Dedicated to fully understanding our clients, their businesses, and their industries, we develop client-focused teams. These teams ensure first class legal service and continuity of personnel, view business issues from our clients perspective, and assist in discovering the best legal services to address our clients’ needs, drawing upon the strengths of diverse, knowledgeable and experienced lawyers.

Our Private Equity Group is comprised of more than 35 attorneys with individual specialties that include corporate finance, subordinated lending, senior lending, including second lien lending, securities, recapitalizations, buyouts, mergers and acquisitions and restructuring. We have a successful track record assisting investment firms reach their business objectives, including fund formation and maintenance, solicitation of capital, acquisitions, management of portfolio companies, divestitures, leveraged buyouts, PIPEs, SPACS and distressed investments. In addition, we have substantial experience taking private-equity-backed companies public, publicly-traded companies private and in the issuance of public debt.

We believe that our private equity practice is differentiated from that of our competitors because of our focus on the middle market, our CEO-centric program and our commitment of always staffing projects with teams led by senior attorneys that are actively involved in the process.

As a firm, we focus our practice on middle market companies. This allows us to provide immediate value to private equity clients as we recognize changing market conditions, identify potential transactions and proactively counsel portfolio companies in their day-to-day operations. We believe that our emphasis on middle market companies makes us a value-added partner in today’s private equity marketplace. We offer a strong CEO-centric program, where we team successful CEOs with private equity firms to create industry focused transactions. We actively identify and qualify these CEOs before introducing them into CEO-centric private equity firms. In addition, we provide an ongoing program to attract managers who are considering MBOs of their operating companies.

Unlike many of our competitors, we staff our client matters with experienced attorneys that remain actively involved in the day-to-day decision making process. We are committed to having an experienced partner involved on all transactions and to building a consistent service team that develops a true partnership with the client. In addition, our Midwest base allows us to provide this benefit at a competitive rate structure.

Although we have represented clients in transactions in almost every industry, we have specific experience in the packaging, plastics, specialty chemicals, consumer products, financial services, specialty printing, healthcare, communications, software, media, retail and distribution, manufacturing and biotechnology sectors. Additionally, we have vertical industry knowledge with special practice groups for transportation and logistics and regulated health care as to long term care, assisted living and institutional pharmacy companies.

In order to meet the increasing international needs of our client base, we have created a China Practice Group and opened an office in Shanghai. This allows us to provide private equity funds with counseling on China related issues and to provide their portfolio companies with practical advice on sourcing, green fielding and logistics issues, as well as acquiring businesses in Asia. We also have a steady and practiced application of doing international transactional work outside of China by partnering seamlessly with either our TerraLex network of law firms (that provides us with coverage in almost every country in the world), or working with one of our multi-country international firm relationships. In all instances, we “quarterback” the transaction in all countries and are responsible for coordinating efforts and for maximizing efficiencies.

As a sophisticated player in the private equity marketplace, we know how to invest the institutional funds properly, how to help with ongoing governance, operational and financing issues, and ensure the proper exit. Through a dedicated team, we get the deal done in an efficient and effective manner while protecting the interests and achieving the objectives of our clients.

REPRESENTATIVE FUNDS WORKED WITH

:: AIG
:: Alpha Capital
:: Altus Capital Partners
:: American Capital Strategies
:: Ares Management LLC
:: Bank One
:: Beecken Petty O’Keefe & Company
:: Blue Point Capital Partners
:: Brantley Partners
:: Castle Harlan
:: Caxton-Iseman
:: Centre Partners
:: CID Equity Partners
:: Cincinnatus Partners
:: Circle Peak Capital LLC 
:: Columbia Capital
:: Cortec Partners
:: Crimson Capital Partners
:: Edgewater Capital
:: Equitek Capital
:: General Atlantic Partners
:: GSC Partners
:: HSBC Capital (USA) Inc.
:: Huron Capital Partners
:: Key Principal Partners
:: Kirtland Capital Partners
:: Linden Partners
:: Max Capital
:: MC Venture Partners
:: National City Capital
:: Oak Hill Capital Partners
:: Oak Investments
:: Ohio Innovation
:: Pinnacle Partners
:: Phoenix Capital
:: Pittsburgh National Capital
:: Polaris Partners
:: PNC Equity
:: Prairie Capital
:: Primus Venture Partners
:: Prudential Capital
:: Red Diamond Capital
:: Reservoir Partners
:: River City Capital
:: South Franklin Street Partners
:: The Riverside Company
:: Talisman Capital Partners
:: Thoma Cressey Equity Partners
:: Triangle Capital Corporation
:: Water Street Partners 
:: William Blair Equity Partners
:: Wind Point Partners

REPRESENTATIVE SUBORDINATED DEBT FUNDS WORKED WITH

:: Bank One Mezzanine
:: Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
:: Huntington Capital
:: Key Principal Partners
:: National City Equity Partners
:: Roynat Capital