Amber Harezlak

Since joining Kirkland, Amber has worked on the following deals:

Life Sciences & Healthcare

• KKR and Everstone Capital-backed Slayback Pharma, a provider of generic and specialty pharmaceutical products, in its sale to Azurity Pharmaceuticals
• 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
• Patient Square Capital, as part of a consortium including Elliott Investment Management and Veritas Capital, in the $7.1 billion acquisition of Syneos Health (NASDAQ: SYNH), a provider of biopharmaceutical solutions
• 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 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
• 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
• Ares Management Corporation in its strategic investment in LaserAway

Software/AI & Services

• 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
• 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
• 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

Consumer Products, Services, & Brands

• Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE: VSCO) in its acquisition of Adore Me, Inc., a digitally-native intimates brand
• 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

• Knox Lane in connection with a definitive agreement to invest in Elevation Labs, a formulator and manufacturer of premium beauty products
• 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

• Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE: BIP) in its definitive agreement with Intel to jointly fund Intel’s under-construction semiconductor fabrication facility

Other Matters

• 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

Prior to joining Kirkland, Amber worked on the following deals:

• KKR & Co in its:
  • acquisition of Envision Healthcare Holdings for $9.9 billion
  • majority acquisition of Nature’s Bounty Co.
  • acquisition of 1-800 Contacts
  • acquisition of WebMD, LLC for $8.1 billion
• Pharmaceutical Product Development, LLC (PPD) in the sale of PPD to Thermo Fisher Scientific for $17.4 billion

• Microsoft Corp. in its acquisition of LinkedIn Corporation for $26.2 billion

• Dell Technologies in its spin-off of VMWare

• Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners in is acquisition of Astound Broadband for $8.1 billion

• Apax Partners in connection with the spin-off of BD’s respiratory solutions business

• Computershare in its carve-out acquisition of Wells Fargo’s corporate trust business

• BrightSpring Health Services in its add-on acquisition of Abode Healthcare

• Certara, Inc. in its $768.5 million initial public offering

• Medical device manufacturer in connection with multiple joint development agreements

• Global investment company in connection with its formation of a new vertical farming company and related joint development agreement

• Large charitable foundation in connection with numerous license and supply agreements

• Biotechnology company in its strategic supply agreement with a large pharmaceutical company

• Biotechnology start-up in its patent license to a diagnostics company

• Biotechnology start-up in its professional services arrangement with a large biotechnology company

• Start-up in the green technology industry in its joint development agreement with a multinational oil and gas company

• Medical device company in connection with numerous supply agreements required for production of its first FDA-approved product

• Privately held, pre-clinical stage biopharmaceutical company in its merger with a public, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company