Overview

A Destination M&A Practice

Recognized as leaders in the field, our M&A attorneys possess both extensive transactional experience and deep industry knowledge. We hold a strong track record of advising strategic investors on a wide variety of corporate transactions, creating and implementing innovative deal structures driven by industry trends and evolving market terms.

Our transaction teams include attorneys with various specialties, including finance, tax, intellectual property, data privacy, regulatory, employment, antitrust, anti-corruption and international risk, and litigation, which allow us to present an integrated service offering to resolve matters that span the full spectrum of transaction-related issues.

A Client-Centric Focus

Clients value a firm with the global resources—and steadfast commitment to cultivating relationships—to achieve their business goals. Ropes & Gray’s M&A attorneys navigate clients through some of the largest, most complex and demanding transactions around the world. We are consistently recognized for our excellence in client service and responsiveness, delivering the quick turnaround needed to keep pace with business demands.

We advise a broad array of clients:

Deals

Financial Advisor

Our team regularly serves as outside counsel to a number of investment banks in their capacity as financial advisor in a wide variety of M&A transactions, including the following recent transactions:

Broadcom’s $18.9 billion acquisition of CA Technologies.
Thermo Fisher Scientific’s $17.4 billion acquisition of PPD.
Univar Solutions’ $8.1 billion take-private sale to funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management.
International Game Technologies’ simultaneous $6.3 billion sale of IGT’s Gaming & Digital business and Everi Holdings Inc. to Apollo.
Conn’s $6.2 billion acquisition of W.S. Badcock.
Quidel's $6 billion acquisition of Ortho Clinical Diagnostics and acquisition of Clarabridge.
Lumentum’s $5.7 billion acquisition of Coherent.
Sonoco’s $3.9 billion acquisition of Eviosys.
The Estée Lauder Companies’ $2.8 billion acquisition of the TOM FORD brand.
CommScope’s $2.1 billion sale of its Outdoor Wireless Networks and Distributed Antenna Systems businesses.

Financial Services and Asset Management

Represented NFP in its $13.4 billion sale to Aon.
Represented Cloudmed in its $4.1 billion sale to R1 RCM, Inc.
Represented Annaly Capital Management in the $2.33 billion sale of its commercial real estate business to Slate Asset Management.
Represented Sculptor Capital in its sale to Rithm Capital.
Represented iCapital Network in its acquisition of Axio Financial LLC.
Represented NFP and Wealthspire Advisors in Wealthspire’s acquisition of Private Ocean.
Represented LPL Financial in its acquisition of National Planning Holdings, Inc and the wealth management business of Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc.
Advised The Vistria Group in its sale of a minority stake to Hunter Point Capital and ADQ.
Represented BrightSphere in its sale of a majority stake in Thompson, Siegel and Walmsley to Pendal Group Limited.
Represented Gordon Brothers in an investment from Trident VII funds managed by Stone Point Capital LLC.
Represented TPG’s global impact fund, The Rise Fund, in its investment in Varo Money, a mobile-banking financial technology company.
Represented MUFG Investor Services in its acquisition of Guggenheim Investments’ 1940-Act mutual fund administration business, Rydex Fund Services.
Represented Landmark Partners in the sale of a majority interest in Landmark to OM Asset Management plc.
Represented State Street Bank and Trust Company in the acquisition of GE Asset Management (GEAM) from GE.
Advised Gridiron Capital in its sale of a minority stake to RidgeLake Partners.

Health Care & Life Sciences

Represented ImmunoGen in its $10.1 billion sale to AbbVie.
Represented Becton, Dickinson and Company in its $4.2 billion acquisition of Edwards Lifesciences' Critical Care.
Represented Summa Equity AB in the $3.1 billion sale of Olink Holding AB to Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
Represented Cardinal Health in its $1.2 billion acquisition of Specialty Networks and its $1.1 billion pending acquisition of Integrated Oncology Network (ION).
Represented Pfizer Inc. in numerous strategic acquisitions with a combined equity value of over $50 billion, including acquisitions of Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Trillium Therapeutics, Medivation and Hospira.
Represented Paratek Pharmaceuticals in its $462 million sale to Gurnet Point Capital and Novo Holdings.
Represented Provention Bio in a $2.9 billion sale to Sanofi.
Represented Cambrex in its acquisition of Snapdragon Chemistry.
Represented Signify Health in its $8 billion sale to CVS Health.
Represented Ginkgo Bioworks in its:

$300 million acquisition of Zymergen.
strategic collaboration with Bayer.
acquisition of Circularis.
acquisition of Patch Biosciences.
acquisition of AgBiome’s platform assets in agricultural biologics.

Represented Galderma in its sale of Alchemee (f/k/a The Proactiv Company) to Taro Pharmaceuticals and acquisition of Alastin Skincare.
Represented DentaQuest in its $2.475 billion sale to Sun Life Financial Inc.
Represented Acceleron Pharma in its $11.5 billion sale to Merck & Co.
Represented Medtronic in its $1.1 billion acquisition of Intersect ENT.
Represented Surgery Partners Inc. in its $760 million acquisition of private equity-backed National Surgical Healthcare.
Represented Shire plc in the $32 billion business combination with Baxalta Incorporated and $5.9 billion acquisition of Dyax.

Manufacturing, Industrials & Energy

Represented Nippon Steel Corporation in its $14.9 billion pending acquisition of U. S. Steel.
Represented CIRCOR International in its $1.6 billion take-private sale to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.
Represented The L.S. Starrett Company in a take-private sale to MiddleGround Capital.
Represented Eversource Energy in several transactions, including:
- $1.1 billion acquisition of Columbia Gas.
- $1.675 billion acquisition of Aquarion Water Company
- $625 million sale of its 50% interest in Danish energy company Ørsted.
- and its subsidiary Aquarion Water Company in connection with Aquarion's acquisition of The Torrington Water Company and New England Service Company.
Represented Advent Technologies Holdings, Inc. in its acquisition of the fuel cell systems business of the fischer Group.
Represented Altus Power in a $1.58 billion strategic business combination between Altus Power and CBRE Acquisition Holdings.

Retail & Consumer Brands

Represented The Duckhorn Portfolio in its $1.95 billion sale to Butterfly Equity.
Represented The Hershey Company in its acquisition of Sour Strips and Pirate Brands, including the Pirate’s Booty, Smart Puffs and Original Tings brands from B&G Foods, Inc.
Represented Sodiaal in its acquisition of General Mills’ Canadian yogurt business.
Represented VMG Partners and [solidcore] in its sale to investment firm, L Catterton.

Represented The Duckhorn Portfolio in its acquisition of Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards.

Represented Yasso Holdings and Castanea Partners in its sale of Yasso Holdings to Unilever.

Represented America's Test Kitchen in its sale to Marquee Brands.

Represented TravelCenters of America Inc. in its $1.3 billion sale to BP.

Represented Planet Fitness in its acquisition of Sunshine Fitness.

Represented Max Finkelstein in its sale to U.S. Autoforce.

Represented The Michaels Companies, Inc. in its $5 billion take-private sale to investment funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc.

Represented Dunkin’ Brands in its $11.3 billion sale to Inspire Brands.

Represented Multi Packaging Solutions Limited in its $2.28 billion sale to WestRock Company.

Represented the adidas Group in numerous transactions, including the sales of its Mitchell & Ness and Rockport shoe businesses.

Technology

Represented National Amusements in its ’s pending sale to affiliates of Skydance Media in concert with the merger of Skydance Media with Paramount Global.
Represented Haveli Investments, a technology-focused private equity firm, in its acquisition of ZeroFox Holdings, Inc.
Represented MACOM Technology Solutions in its acquisition of Linearizer Communications Group.
Represented Toast in its acquisition of Delphi Display Systems.
Represented Cinven in its $720 million acquisition of TaxAct and the subsequent business combination of TaxAct and Drake Software.
Represented HP Inc. in its acquisition of Poly Inc.
Represented McAfee in a sale worth over $14 billion to an investor group named “Deal of the Year” by IFLR’s 2023 Americas Awards and $4 billion sale of its Enterprise business to a consortium led by Symphony Technology Group.
Represented Qorvo in its acquisition of Decawave Limited in a transaction named 2020 “Deal of the Year” by The Irish Times.
Represented Altimeter Growth Corp. in a $40 billion stock-for-stock merger with Grab Holdings.
Represented Atlantic Media, Inc. in the sale of Quartz to Uzabase and the sale of a majority ownership stake in The Atlantic to Emerson Collective, which was founded and is run by Laurene Powell Jobs.
Represented China Oceanwides USA Holdings in its acquisition of International Data Group (IDG).
Represented Mentor Graphics Corporation in its $4.5 billion acquisition by Siemens AG.

Awards

Ropes & Gray’s award-winning M&A practice is regularly ranked among the world’s leading practices by high-profile publications such as Chambers, The Legal 500, IFLR1000 and U.S. News & World Report.

The American Lawyer

Named to the 2024 “Dealmakers of the Year” list
Ranked #2 on The American Lawyer's 2024 “A-List”

Chambers USA 2024

Ranked in the U.S. for “Corporate/M&A: The Elite,” “Private Equity: Buyouts: High-end Capability” and “Private Equity: Buyouts: Mid-Market”
Ranked in Massachusetts for “Corporate/M&A” and “Private Equity: Buyouts”
Ranked in New York for “Corporate/M&A: Highly Regarded” and "Private Equity: Buyouts"
Ranked in California for “Private Equity: Buyouts”
Ranked in Illinois for “Corporate/M&A & Private Equity”

Chambers Global 2024

Ranked in the Asia-Pacific Region for “Corporate/M&A: Private Equity”
Ranked in China for “Corporate/M&A: Highly Regarded (International Firms)”
Ranked in Japan for “Corporate/M&A: International”
Ranked in South Korea for “Corporate/M&A: International Firms”
Ranked in the U.S. for “Corporate/M&A (International & Cross-Border),” “Private Equity: Buyouts: High-end Capability” and “Private Equity: Buyouts: Mid-Market”
Ranked in the U.K. for “Private Equity: Buyouts”

The Legal 500 US 2024

Ranked nationally as a leader for “M&A Corporate and Commercial: Large Deals ($1 billion+)”
Ranked nationally as a leader for “M&A Corporate and Commercial: Private Equity Buyouts: Large Deals ($500 million+)”
Ranked nationally as a leader for “M&A Corporate and Commercial: Shareholder Activism – Advice to Boards”

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2024

Ranked in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea for “Corporate/M&A”
Ranked in China and Hong Kong for “Private Equity”

IFLR1000 2024

Ranked in the U.S. and China for M&A

LMG Life Sciences 2024

Shortlisted for “M&A Firm of the Year” and “EMEA – Corporate Firm of the Year”

U.S. News & World Report – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” 2025

Ranked Tier 1 in the U.S., Boston and New York for “Mergers and Acquisitions Law”
Ranked Tier 1 in the U.S., Boston and New York for “Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law”