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Represented venture fund in connection with venture investments in an existing portfolio company in the manufacturing and consumer product space and in connection with the fund’s ongoing relationship with its portfolio company.
Advised founding member of an early stage company in connection with an angel financing of a state-of-the-art health and wellness business.
Represented a healthcare appliance manufacturer in a $40 million secured financing for the acquisition of a product line from a Fortune 50 manufacturer.
Represented a health care appliance manufacturer in a $75 million syndicated financing with secured credit facilities in the United States, the Far East, and Europe.
Read MoreCohen & Gresser LLP advised private equity firm Limerston Capital in its acquisition of Forensis Group Limited and Forensic Axis Limited (trading respectively as Forensic Access and Axiom International), specialists in forensics science services and premier providers of international institutional reform and capacity building. The combined acquisition will form the basis of a new, comprehensive international criminal justice services provider. Management and founders, led by Professor Angela Gallop, will retain a significant minority shareholding as part of the transaction and will work with Limerston Capital to expand the businesses through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. The terms of the transactions were not disclosed.
Cohen & Gresser advised Reliance Trust Company, a corporate fiduciary, in its $14.5 million sale of 571 Fulton Street in downtown Brooklyn to RedSky Capital. The complex deal spanned nine months and involved complicated lease issues as well as trust and estate and title issues originating in the 1930s. The sale of the property, which had been an asset in a trust for nearly 60 years, is a significant liquidity event for the beneficiaries. The property is also a key asset in RedSky Capital’s extensive redevelopment of Fulton Street.
Partner Nicholas J Kaiser led the Cohen & Gresser team, which included Matthew V Povolny, David F Lisner, Eliza Sheridan, and paralegal Camille Delgado.
The opening of Cohen & Gresser's London office was featured in the following articles:
- "NYC's Cohen & Gresser Launches in London," The American Lawyer
- "Cohen & Gresser Taps Fund Manager GC To Head New Office," Law360.com
- "Cohen & Gresser Launches in London, Hires Bronheim," The Drawdown
Cohen & Gresser announces its continued international expansion with the launch of its London office on June 1, 2018, led by partner Jeffrey M Bronheim. The office, which will be the firm’s fifth location globally and its second in Europe, will serve clients in all aspects of the investment industry, including hedge funds, private equity and venture capital funds, investors, and management companies. It will also focus on transactional work, cross-border litigation, and investigations.
- Mark S Cohen, Partner: White Collar Advisory Board
- Robert J Gavigan, Partner: Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory Board
- Bonnie J Roe, Partner: Private Equity Advisory Board
- Daniel H Tabak, Partner: Legal Ethics Advisory Board
- Christopher M P Jackson, Counsel: Life Sciences Advisory Board
Jeffrey M Bronheim, Daniel H Mathias, and James R Mossetto discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on private equity funds, noting that investor uncertainty and the need to preserve cash may drive limited partners (“LPs”) to question their obligations to fund capital calls.
Jeffrey M Bronheim, Daniel H Mathias, and James R Mossetto discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on private equity funds, noting that investor uncertainty and the need to preserve cash may drive limited partners (“LPs”) to question their obligations to fund capital calls.
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently found that the board of Trados Incorporated did not breach its fiduciary duties in approving a merger of its company with SDL plc, even though the common stockholders received nothing, and the majority of directors approving the merger were conflicted through their relationships with the preferred stockholders. Trados is a reminder to boards to run a tight ship during the sales process.
A dissection of the standards which govern the valuation of private equity assets and the impacts of recent legal developments.
This article details the risks associated with employee share buybacks and their impact on the process of a company being sold.
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