New York, NY – March 29, 2004 – The international law firm of Chadbourne &
Parke LLP announced today that it has refocused its Private Equity Group.
The move comes in order to better capitalize on the Firm’s capabilities in
this area by bringing together private equity experts in the New York,
Washington, D.C., Houston, London, Moscow and Warsaw offices under a single
organizational umbrella. As part of the formal organization, the Private
Equity Group has launched a new website, www.chadbourne.com/privateequity.
“Given the improving economic conditions in the United States and elsewhere
– particularly the renewed interest in M&A, private equity and venture
capital, and the billions of dollars in private equity capital awaiting
investment – this is the perfect time for Chadbourne to refocus our
efforts,” said partner Talbert I. Navia, chair of the Private Equity Group.
“We have organized the Private Equity Group along industry and geographic
lines, customizing our practice in order to better meet our clients’ needs,”
added Mr. Navia, who was also a founding partner of MapleWood Partners, a
private equity firm focusing on investments in the United States and Latin
America.
Chadbourne attorneys have special expertise in franchise private equity
investments. Most recently, the Firm represented Core Value Partners in the
acquisition of 166 Burger King restaurants out of bankruptcy in the Chicago
and North Carolina markets.
The Private Equity Group’s experience also covers private equity, venture
capital, hedge funds and mezzanine funds, including the structuring and
formation of investment funds both in the United States and abroad. The
investments of such funds cover a diverse array of securities, industries
and geographic areas, including debt and equity in leveraged buy-outs and
debt and equity of distressed assets, such as power projects and securities
of U.S., European, Asian and Latin American companies.
“When counseling our clients, Chadbourne attorneys bring the benefit of
their unique firsthand private equity experience to the table – from
launching first-time funds to holding senior positions at private equity and
hedge funds,” said Charles K. O’Neill, the Firm’s Managing Partner. “While
we have been active in this area for some time, we are now better able to
leverage the Firm’s expertise and resources on behalf of our clients, as
well as offer them a variety of value-added services.”
The Private Equity Group’s value-added services include providing assistance
in clients’ capital raising activities through introductions to potential
investors; assistance in accessing placement agents to raise capital;
turn-key solutions for deal-flow management and legal document management;
access to senior and mezzanine lenders; and pro-active deal flow, utilizing
Chadbourne’s deal bank generated by Chadbourne’s contacts on a global basis.
Attorneys in the Private Equity Group help clients in all aspects of fund
development, from fund formation to making investments and implementing exit
strategies. The Private Equity Group will also provide special industry and
geographic expertise in a wide range of areas – including energy and
infrastructure, technology and telecommunications, Russia and the
Commonwealth of Independent States, Central Europe and Latin America – by
drawing on the experience of the Firm’s leading practices in these areas.
Along with the Core Value Partners acquisitions, representative private
equity transactions include representing Whitney & Co., LLC in the
acquisition of Herbalife International, Inc; York Street Mezzanine Partners,
L.P. in its organization and in connection with its mezzanine financing for
the acquisition of the Murine and Clear Eyes brands of eye and ear care
products; Southern Cross Group in an investment in Compañía General de
Combustibles S.A. in Argentina; and Rockland Capital Energy Investments LLC
in its purchase of a 50 percent stake in Prime Energy LP.
The Private Equity Group will operate as a cohesive unit across the Firm’s
international network of offices. Key members of the group, besides Mr.
Navia, are Morton E. Grosz, Thomas C. Meriam, Peter Ingerman and Bruce J.
Rader in New York; Merrill Kramer and Hwan Kim in Washington, D.C.; Todd
Alexander in Houston; William Greason and Claude S. Serfilippi in London;
Laura M. Brank in Moscow; and Gabriel Wujek and David F. Dixon in Warsaw.
About Chadbourne & Parke LLP
Chadbourne & Parke LLP, an international law firm headquartered in New York
City, provides a full range of legal services, including mergers and
acquisitions, securities, project finance, corporate finance, energy,
telecommunications, commercial and products liability litigation, securities
litigation and regulatory enforcement, white collar defense, intellectual
property, antitrust, domestic and international tax, reinsurance and
insurance, environmental, real estate, bankruptcy and financial
restructuring, employment law and ERISA, trusts and estates and government
contract matters. The Firm has offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Los
Angeles, Houston, Moscow, Kyiv, Warsaw (through a Polish partnership),
Beijing and a multinational partnership, Chadbourne & Parke, in London. For
additional information, visit chadbourne.com.
