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In 2024, Best Lawyers received more than 100,000 client references and observed a 65% increase in client participation in their survey.
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Cozen O’Connor handles complex mergers and acquisitions transactions on behalf of strategic and financial buyers and sellers, including public and private companies, multinationals, SPACs, and family offices. Clients rely on us to structure and negotiate their most transformative deals, measured by both the number of zeros on the term sheet and boldness of the participants’ vision.
WHAT WE DO
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Asset and stock sales and purchases
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Mergers and consolidations
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De-SPAC transactions
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Global M&A transactions
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Spin-offs and roll-ups
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Auction transactions, as a seller or bidder
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Joint ventures and strategic alliances
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Leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations
HOW WE WORK
Cozen O’Connor’s M&A attorneys focus on a client’s core business goals. We have the business and financial acumen to understand client operations, market position, and trajectory — and that big-picture perspective informs our advice, from deal structure to negotiation strategy.
Likewise, we have a healthy appreciation for the interests of deal counterparties. M&A is not about beating an opponent; it’s about reaching a mutually beneficial agreement. We approach counterparts with respect, hold ground when we have to but cede ground when we can, and make sure that even tough negotiations remain productive and collegial.
We approach challenges with urgency and pragmatism. Cozen O’Connor attorneys do not waste time belaboring why a strategy is unworkable or endlessly cataloguing obstacles. We find sensible solutions in real time and keep deals moving forward.
WHY OUR FIRM
Cozen O’Connor staffs deals with veteran attorneys and small, efficient teams. We avoid the high-leverage staffing model used by many large law firms for the simple reason that it doesn’t benefit clients. In our experience, leaner teams lead to better communication, workflow, and outcomes.
The firm structure supports timely and transparent cross-practice collaboration. Cozen O’Connor M&A counsel frequently involve colleagues from antitrust, tax, employee benefits, environmental, real estate, labor and employment, privacy, intellectual property, and other disciplines.
Attorneys in our national M&A practice have notable real world experience. They are trustees of corporate and nonprofit boards as well as former general counsels and in-house counsel to diverse enterprises, from successful startups to Fortune 500 giants.
We have significant M&A experience in a wide range of industries, including automotive, cannabis, consumer products, energy and utilities, fintech, food and beverage, health care, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, technology, telecommunications, and transportation, among others.
January 22, 2024
Beatrice Bottini and Larry Laubach discuss the new New York LLC Transparency Act, which is modeled after the Federal Corporate Transparency Act and is aimed at pursuing unlawful activity, including wage theft, money laundering, and tenant mistreatment.
October 05, 2023
Calli Padilla and Nicole Sprinzen discuss the DOJ's new Mergers & Acquisitions Safe Harbor Policy.
May 01, 2019
Chris Bellini discusses the Delaware Supreme Court's preference for deal price, assuming a reasonable process, in a strategic merger.
October 09, 2018
Chris Bellini discusses the Chancery Court's findings in Akorn, and how the decision provides an excellent framework for understanding how the court analyzes MAE clauses and provides a useful roadmap for how buyers should act when confronting unforeseen post-signing issues.
November 07, 2024
In 2024, Best Lawyers received more than 100,000 client references and observed a 65% increase in client participation in their survey.
September 05, 2024
Cozen O’Connor is pleased to announce that the firm’s Corporate Practice has been selected by The American Lawyer as a 2024 Best Corporate Practice of the Year finalist for 2024.
September 04, 2024
Best Lawyers Canada has named 17 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from the firm’s Toronto and Vancouver offices in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Canada.
August 15, 2024
Best Lawyers selected 242 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 24 of the firm’s U.S. offices for inclusion in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America.
July 10, 2024
The Legal 500 United States named Cozen O’Connor’s Aviation, Construction, Immigration, Insurance, Maritime, and Mergers & Acquisitions practices and Cozen O’Connor attorneys Scott Bettridge, Raymond DeLuca, Michael Deutsch, Geoffrey Ferrer, Bruce Ficken, Jonathon Foglia, David Heffernan, Matthew Howell, James Kwartnik, Robert Magovern, Jeffrey Mullen, Patrick Rizzi, Rachel Schwartz, Josh Stein, Jeff Vogel, and Rachel Welford to its 2024 Legal Guide.
July 09, 2024
The list will appear in the July/August 2024 issue of Minnesota Monthly
July 03, 2024
Eight Cozen O’Connor attorneys have been recognized as Super Lawyers, including Susan N. Eisenberg, James A. Gale, Howard S. Krooks, Samuel A. Lewis, Ellen S. Morris, Stuart R. Morris, Ralf R. Rodriguez, and Martin T. Schrier. The seven Cozen O’Connor attorneys recognized as Rising Stars are Heather Beale, Tiffany Bustamante, J. Kent Crocker, Arielle Eisenberg, Alexandra J. Schultz, Natasha Shaikh, and Paul Souferis.
June 11, 2024
Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only 5 percent of attorneys are named Super Lawyers; only 2.5 percent of attorneys are listed as Rising Stars.
June 10, 2024
Chambers USA rankings are based on an “assessment of a firm’s work and opinions from external market sources, with an emphasis on client feedback.” In order to be ranked in the guide, lawyers and firms must demonstrate “sustained excellence.”
May 09, 2024
Cozen O’Connor advised Xtribe P.L.C. in its definitive business combination agreement with WinVest Acquisition Corp.
January 31, 2024
The total consideration for the transactions is $182.5 million, subject to customary adjustments. The transactions are expected to close on February 5, 2024, subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions.
January 22, 2024
Beatrice Bottini and Larry Laubach discuss the new New York LLC Transparency Act, which is modeled after the Federal Corporate Transparency Act and is aimed at pursuing unlawful activity, including wage theft, money laundering, and tenant mistreatment.
January 09, 2024
PHILADELPHIA, January 9, 2024 — Cozen O’Connor advised Albaron Partners, a middle-market private equity firm focused on founder-led health care companies, in its sale of Albaron Podiatry Holdings LLC d/b/a Beyond Podiatry, a leader in the management of podiatric medicine in the Midwest, to CUC Inc. The deal represents the first private equity exit in U.S. podiatry history.
October 05, 2023
Calli Padilla and Nicole Sprinzen discuss the DOJ's new Mergers & Acquisitions Safe Harbor Policy.
September 22, 2023
Thirteen attorneys were recognized as Super Lawyers and 14 were named “Rising Stars.”
August 24, 2023
Ten Cozen O’Connor lawyers from the firm’s Toronto and Vancouver offices were selected for inclusion in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Canada
August 17, 2023
Best Lawyers selected 232 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 24 of the firm’s U.S. offices for inclusion in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
July 28, 2023
These lists recognize lawyers “mastering,” “leading,” “revolutionizing,” and “dominating” their fields in their respective states and nationwide.
July 14, 2023
Marty Schrier, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Business Law Department, has been named one of the most influential corporate/M&A lawyers in South Florida by Business Today.
July 10, 2023
Cozen O'Connor's Aviation (Litigation/Regulation), Construction, L&E, M&A (Midmarket), Shipping (Finance and Litigation/Regulation) practices were ranked by the Legal 500.
June 30, 2023
Selection to Super Lawyers is based on peer nominations and evaluations, combined with independent research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only 5% of attorneys are named Super Lawyers; only 2.5% of attorneys are listed as Rising Stars.
June 05, 2023
Of the 88 lawyers ranked, 17 lawyers have been recognized nationally, and eighteen were recognized in Band 1. Eight of the firm's practice areas have been recognized nationally, and nine were ranked Band 1.
May 24, 2023
Super Lawyers has selected 42 Cozen O'Connor attorneys to the 2023 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.
May 01, 2023
Cozen O’Connor is representing Steinman Communications in its gift of LNP Media Group, based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to WITF. LNP Media Group publishes LNP, Lancaster County’s daily newspaper, as well as other weekly newspapers and owns Lancaster Online, the number one news site in Lancaster County. WITF owns the public television station WITF-TV (Channel 33) and public radio station WITF-FM (89.5).
November 30, 2022
U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers recognized Cozen O’Connor as a “Best Law Firm” in 30 practice areas nationwide and 115 practice areas regionally.
November 22, 2022
Cozen O’Connor represented Leger, the largest Canadian-owned market research and analytics company, in its acquisition of 360 Market Reach, an American market research company based in New York City.
October 24, 2022
Cozen O’Connor is pleased to announce that the firm’s Corporate Practice and multiple attorneys in the firm’s Corporate and Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring practices have been recognized by IFLR1000 in its 2022 edition.
October 17, 2022
Cozen O’Connor served as U.S. and Canadian counsel in Investindustrial’s acquisition of a majority stake in Eataly S.p.A., the global chain of upscale Italian marketplaces. A team led by M&A attorney and Italy Practice chair Christian Moretti conducted significant due diligence of more than 20 Eataly businesses in the United States and Canada, in collaboration with Deloitte Legal Italy and Studio Legale Chiomenti. For nearly two decades, Eataly has been operating high-quality Italian food markets and restaurant concepts in prestigious locations across the globe, including flagship stores in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Dallas, and Silicon Valley.
August 22, 2022
Geoffrey Ferrer, James Forsyth, J. Bruce Maffeo, Suzanne Mayes, Jason Shargel, and Anna Wermuth received the highest annual ratings from their peers.
August 22, 2022
210 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 24 of the firm’s nationwide offices for inclusion in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
August 01, 2022
Cozen O’Connor is one of four firms to receive this distinction in 2022.
July 25, 2022
Super Lawyers has named four Cozen O’Connor attorneys to its 2022 Minnesota Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.
July 14, 2022
Christian Moretti is quoted in an article in The Deal that discusses the complicated relationship between the private equity (PE) field and the U.S. government as the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice investigate PE deals. The article also analyzes the politics behind PE and how the criticism of PE firms continues to heighten.
July 11, 2022
Super Lawyers has named 10 Cozen O’Connor attorneys to its 2022 Florida Super Lawyers list.
July 11, 2022
For 30 years, The Legal 500 has assessed the strengths of law firms in more than 100 jurisdictions. The rankings use a series of criteria, including client feedback, submissions from law firms, and interviews with leading private practice lawyers.
June 02, 2022
Chambers USA, the leading annual guide to the top lawyers and law firms in the United States, has ranked 86 Cozen O’Connor lawyers as leaders in their respective fields in the guide’s 2022 edition.
June 01, 2022
Super Lawyers has selected 49 Cozen O'Connor attorneys to the 2022 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.
December 24, 2021
Cozen O’Connor acted as lead U.S. counsel to the owners of HEYDUDE®, a privately-owned casual footwear brand, in their definitive agreement to sell the companies comprising the HEYDUDE business to Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) for $2.5 billion. The consideration for the $2.5 billion acquisition will be $2.05 billion in cash and $450 million in Crocs shares.
September 16, 2021
Cozen O’Connor is pleased to announce that the firm’s Corporate Practice and multiple attorneys in the firm’s Corporate and Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring practices have been recognized by IFLR1000.
August 19, 2021
Best Lawyers selected 210 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 23 of the firm’s nationwide offices for inclusion in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
June 24, 2021
Super Lawyers has named five Cozen O’Connor attorneys to its 2021 Florida Super Lawyers list.
June 01, 2021
Larry Laubach, co-chair of the firm’s Corporate Practice Group, has been recognized by The Legal Intelligencer as a 2021 Professional Excellence Award winner in the Most Effective Dealmakers category.
May 28, 2021
Super Lawyers has selected 47 Cozen O'Connor attorneys to the 2021 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.
May 26, 2021
Chambers USA, the leading annual guide to the top lawyers and law firms in the United States, has ranked 82 Cozen O’Connor lawyers as leaders in their respective fields in the guide’s 2021 edition; of those, 15 lawyers have been recognized nationally.
May 18, 2021
Kurmanova joins the firm from Seyfarth Shaw LLP, reuniting with John Shire, who joined the firm in November 2020.
November 12, 2020
The Legal Intelligencer highlighted the firm’s many legal victories as its reason for the honor, including our recent victory before the U.S. Supreme Court, closing $510 million sale of a longtime client, and our win in the Second Circuit on behalf of the 9/11 families.
November 05, 2020
U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers recognized Cozen O’Connor as a “Best Law Firm” in 25 practice areas nationwide and 115 practice areas regionally.
November 02, 2020
Shire brings a deep understanding of federal and state health care regulations and has been instrumental in several of the most well-known transactions in the health care space.
August 20, 2020
Best Lawyers selected 200 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 23 of the firm’s nationwide offices for inclusion in the 2021 edition of The Best Lawyers in America© (Copyright 2020 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC).
June 24, 2020
United Hydrogen is one of the largest privately held merchant hydrogen producers in North America. The company operates a manufacturing plant in southeast Tennessee with a capacity to produce 6.4 tons of liquid hydrogen daily, with plans to expand to 10 tons per day.
June 11, 2020
Super Lawyers has named seven Cozen O'Connor attorneys to its 2020 Florida Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.
June 10, 2020
Transaction Results in Utz Going Public After Nearly 100 Years as Family Business.
June 05, 2020
Super Lawyers has selected 58 Cozen O'Connor attorneys to the 2020 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.
June 02, 2020
Moretti is the 12th Attorney to Join the Corporate Practice Group in the Last Two Months
May 14, 2020
Chambers USA, the leading annual guide to the top lawyers and law firms in the United States, has ranked 63 Cozen O’Connor lawyers as leaders in their respective fields in the guide’s 2020 edition.
December 04, 2019
Four of Cozen O'Connor's Minneapolis-based attorneys - Heather Marx, Barbara Muller, Tina Syring and Kristi Zentner - are highlighted in a Women in Law leadership feature in Attorney at Law Magazine.