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Private Equity & Venture

Taking the learning curve out of the equation.

Our team represents private equity and venture capital investors across all aspects of their investment cycle, from negotiating partnership agreements and structuring funds to undertaking platform acquisitions, restructurings and exit transactions. We also provide comprehensive legal and advisory services to portfolio companies, startups, entrepreneurs and businesses seeking financial investors and buyers.

Our insight into how the deal and regulatory framework varies from one jurisdiction and industry to the next enables us to anticipate and resolve issues early on, control for future risks and help clients make informed investment decisions. We pride ourselves above all on being both deal and difference makers, crafting and efficiently executing each transaction with creativity, care and experienced judgment.

Key Contacts

Edward W. Moore, Jr. Profile Image
Edward W. Moore, Jr.

Office Partner-in-Charge

Dallas, TX

Scott W. Dolson Profile Image
Scott W. Dolson

Partner

Louisville, KY

Joshua M. O’Bryan Profile Image
Joshua M. O’Bryan

Partner

Louisville, KY

How We Help Clients

Phase Expertise

Each facet of private equity โ€” be it fundraising, portfolio management or exits โ€” has its own specialized considerations. For this reason, we have team members focusing predominantly on specific phases of the private equity investment cycle. This focus enables us to apply our resources consistently and cost-effectively while keeping our clientโ€™s goals squarely in sight.

We help clients strike the right balance between managing risk and getting the deal done, with an eye toward maximizing the value measures our clients care about most: money, time and risk mitigation. Our comprehensive approach and deep industry and business perspective strengthen the services we bring to private equity, which include:

Formations

  • Fund structure, terms, negotiation, and documentation
  • Tax structure, credits, and incentives
  • Transaction financing (mezzanine etc.)
  • Regulatory matters
Acquisitions

  • Due-diligence and operational risk assessments
  • Immigration review
  • Regulatory counsel for industry-specific targets
  • Employment and equity compensation arrangements
  • Structuring and implementing governance arrangements
  • Merger & Acquisition services (including platform and add-on transactions)
Exits

  • Exit strategies
  • IPOs
  • Recapitalizations
  • Spin-offs, leveraged buyouts, carve-outs
  • Sales to financial and strategic buyers

Portfolio Services

Providing value-added governance and outside general counsel services to portfolio companies is another way we support our private equity clients. Whether itโ€™s resolving employment and compensation issues, establishing governance best practices between private equity sponsors and their portfolio company boards, or laying the groundwork to maximize the value of the investment, we offer the same high-level insight and attentiveness.

Our Midwestern cost structure and values make us an attractive choice for clients looking to manage expenses and maximize returns โ€” all while working with attorneys who have the local market knowledge to help them identify multiple paths to value creation.

Representing Sellers

Our private equity team also works with founders and entrepreneurs in connection with selling their businesses to private equity firms. Company owners who are considering a sale find our depth of private equity experience valuable in making strategic decisions and navigating the process. We help ensure that their legal compliance and risk management track records are assets during the sales process.

Middle-Market Focus

While our attorneys have handled billion-dollar deals in specialized industries like oil and gas and automotive, our focus is assisting clients in the lower-middle and middle markets. Weโ€™ve emerged as a go-to firm for clients operating in this space because of our ability to bring top-market terms and methods to middle-market deals. And, with offices throughout the middle of the U.S., we are well-positioned to help private equity funds target, vet and acquire businesses within and outside our footprint.

Cross-Industry Strength

Our private equity team is more than 50-strong, including several attorneys who, in addition to subject-area knowledge, bring a wealth of industry-specific experience in the automotive, tech, health care, manufacturing, oil and gas, logistics and franchising sectors. This background gives clients an uncommon advantage in understanding how the deal and regulatory framework varies by market. We have the resources to conduct quick-turnaround due-diligence and operational risk assessments in order to help clients evaluate industry-specific risks and make informed investment decisions.

Value Creation

Our proficiency in the middle market, combined with our nuanced understanding of private equity, enable us to efficiently help our private equity clients achieve their deal sourcing, planning and post-acquisition goals. While our primary goal is to usher each deal from start to finish line, we recognize that some deals inevitably wash out, and so we approach โ€œbroken dealsโ€ in creative ways that underscore our commitment to forging productive, long-term relationships with our private equity clients.

White Papers

Private Equity Blog

Considerations When Selecting an Investment Banker

December 26, 2023 | Blogs

This was originallyย published in Reuters Legal News (December 20, 2023). Clients regularly seek adv...

"People walking on transparent glass spiral staircase in futuristic building, unrecognizable people."
Corporate Transparency Act: Who Can Exert Substantial Influence on My Company? Part I

December 6, 2023 | Corporate Transparency Act

Part 1: Substantial Influence The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)[i] was enacted to combat the use ...

conference room
Reporting Under the Corporate Transparency Act โ€“ Is My Company Exempt?

November 6, 2023 | Corporate Transparency Act

The reporting requirements of the Federal Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)[1] will go into effect be...

Macro view of book pages. Open book, white sheets on dark black background. Education background, copy space
Introducing the QSBS Guidebook for Family Offices and Private Equity Firms

October 12, 2023 | Blogs

The combination of the 21% corporate income tax rate and the possibility of qualifying for Section 1...

Flood After The Rain Is Flowing Down The Drain On The Road
FinCEN Announces Proposed Solution to Disclosure Dilemma in the Corporate Transparency Act

September 29, 2023 | Corporate Transparency Act

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) may be the most consequential federal law in recent memory. To ...

High rise buildings
Portfolio Company Reporting Under the Corporate Transparency Act

September 28, 2023 | Blogs

This was originallyย published in Reuters Legal News (September 28, 2023). In Private Equity, a Port...

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