Jonathan L. Davis, P.C.
Overview
Jonathan is an extraordinarily bright, young M&A star - The American Lawyer
Jonathan Davis is a corporate partner in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. His practice primarily focuses on public and private company merger and acquisition transactions and activist defense. Jonathan also advises corporations and their directors on general corporate and governance matters. In addition, Jonathan has extensive experience advising on business combination transactions involving special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs).
His clients have included 3G Capital, AbbVie, Alliant Techsystems, Allied World Assurance, Amcor, Anheuser‑Busch InBev, Avaya, Avon, Bristol Myers Squibb, Delhaize Group, Deutsche Boerse, Fortive, General Motors, H.J. Heinz, Honeywell, IBM, J.Crew, Jones Group, Mead Johnson, Pentair, Pinnacle Foods, Scientific Games and Spectrum Brands, as well as numerous investment banks.
Jonathan was recognized as a 2020 “Dealmaker of the Year” by The American Lawyer, and he was one of five M&A attorneys nationwide chosen as a Law360 MVP in 2019. Chambers and Partners listed Jonathan as a top M&A attorney in Chambers USA 2020. He was also named a "Rising Star" in M&A by Law360 in 2017 and 2018, as well as IFLR1000 in 2017, and has been repeatedly recognized by The Legal 500 U.S. for his work in M&A generally and in the technology sector from 2016–2020. In addition, after naming him a “Rising Star” in 2017, IFLR1000 recognized Jonathan as “Highly Regarded” in 2021.
Experience
Representative Matters
Notable transactions since joining Kirkland, include:
- Atlas Crest Investment Corp in its pending $3.8 billion combination with Archer Aviation
- Arya Sciences Acquisition Corp. III in its pending $1.3 billion combination with Nautilus Biotechnology
- General Motors in connection with a series of transactions involving GM Cruise, GM’s autonomous vehicle (AV) business, including:
- $2.25 billion investment from the SoftBank Vision Fund (at a $11.5 billion valuation)
- $2.8 billion investment from Honda (at a $14.6 billion valuation)
- $1.15 billion investment from a group comprising institutional investors, including funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and existing partners General Motors, SoftBank Vision Fund and Honda (at a $19 billion valuation)
- $2 billion investment from Microsoft (at a $30 billion valuation)
- Wyndham Destinations in its acquisition of the Travel + Leisure brand and related assets from Meredith Corporation
- Amer Sports, along with its investor consortium, in its pending $420 million sale of Amer’s Precor division to Peloton
- Ahold Delhaize in its acquisition of FreshDirect
- Bristol Myers Squibb in its $13.1 billion acquisition of MyoKardia
- Arya Sciences Acquisition Corp. II in its $1.3 billion combination with Cerevel Therapeutics
- Accelya, a portfolio company of Vista Equity Partners, in its acquisition of Farelogix
- Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. in its PIPE investment from L Catterton as part of Norwegian’s multi-tranche financing for aggregate proceeds of up to $2.4 billion
- Arya Sciences Acquisition Corp. in its combination with Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH
- Avaya Holdings Corp. in its strategic partnership with RingCentral, Inc.
- Le Tote Inc. in its acquisition of Lord + Taylor
- AbbVie in its $83 billion acquisition of Allergan
- Fortive Corporation in its $570 million acquisition of Intelex Technologies
- Bristol Myers Squibb in its $90 billion acquisition of Celgene and its related $13.4 billion divesture of Celgene’s OTEZLA® program to Amgen
- Fortive Corporation in the combination of its Tektronix Video business, a global leader in video test, with Telestream, a leading provider of digital media tools and workflow solutions
- Colfax Corporation in its $3.15 billion acquisition of DJO Global Inc.
- Amcor Ltd. in its $6.8 billion acquisition of Bemis Co.
- Fortive Corporation in its $2 billion acquisition of Accruent
- Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Spectrum Brands in connection with the $10 billion merger of Spectrum Brands and HRG Group
- Spectrum Brands in its $2 billion carve-out sale of its global consumer battery business to Energizer
- Pamplona Capital Management in its $5 billion acquisition of PAREXEL International
- Mead Johnson Nutrition in its $17.9 billion sale to Reckitt Benckiser Group plc.
- Fortive Corporation in its $770 million acquisition of Landauer
Notable transactions prior to joining Kirkland, include:
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Alliant Techsystems in the spin‑off of its Sporting Group to its shareholders and merger of its Aerospace and Defense Groups with Orbital Sciences through a tax‑free Morris Trust merger of equals, and its $985 million acquisition of Bushnell Group
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Allied World Assurance in several transactions including its acquisition of a minority interest in and strategic partnership with Blue Vista Capital Management, its acquisition of a minority interest in and strategic partnership with MatlinPatterson, and its acquisition of a minority interest in and strategic partnership with Crescent Capital
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Anheuser‑Busch InBev in its $123 billion acquisition of SABMiller, the $12 billion sale of SABMiller’s U.S. and global Miller branded businesses to Molson Coors and an asset swap with Ambev in which AB InBev will transfer SABMiller’s Panamanian business to Ambev and Ambev will transfer its business in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador to AB InBev
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Avon in the sale of 80% of its North America business to Cerberus Capital Management and in the PIPE investment by Cerberus in Avon’s international business
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Blount International in the sale of its forestry division to Caterpillar and its acquisition of Carlton Holdings
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Delhaize Group in its $29 billion merger of equals with Royal Ahold
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Deutsche Boerse in its proposed $10 billion merger of equals with NYSE Euronext and in connection with the competing offer from NASDAQ OMX and Intercontinental Exchange
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H.J. Heinz Company in its $60 billion merger with Kraft Foods Group to create The Kraft Heinz Company
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Honeywell in its $90 billion proposal to acquire United Technologies
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IBM in its acquisitions of Bluewolf, Resource/Ammirati, Cleversafe, Meteorix and Explorys
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The special committee of the board of directors of J.Crew in its $3 billion leveraged buyout by TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners
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The independent directors of JDA Software Group in the $2 billion leveraged buyout of JDA by affiliates of New Mountain Capital
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Jones Group in its $2.2 billion sale to Sycamore Partners
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The independent directors of Par Pharmaceuticals in the $2 billion leveraged buyout of Par by TPG
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Pentair in its $10 billion inversion/Reverse Morris Trust merger with Tyco
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Pilgrim’s Pride in its $7.7 billion offer to acquire Hillshire Brands and in connection with a competing offer to acquire Hillshire made by Tyson Foods
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Pinnacle Foods in its $975 million acquisition of Boulder Brands
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Scientific Games in its $5.1 billion acquisition of Bally Technologies
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Stanley Black & Decker in its $1.95 billion acquisition of the Tools business of Newell Brands
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Unilever in the $605 million sale of its Lawry’s and Adolph’s branded spices, seasonings and marinades business in the U.S. and Canada to McCormick and Co.
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VeraSun Energy in its $1.5 billion merger with US BioEnergy Corporation
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Vista Outdoor in its acquisition of Camp Chef
Prior Experience
Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
More
Recognition
Corporate/M&A ─ New York, Chambers USA, 2020
MVP, Mergers and Acquisitions, Law360, 2019
Mergers and Acquisitions, Law360, 2017–2018
Mergers and Acquisitions, IFLR1000, 2017–2020
M&A: Large Deals ($1bn+) [Next Generation], The Legal 500 U.S., 2017–2020
M&A/Corporate and Commercial: Large Deals, $1bn+, The Legal 500 U.S., 2016
Technology: Transactional, The Legal 500 U.S., 2016
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- New York
Education
- New York University School of LawJ.D.
- University of Wisconsin-MadisonB.B.A.