David Fox and Daniel Wolf Join Kirkland & Ellis to Expand Mergers & Acquisition Practice
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is pleased to announce that noted M&A lawyers, David Fox and Daniel E. Wolf, have joined the Firm as partners. Previously partners at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, they will be based in Kirkland's New York office.
"We welcome David and Daniel, two leading M&A lawyers who have been at the center of some of the most notable transactions in recent years, to Kirkland & Ellis," said Thomas D. Yannucci, chair of Kirkland's Firmwide Management Committee and partner in the Washington, D.C., office. "These highly talented and experienced attorneys will enhance Kirkland's already strong and growing M&A group, which has played a significant advisory role in recent transactions across many industries."
Before joining Kirkland, Mr. Fox, 51, was a leading member of Skadden's Corporate Group and had been a member of Skadden's Policy Committee, the firm's top governing body. In his more than 20 years of practice at Skadden, Mr. Fox has advised leading companies on multifaceted domestic and international transactions. In addition to focusing on complex mergers and acquisitions, Mr. Fox regularly counsels senior management in crisis situations and general governance matters.
Mr. Fox has advised on some of the highest-profile deals of the last decade and, according to Chambers Global, The World's Leading Lawyers for Business, he "continues his inexorable rise toward the top of the profession." Mr. Fox represented BHP Billiton in the largest transaction of 2008, the now-withdrawn $150 billion offer to acquire Rio Tinto, and real estate brokerage company Realogy Corporation in its $9 billion going-private acquisition by Apollo Management, L.P. He represented the board of directors of Toys "R" Us, Inc. in its $6.6 billion acquisition by an investment group led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Bain Capital Partners LLC and Vornado Realty Trust. Other major representations include advising Cendant Corporation in its separation into three independent public companies and the $4.3 billion sale of its Travelport unit, representing Landmark Communications Inc. in its sale of the Weather Channel and advising Aztar Corp. in a bidding war that ended in the company's sale for $2.75 billion.
"Daniel and I are energized by this unique opportunity to grow our practices and contribute to the further development of Kirkland's outstanding corporate group," said Mr. Fox. "While we will always fondly remember our time at Skadden, we are very excited by the prospect of collaborating with the many talented lawyers at Kirkland to build on the firm's unmatched platform and take its M&A practice to the next level."
Mr. Wolf, 36, has a thriving practice focused on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, securities and general corporate matters. He has been recognized by The New York Times as one of the "next generation of deal makers" under the age of 40, and was also named to Investment Dealer's Digest's "40 Under 40." Mr. Wolf has substantial experience in the hospitality, health care, financial services and telecommunications industries.
Mr. Wolf has advised clients on many significant negotiated and contested M&A transactions. He represented American General Corp. in its $25 billion merger-of-equals transaction with Prudential plc and subsequent hostile takeover by American International Group (AIG). He represented ECI Telecom Ltd. in its $1.2 billion buyout by a private equity consortium in the first significant private equity buyout of an Israeli public company, represented a consortium of buyers in the $800 million announced leveraged buyout of Winston Hotels Inc., a public hotel REIT, and advised Gerson Lehrman Group, Inc. in the $200 million investment by Silver Lake. Mr. Wolf also collaborated with Mr. Fox in advising BHP Billiton in its $150 billion offer to acquire Rio Tinto and Cendant in its separation into three independent, publicly owned companies and the $4.3 billion sale of its Travelport unit.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a 1,500-attorney law firm representing global clients in complex corporate, restructuring, tax, litigation, dispute resolution and arbitration, and intellectual property and technology matters. The Firm has offices in New York, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Munich, Palo Alto, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
