Amber Harezlak
Overview
Amber Harezlak is a technology & IP transactions partner in the Salt Lake City and Bay Area offices of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Amber works closely with Kirkland’s M&A practice on technology, intellectual property, cybersecurity and data privacy aspects of complex corporate transactions. She also represents clients in connection with strategic commercial agreements such as joint ventures, licenses, and collaborations. Amber’s practice spans numerous industries, including software, semiconductors, business services, and consumer products. She also leverages her scientific background and degrees in bioengineering in connection with representing clients in the life sciences industry. Amber was recognized by Utah Business among its 2024 and 2025 “Legal Elite,” and in the 2021 edition of the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for Technology Law.
Experience
Representative Matters
Life Sciences & Healthcare
- Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) in its:
- agreement with OpenAI to harness generative AI to develop new treatments to overcome antimicrobial resistance
- $1.925 billion acquisition of Versanis Bio, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company
- $1.075 billion sale of its BAQSIMI product, a nasally administered glucagon, to Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: AMPH)
- acquisition of Akouos (Nasdaq: AKUS), a precision genetic medicine company
- collaboration agreement with BigHat Biosciences, Inc., to discover and optimize biological compounds
- collaboration agreement with Schrodinger, Inc. to discover and optimize small molecule compounds
- collaboration agreement with Genesis Therapeutics to identify best-in-class drug candidates across a range of therapeutic areas with assistance from the Genesis AI-enabled drug discovery platform
- Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) in its:
- $4.1 billion acquisition of Turning Point Therapeutics (Nasdaq: TPTX), a clinical-stage precision oncology company
- $5.8 billion acquisition of Mirati Therapeutics (Nasdaq: MRTX), a commercial stage research and development biotechnology company
- Patient Square Capital in its:
- acquisition of Patterson Companies for $4.1 billion
- $7.1 billion acquisition of Syneos Health (Nasdaq: SYNH), a provider of biopharmaceutical solutions, as part of a consortium including Elliott Investment Management and Veritas Capital
- contemplated acquisition of Nanostring
- strategic investment in CorroHealth
- Hildred’s Crown Laboratories in its acquisition of Revance for $924 million
- Olympus in its acquisition of PAI Pharma
- Gryphon in its acquisition of Double Wood Supplements
- Clearlake in its sale of Team Technologies to Arlington Capital Partners
- KKR and Everstone Capital-backed Slayback Pharma, a provider of generic and specialty pharmaceutical products, in its sale to Azurity Pharmaceuticals
- EW Healthcare Partners in the asset purchase and strategic partnership transaction between Germfree, its portfolio company, and Orgenesis
- Blackstone in its investment in Chartis, a provider of healthcare advisory services
- Invitae Corporation and certain of its affiliates in their prearranged Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey and its secured support to implement a go forward sale process by signing a transaction support agreement with a significant majority of its secured noteholders
- Waud Capital Partners-backed PharmAlliance in its acquisition of Biobridges, a drug development consulting business, from Soliant Health
- EW Healthcare Partners in its acquisition of Enercon Technologies, a provider of electronic product development and manufacturing services
- GTCR in its acquisition of Biocoat, a medical device contract manufacturing organization specializing in hydrophilic coatings for medical devices
- GTCR and Carlyle-backed Resonetics in its $900 million acquisition of Memry Corporation and SAES Smart Materials, the medical nitinol business from SAES Getters (BIT: SG)
- Knox Lane in its investment in Spectrum Science, a marketing, communications and media firm focused on the pharmaceutical, biotech and broader life science industry
- Abry Partners in its acquisition of Ascend Healthcare, a provider of outsourced telepsychiatry and related behavioral health services
- SOC Telemed, the largest national provider of specialty acute care telemedicine, in its acquisition of Forefront Telecare
- Resonetics in its:
- acquisition of FISO Technologies from Nova Metrix LLC
- acquisition of Hudson Medical Innovations
- acquisition of Agile MV, an emerging leader in product development and turnkey device assembly serving the high-growth electrophysiology and interventional cardiology catheter market
- Novo Holdings in its acquisition of Medical Knowledge Group from Court Square Capital and Aisling Capital
- Underwriters in connection with the initial public offering of Vaxxinity
Software/AI & Services
- Blackstone-backed Irth Solutions, a provider of enterprise software for critical energy and infrastructure companies, in its sale to TPG
- Ares Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE: AACT) in its pending $2.5 billion business combination with Kodiak Robotics, a leader in AI-driven autonomous vehicle technology transforming the future of freight
- General Catalyst in its commercial partnership with Amazon Web Services, a provider of cloud computing services
- McDonald’s Corporation in its sale of McDTech Labs to IBM
- Francisco Partners in the:
- acquisition of Litmos from SAP SE
- sale of portfolio company TrellisRx, a technology-enabled specialty pharmacy services provider, to CPS Solutions
- TA Associates in its:
- formation of Advantive through its simultaneous carve-out acquisition of Kiwiplan and acquisitions of Advantzware, DDI Systems, Distribution One, Infinity QS and VIA
- acquisition of a majority interest in Green Street, a provider of commercial real estate intelligence and analytics, from WCAS
- Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) in its acquisition of BootstrapLabs Group LLC, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm focused on applied artificial intelligence
- Thoma Bravo-backed Sophos on its $859 million acquisition of Secureworks
- Gryphon Investors in its investment in phData, a provider of modern data applications and AI software solutions
- Blackstone Growth’s majority investment in M3, LLC, a cloud-based financial platform and services company serving more than 8,000 properties across North America’s hospitality industry
- Knox Lane in its strategic investment in HCEsquared
- Hg in its strategic investment in Empyrean Solutions
- Nordic Capital in its investment in One Inc, a provider of a digital payments platform
- Advent International in the financing of its $6.3 billion take-private acquisition of Nuvei Corporation
- Permira in the $140 million Series C growth investment in Hotel Engine, a provider of hotel booking software services
- Trinity Hunt-Backed Improving in its acquisition of:
- Leniolabs, a provider of software development services
- InfraCloud, a company specializing in AI cloud services and application modernization using cloud-native and open source technologies
- Francisco Partners in its investment in Evite, a provider of digital invitations and party-planning resources
- Sun Capital Partners in its acquisition of LoanLogics, Inc.
- Thoma Bravo in its $2 billion take-private acquisition of QAD Inc. (Nasdaq: QADA, QADB), a provider of next-generation manufacturing and supply chain solutions in the cloud
- TPG Capital in its $100 million growth investment in EIS Software, a core and digital platform provider for insurers
- Centerbridge Partners in its sale of a majority stake in AHEAD, a provider of enterprise cloud services, to Berkshire Partners
- Blackstone Growth in its investment in Cloudinary
- HGGC in its $115 million strategic equity investment in Upland Software (Nasdaq: UPLD), a leader in cloud-based tools for digital transformation
- RapidRatings in its $200 million strategic investment led by Spectrum Equity and 22C Capital
Business Services
- HGGC in its acquisition of Equity Methods, a provider of executive compensation and stock-based compensation reporting, valuation and advisory services, from Montage Partners
- Alpine Investors-backed Guardian Restoration Partners in the acquisition of DryLux Restoration, a provider of damage restoration services
- TPG Rise Climate in its acquisition of Olympus Terminals, a provider of storage for renewable fuels and refined products, from Davidson Kempner Capital Management and Intrepid Investment Management
- Gryphon Investors-backed AirX Climate Solutions in its acquisition of AboveAir Technologies, a provider of HVAC services
- HGGC in its investment in Rimkus Consulting Group, a provider of engineering and technical consulting
- Knox Lane in its:
- acquisition of HighGround Restoration Group, a residential services platform focused on mitigation and restoration services
- acquisition of Guardian Fire Protection Services, a provider of fire and life safety services
- LightBay Capital in its investment in Questco, a professional employer organization (PEO) specializing in outsourced human resource services
- Sandbrook Capital in its acquisition of Intellirent from Electro Rent Corporation
- Snowhawk in its investment in SecureVision, a fiber connectivity provider for resort communities along the Alabama and Florida Gulf Coast
- Ares Management in its acquisition of Landscape Workshop, a provider of grounds maintenance for commercial properties
- Ares and Littlejohn-Backed Interstate Waste Services Acquires Impero Waste Services
Consumer Products, Services & Brands
- GIC-backed CitizenM on the sale of the “citizenM” boutique hotel brand to Marriott International
- Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) in its pending $3.4 billion strategic partnership with Suzano (NYSE: SUZ) which will create an international tissue and professional products company
- Tupperware Brands Corp. (OTC Pink: TUPBQ), a provider of consumer products, in the sale of its brand name and core operations to Party Products
- Gryphon Investors in its acquisition of Spindrift Beverage Co., a provider of sparkling water, teas and lemonades, hard seltzers and mocktails
- Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE: VSCO) in its acquisition of Adore Me, Inc., a digitally-native intimates brand
- I Squared Capital in its $608 million acquisition of the North America School Bus business of Mobico (LSE: MCG)
- Oak View Group (OVG) in connection with its acquisition of Spectrum Catering, Concessions & Event Services
- Full Sail IP Partners in its:
- acquisition of the Odwalla Brand from Coca Cola
- acquisition of the Weatherbeater Brand from Transform SR Brands
Materials & Manufacturing
- SCF Partners in its $285 million acquisition of the Pipeline and Industrial Materials business, including the Flowchem, Val-Tex and Sealweld business, from Entegris (Nasdaq: ENTG)
- Knox Lane in connection with a definitive agreement to invest in Elevation Labs, a formulator and manufacturer of premium beauty products
- Gryphon Investors-backed Techmer PM in its acquisition of Colors for Plastics, a provider of color concentrates and custom color solutions
- Gryphon Investors and SK Capital on Gryphon’s majority investment in materials design company Techmer PM
- American Securities in its acquisition of Hexion Holdings
Energy & Infrastructure
- Climate Adaptive Infrastructure and S2G Investments in their investments in 38 Degrees North, a provider of a community solar and distributed renewables platform
- ArcLight Capital Partners and DigitalBridge Group in their pending $500 million joint investment in Takanock, a provider of digital and power infrastructure solutions
- Macquarie Asset Management in its acquisition of DynaGrid, a utility services provider focused on maintaining, upgrading, and building transmission and substation infrastructure, from BBH
- ArcLight Capital Partners on the establishment of infrastructure and energy portfolio manager AlphaGen
- InfraRed Capital Partners in its acquisition of a 202MW Texas onshore wind farm from Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK)
- Sandbrook Capital in its $460 million investment in rPlus Energies, a provider of renewable energy generation and electric storage projects
- Basalt Infrastructure Partners in its acquisition of AEP OnSite Partners from American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP)
- Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE: BIP) in its definitive agreement with Intel to jointly fund Intel’s under-construction semiconductor fabrication facility
Other Matters
- Brookfield on securing a $1.88 billion refinancing for the Atlantis hotel resort and casino located in the Bahamas
- Magenta Buyer (dba Trellix and Skyhigh Security), a leader in delivering cybersecurity solutions and best-in-class technology to customers, in a complex liability management transaction that included a recapitalization and exchange of existing secured debt
- American Tire Distributors, Inc. and its 12 debtor affiliates in the going-concern sale of their business to an ad hoc group of first lien lenders
- ALT Finance Foundation ― established by Apollo, Ares and Oaktree ― a nonprofit focused on developing curriculum, fellowships and scholarships available to students at historically black colleges and universities
More
Recognition
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- 2024Utah
- 2021District of Columbia
- 2015California
Education
- Northwestern Pritzker School of LawJ.D.magna cum laude2015Order of the Coif
- University of PennsylvaniaPh.D., Bioengineering2006
- University of California, DavisB.S., Biological Systems Engineering2002