The Week at Ropes & Gray: Six Corporate Transactions; Counsel Promotions; M&A Cases and Developments; Tax Controversy Decision in Texas; PE Practice Group of the Year; Public Service Award in Boston

Below are weekly highlights of what’s happening at Ropes & Gray:

• February began with a strong start for our clients:
• Kupanda Holdings, a joint venture between Kupanda Capital and TPG Growth, announced a partnership with Mavin Global, Africa's industry-leading music label. The deal will enable Mavin Global—home to iconic African artists like Tiwa Savage and Korede Bello, and an influencer of Afrobeats music—to focus on scaling operations to meet the rapidly growing international demand for African music, expanding its roster and strengthening its services. Ropes & Gray advised Kupanda Holdings.
• Altice USA, one of the largest broadband communications and video services providers in the United States, issued $1.5 billion Senior Guaranteed Notes and refinanced a revolving credit facility, increasing it to $2.56 billion. Ropes & Gray advised Altice USA.
• Altamont Capital Partners announced a carve-out acquisition of Publicis Healthcare Solutions, a leading pharmaceutical contract commercial services organization, from Publicis Groupe.  Ropes & Gray represented Altamont Capital Partners.
• Weld North Education announced its acquisition of Glynlyon, Inc., a digital curriculum company. Weld North Education, in partnership with private equity firm Silver Lake, is a leading digital education technology company. Ropes & Gray advised Weld North Education.
• TSG Consumer Partners, a leading private equity firm, announced the successful closing of its eighth fund, with $4 billion of limited partner capital commitments. The fund, which was substantially oversubscribed, will primarily focus on high-growth consumer companies through equity investments of between $200 - $800 million. Ropes & Gray advised TSG Consumer Partners.
• Penn Foster, which partners with employers to attract, develop and retain talent, announced its acquisition of Ashworth College. Ropes & Gray represented Penn Foster.
• Congratulations to the 14 attorneys who have been named counsel of the firm. Our new counsel represent Ropes & Gray’s leading practice groups, including private equity, investment management, litigation & enforcement, intellectual property litigation, health care, real estate, business restructuring, securities & public companies and tax. Several of the new counsel practice out of the firm’s 350-lawyer New York office; others practice from London and Boston.
• In the latest edition of the Ropes Recap, Ropes & Gray’s newsletter on mergers and acquisitions news, trends and legal decisions, our lawyers summarize important cases and developments in the United States and around the world from the fourth quarter of 2018.
• In a new podcast, Ropes & Gray’s tax controversy attorneys discuss the decision in Texas v. United States, which deals with the constitutionality of the individual mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
• For the second consecutive year, Law360 has recognized Ropes & Gray’s private equity practice as a “Practice Group of the Year.” The feature highlights, among other matters, the firm’s work representing Bain Capital, which led an international consortium in the $18 billion acquisition of Toshiba Memory Corp.
• The Boston Bar Foundation has honored Ropes & Gray senior counsel and former first lady of Massachusetts Diane Patrick as the 2019 recipient of its Public Service Award. A longtime advocate for vulnerable populations across Boston, Diane has been a champion for domestic violence survivors and underprivileged youth, and has worked to eliminate the devastating stigma attached to those with mental illnesses. During her tenure at Ropes & Gray, Diane served as co-managing partner of the Boston office, as well as chair of the firm’s diversity committee.
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