Mergers & Acquisitions
You hire M&A lawyers to facilitate deals, not hold them up. Our team carefully assesses risk and structures and negotiates your transactions to position you best. However, we don’t give you unnecessary, protracted updates on minor details. We maximize time by ensuring clear communication, lean staffing, and a keen understanding of your long-term objectives.
We have one of the country’s most experienced groups of M&A attorneys, advising businesses every day on how to access the market to achieve their strategic and liquidity objectives. With over 150 M&A attorneys throughout our firm, we have the depth to assemble a complete team of lawyers that can react quickly to solve the most critical challenges facing your business today. We serve clients ranging from Fortune 500 corporations, closely held companies, and private equity sponsors to investment banks and special committees.
Experience
Alston & Bird M&A attorneys have extensive experience advising clients engaged in a full range of domestic and cross-border public and private transactions, including acquisitions and divestitures, mergers, leveraged buyouts, going-private transactions, strategic alliances, and joint ventures. We have developed significant industry-specific knowledge in many cutting-edge industries, including:
- Biotechnology
- Consumer products and services
- Energy
- Financial services
- Health care
- Technology and telecommunications
Accolades
Our M&A practice is consistently among the most active in the nation.
- Top 20 “M&A Legal Adviser,” based on number of deals with a value of $100 million or more in 2024. (The Deal)
- Top 20, based on deal value, in the “US Announced Deals” category in 2024. (FactSet)
- Top 20 as a “Global M&A Legal Advisor, US Target Announced” based on deal value in 2024. (LSEG)
- Top 20 as a “Global M&A Legal Advisor” based on deal volume for “US Announced Deals” in 2024. (Bloomberg)
Bringing Value to Our Clients
We operate based on two fundamental principles: first, that you hire us to be facilitators, not roadblocks; and second, that we are there to protect the value of your deal. We focus on your business and long-term objectives and ascertain the elements of value in the deal for you. We take a fully integrated approach to assessing the risks that affect value, negotiating to minimize those risks, and structuring the transaction so that your objectives are accomplished.
- Represented AndCo Consulting, a Florida-based independent, SEC-registered institutional investment consulting firm, in its acquisition by national wealth advisory firm Mariner Wealth Advisors, leading to the creation of Mariner Institutional.
- Represented Antares Homes, a homebuilder based in Dallas–Fort Worth, in its $242.5 million sale to Landsea Homes Corporation, a publicly traded residential homebuilder based in Dallas.
- Represented international auction house Christie’s in its acquisition of Gooding & Company Inc., the leading international auction house in the collector car market.
- Represented Coach USA, a leading provider of passenger transportation and mobility services, in the $130 million 363 sale of certain of its bus lines to The Renco Group Inc., a family-owned private holding company.
- Represented CommScope, a global communications technology company, in the $2.1 billion sale of its outdoor wireless networks segment and the distributed antenna systems business unit of its networking, intelligent cellular & security solutions segment to Amphenol Corporation, one of the world’s largest providers of high-technology interconnect, sensor, and antenna solutions.
- Represented Corpay Inc., a global business payments and expense management company, in its approximately $475 million acquisition of Paymerang LLC, an invoice and payment solution software company and portfolio company of Aldrich Capital Partners.
- Represented DEUTZ Corporation in its $125 million acquisition of all membership interests and real estate holdings of Blue Star Power Systems Inc. and its affiliate, West Lake Holdings LLC.
- Represented Fastpath, a leader in identity governance and administration and portfolio company of Pamlico Capital, in its sale to Delinea Inc., a leading provider of privileged access management solutions.
- Represented Graphic Packaging Holding Company, a global consumer packaging firm, in the $700 million sale of its Augusta, Georgia bleached paperboard manufacturing facility to Clearwater Paper, a leading supplier of consumer tissue and bleached paperboard.
- Represented Homecoming Capital in its strategic $50 million investment in Clean Energy Terminals, a pioneer of U.S. offshore wind port infrastructure development.
- Represented ISPN Network Services, a managed IT services provider primarily serving broadband fiber and internet operators in suburban and rural areas across the country, in its sale to private equity firm Align Capital Partners.
- Represented Madison Dearborn Partners, a private equity investment firm, and its portfolio company Air Control Concepts (f/k/a Hobbs & Associates) in ACC’s third-party investment from Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager.
- Represented Morgan Stanley, financial advisor to Summit Materials, a producer of aggregates and cement, in Summit’s $11.5 billion sale to Quikrete, a manufacturer of packaged concrete and cement mixes.
- Represented OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC in its acquisition of substantially all the assets and liabilities of WealthSource Partners LLC, WealthSource Insurance Solutions LLC, and WealthSource Business Advisors LLC.
- Represented OSC Edge, a provider of IT engineering and data management services to government and private-sector businesses, in its sale to Cook Inlet Region Inc., an Alaska Native regional corporation.
- Represented Pamlico Capital, a private equity firm based in Charlotte, in its strategic growth investment in ClarisHealth Inc., a leading provider of advanced payment integrity technology for health plans.
- Represented Ready Capital Corporation, a New York–based multistrategy real estate finance company, and its technology and lending services division, iBusiness Funding LLC, in its acquisition of Funding Circle USA Inc., a lending platform for small business borrowers.
- Represented UK-based Sage Software, a software provider for businesses in the construction industry, in its acquisition of Bridgetown Software, owner of BidMatrix, a cloud-native bid analysis company.
- Represented Truist Securities, financial advisor to Sunoco LP, a master limited partnership and distributor of fuels, in Sunoco’s $7.3 billion acquisition of NuStar Energy L.P., one of the largest independent liquids terminal and pipeline operators in the nation.
- Represented US Foods, one of the largest foodservice distributors in the U.S., in its acquisition of IWC Food Service, an independently owned food service distributor.
- Represented Veritas, the leader in secure multi-cloud data management, in the sale of its data protection business to San Jose, California–based Cohesity, a leader in AI-powered data security and management. The transaction values the combined company at approximately $7 billion.
- Represented White Cap Supply Holdings LLC, a portfolio company of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC and Sterling Group LP and distributor of specialty construction supplies, in its acquisition of Jobsite Supply Inc., a company that supplies concrete accessories to non-residential clients.
- Represented the Whitley family in their acquisition of Old Edwards Hospitality Group, a collection of upscale hotels, golf courses, and restaurants in Highlands, North Carolina.
Highlights
Alston & Bird Advises FineMark Holdings on Acquisition by Commerce Bancshares
Alston & Bird advised Florida-based FineMark Holdings, the parent company of FineMark National Bank & Trust, on its $585 million acquisition by Commerce Bancshares, a regional bank holding company. The all-stock transaction is expected to be completed on January 1, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.
Alston & Bird Represents Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida in $710.8M Acquisition of Villages Bancorporation
Alston & Bird represented Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida, the holding company for Seacoast National Bank, in its $710.8 million acquisition of Villages Bancorporation, parent company of Florida-based Citizens First Bank. The transaction structure includes a unique combination of cash, common stock, and non-voting preferred stock and represents Seacoast’s largest transaction to date.
Alston & Bird Advises FirstCash Holdings on £351 Million Acquisition of H & T Group
Alston & Bird advised Texas-based pawnbroker FirstCash Holdings and its UK subsidiary Chess Bidco on their £351 million acquisition of H & T Group, a leading publicly traded UK-based operator of pawn stores.
Alston & Bird Represents Industry Bancshares in Acquisition by Cadence Bank
Alston & Bird represented Texas-based Industry Bancshares and its six subsidiary banks in their acquisition by Cadence Bank, a Mississippi-based financial services company. Under the agreement, Cadence Bank will pay between $20 million and $60 million in cash for Industry Bancshares’ outstanding common stock.
Alston & Bird Represents FB Financial in Acquisition of Southern States Bancshares
Alston & Bird represented FB Financial Corporation, the Tennessee-headquartered parent company of FirstBank, in its $381 million acquisition of Alabama-headquartered Southern States Bancshares Inc., the parent company of Southern States Bank.
Mergers & Acquisitions