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Financial Services
Ropes & Gray is a leading M&A legal advisor to a wide array of financial services companies. Our representation of registered funds, private funds, investment advisers, broker dealers, insurance companies and other financial services institutions provides us with broad knowledge of the business of these entities. We have a comprehensive understanding of trading markets, derivatives transactions, and the regulatory and litigation challenges faced by industry participants, including subprime, auction rate securities and other matters. Our industry knowledge together with our extensive transactional experience provides us with frequent opportunities to serve as lead legal counsel on complex financial services transactions. We regularly advise on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, securities offerings and other capital-raising activities involving financial services entities. Our success is validated by what others say about us: - Director’s and Boards 2008 Top Corporate Governance Law Firms ranked us as one of the top 10 firms for Best in Dealing with General Corporate Governance Issues and a top 10 firm for Best in Dealing with Board Level M&A Issues.
- Ranked in the 2008 Chambers USA guide for “Investment Funds: Private Equity: Buyouts” and Corporate/M&A” and the 2008 Chambers Global guide for “Private Equity: Buyouts & Venture Capital Investment.”
- The American Lawyer’s Corporate Scorecard ranked us number one in the mutual fund category by new issues or clients’ assets for 12 of the last 13 years these rankings were published.
- Our lawyers are recognized leaders in the field by Chambers USA 2008: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Legal 500 U.S. Guide: Investment Funds: Mutual Funds 2008 and The Best Lawyers in America 2009.
The confidence that industry leaders have in us is demonstrated by our leading role in major transactions for them. Our recent M&A transactions in the financial services industry include: - We represented Bain Capital in its proposed $2.15 billion acquisition of Lehman Brothers Holdings asset-management business. Bain Capital proposed to partner with Hellman & Friedman to purchase the Neuberger Berman business which had been among the biggest business units of Lehman Brothers, which filed for bankruptcy in September 2008 and had been selling major businesses since that time.
- We represented Ameriprise Financial Inc., one of the leading financial planning, asset management and insurance companies in the U.S., in connection with the acquisition by its subsidiary Riversource Investments of asset management firm J. & W. Seligman & Co. for $440 million. Seligman managed approximately $18 billion in assets in open- and closed-end funds, hedge funds and institutional accounts.
- We have represented State Street Corporation in connection with numerous transaction including the sale of its private asset management business to Charles Schwab, and the recent sale of its joint venture interest in CitiStreet LLC, one of the premier retirement plan and benefit service and administration organizations in the world, to ING Group.
- We represented Affiliated Managers Group (“AMG”), a diversified asset management company, in connection with the acquisition of the asset management business of Gannett Welsh & Kotler, LLC ("GW&K"), an investment management unit of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, by AMG and the management team of GW&K. Founded in 1974, GW&K is a Boston-based manager of municipal bond, taxable bond and equity investments with assets under management of more than $7 billion.
- We represented Fiduciary Network in its acquisition of an interests in Phoenix-based Keats Connelly, a registered investment advisor firm specializing in providing cross-border tax advice to Canadian citizens and others living in the United States; Brouwer & Janachowski Inc., a San Francisco-based advisory firm with about 200 clients and slightly under $700 million in assets; and Brightworth LLC, a private wealth management firm based in suburban Atlanta, Georgia.
- We represented Hanover Insurance Group in the sale of its life insurance subsidiary, First Allmerica Financial Life Insurance Company (FAFLIC), to Commonwealth Annuity & Life Insurance Co., a subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group.
- We represented Palisades Safety and Insurance Association in its multi-million dollar acquisition of National Atlantic Holdings Corp. National Atlantic Holdings Corporation and its subsidiaries provide property and casualty insurance and insurance-related services to individuals, families and businesses in the State of New Jersey.
- We represented LPL Financial in its acquisition of IFMG Securities from SunLife. IFMG is a leader in providing banks, savings and loans, and credit unions nationwide with a portfolio of investment and insurance products. LPL is the nation's largest provider of third-party investment services to banks and credit unions and is the largest network of independent broker/dealers in the US., with more than 10,000 advisors nationwide.
- We represented the Putnam Funds and their independent Trustees in connection with matters relating to Great-West Lifeco Inc.'s $3.9 billion acquisition of Putnam Investments, which resulted in a change of control of the Funds' investment adviser, Putnam Investment Management, LLC. Great-West Lifeco Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of Power Financial Corporation, a financial services holding company with operations in Canada, the United States, and Europe.
- We have represented Natixis Global Asset Management and its predecessor entities in their strategic acquisitions. Recent transactions have included product line expansions through the acquisition of the Alpha Simplex Group and Gateway Investment Advisors, as well as venture stakes in emerging asset managers and related technology.
For further information on our financial services practice group, please contact: Ropes & Gray serves our Financial Services clients across a spectrum of needs. Please click on the links below to learn more about our experience.
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