Heller Ehrman has a nationally recognized mergers and acquisitions practice, representing participants throughout the world in transactions involving the acquisition or sale of business enterprises or their assets. We represent buyers, sellers, investment bankers, private equity firms, boards of directors, special committees and lenders in all types of acquisitions involving publicly traded and privately held corporations. Our lawyers are active in negotiated and hostile tender offers, leveraged buyouts and going-private transactions. We also advise on split-offs, spin-offs and other significant recapitalizations. Our attorneys have been involved in some of the highest-profile transactions in the information technology, life sciences, financial services, defense and hospitality industries.

We handle all aspects of these transactions, including advising the board of directors, working with management on business and strategic issues in the deal, organizing and conducting due diligence investigations, negotiating agreements, advising on and filing domestic and international antitrust notifications, and participating in post-acquisition planning. Our M&A teams draw on the industry-specific knowledge and experience of attorneys in our intellectual property, tax, antitrust, labor, executive compensation, employee benefits, real estate, regulatory and environmental practices to resolve the complex issues raised in business combination transactions. We also frequently represent investment banking firms and other financial advisors in their role assisting companies in acquisition transactions.

Facts About Our Practice

• Ranked 22^nd for the third quarter of 2007 and among the top 25 U.S. law firms in 2006 for M&A activity by Thomson Financial, including in the first quarter of 2008.
• Recognized by PLC Which Lawyer? and Chambers as one of the leading M&A law firms in the United States.
• Involved in multiple transactions with some of the world's leading companies, including Yahoo! Inc., Cisco Systems, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Washington Mutual, Inc., IBM Corporation, Nokia, Merck & Co., Inc., and Johnson & Johnson.