At the recent 10th Annual M&A Advisor Awards ceremony in New York City, Alston & Bird was named winner of the Major Transaction of the Year – Middle Market Deal ($250 million to $400 million) for its representation of SeaLaunch LLP in its Chapter 11 reorganization and subsequent sale to Energia Overseas Ltd. The firm’s role in this transaction has received laudatory recognition throughout 2011 due to the deal’s complex components, which crossed a number of industries and legal disciplines and involved numerous domestic and international parties, as well as its complex and new rulings regarding regulatory and tax challenges. An independent body of industry expert judges that span the M&A industry determined the ultimate recipients of the awards.
“The award winners represent the best of the M&A industry in 2011 and earned these honors by standing out in a group of very impressive finalists,” said Roger Aguinaldo, CEO and founder of the M&A advisor.
“Our SeaLaunch team represents the finest testament to our culture of excellence and the efforts we exert on behalf of our clients,” noted Alston & Bird Managing Partner Richard Hays. “Partners Dennis Connolly, Tom Crocker and Sam Kaywood led an exceptional team that for many months pursued and achieved a remarkable outcome for SeaLaunch, and this award rightly reflects their efforts.”
About Dennis Connolly
Dennis Connolly is the leader of Alston & Bird’s Bankruptcy, Workouts & Reorganization Group, and his practice focuses on the representation of debtors, creditors’ committees and other parties in commercial bankruptcy cases. He is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, a director of the Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute and a frequent lecturer on creditors’ rights and bankruptcy issues.
About Tom Crocker
Tom Crocker is a partner in Alston & Bird’s International Trade & Regulatory Group whose practice focuses on regulatory and enforcement aspects of international business, and he has been recognized as a leader in his practice area by publications such as Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America and Who’s Who in America. For over 30 years, he has assisted some of the largest global financial institutions, as well as foreign and domestic companies in a wide variety of industries, in policy counseling, regulatory interpretation, compliance, internal investigations and civil/criminal enforcement matters before federal agencies and Congress.
About Sam Kaywood
Sam Kaywood is the chair of Alston & Bird’s Federal Income Tax Group and a member of the International Tax Group who concentrates his practice on federal income tax and international tax, including cross-border M&A and joint ventures, as well as inbound investments into the United States. He has worked on virtually all forms of cross-border investment, with substantial experience in Canada, Europe and Latin America.
The Sea Launch reorganization and sale has already netted the 2011 Cross-Border Deal of the Year from M&A Advisor, as well as a 2011 Telecom & Technology Turnaround of the Year Award from Global M&A Network.