Ranked as one of the world’s leading advisors in M&A transactions worldwide, King & Spalding has been representing its clients -- from Fortune 100 corporations, to investment banks, to emerging growth and middle-market companies, to private equity funds -- for decades in the most sophisticated transactions covering the full spectrum of mergers and acquisitions transactions.
Global Approach
With 17 offices spanning the globe and more than 800 attorneys firm-wide, we have the breadth of expertise to handle the most sophisticated transactions while providing our clients with unparalleled levels of service and attention.
Depth of M&A Experience and Exceptional Client Service
King & Spalding is committed to delivering the highest quality legal services to all of our M&A clients. We represent sellers, purchasers, target companies and financial advisors in all types of domestic and international transactions, including acquisitions of stock and assets, divestitures of stock and assets, tender offers, leveraged buy-outs, hostile takeover defenses, proxy contests, corporate governance advice, private equity, and joint ventures / strategic alliances.
A critical element to the success of almost every M&A transaction is breadth of experience and coordinated responsiveness. Our team of M&A attorneys possesses knowledge of the strategies, tactics and “players,” but this is only one part of our capabilities. M&A transactions are often complex and require expertise from a number of practice areas. Our M&A attorneys work seamlessly with other attorneys throughout King & Spalding in other practice groups to provide expert advice on all facets of a transaction, including antitrust, bankruptcy / financial restructuring, business and securities litigation, foreign investment, corporate governance, employee benefits / executive compensation, environmental, intellectual property, real estate, finance and tax.
Because our clients are leaders in many different industries, our attorneys have also developed a range of industry-specific expertise in areas, including aerospace and defense, climate change, consumer products, energy and natural resources, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical devices, retail and restaurants, sports, media and entertainment, technology, telecommunications, transportation and logistics.
Representative Clients
Representative clients include:
- AFC Enterprises, Inc.
- Amedysys, Inc.
- Arcapita Inc.
- Baxter Healthcare Corporation
- The Coca-Cola Company
- Cooper Industries plc
- Cousins Properties, Inc.
- CVS Caremark Corporation
- EarthLink, Inc.
- General Electric
- HD Supply, Inc.
- The Home Depot
- ING Group
- Kemira Specialty Chemicals
- Morgan Stanley Capital Partners
- Novelis Inc.
- Oxford Industries, Inc.
- Per-Se Technologies, Inc.
- Pilot Corporation
- Post Properties, Inc.
- Roark Capital
- Rock-Tenn
- Roper Industries, Inc.
- Sprint Nextel Corporation
- SunTrust Banks
- Total System Services Inc.
- UPS
Recent Rankings & Recognitions
King & Spalding is regularly ranked highly among law firms that are the most active in mergers and acquisitions. The firm’s key rankings include:
- In the first quarter 2012, King & Spalding ranked 12th by volume for M&A involving U.S. targets in Thomson Reuters 2012 first quarter league table results.
- In 2011, King & Spalding ranked 5th by aggregate value in Mergermarket’s U.S. buyouts rankings, and 11th by aggregate value for worldwide buyout transactions.
- In 2011, King & Spalding ranked 5th in the private equity (counsel to principals) category in American Lawyer’s 2012 Corporate Scorecard.
- Bloomberg recognized King & Spalding as the 20th most active law firm advising on United States middle market M&A transactions in 2011.
- King & Spalding finished 18th by volume in Bloomberg’s full-year rankings of global private equity legal advisors for 2011.
- King & Spalding ranked in the top 20 for the number of completed deals in Benelux, France, the United Kingdom and the MENA region in Thomson Reuters’ 2011 year-end M&A league tables.
- K&S lawyers received 68 listings and 28 of the firm’s practice areas (including corporate / mergers and acquisitions) were recognized by Chambers Global (2012 edition).
- Chambers USA has included King & Spalding in its national rankings in 2011 for corporate / mergers and acquisitions.
- IFLR 1000 named King & Spalding’s bank lending, debt and equity capital markets and project finance practices among the best in the United States in 2011. The firm’s mergers and acquisitions practice was recognized for providing exceptional legal counsel in Saudi Arabia.
- In the 2011 edition of Legal 500: U.S. guide, King & Spalding earned 17 practice rankings and 55 individual lawyer recognitions, including a ranking for mergers and acquisitions, large deals.
- King & Spalding was selected as the best law firm of the year in the private equity and tax categories in the 2011 Islamic Finance News Awards. In addition, eight King & Spalding lawyers received a total of 37 listings as best in their respective fields.
- In the 2011 U.S. News and World Report Survey, eight of the firm’s practice areas (including corporate, mergers and acquisitions and private equity) were recognized nationally.
- In the 2012 edition of Legal 500’s annual guide to the leading lawyers and law firms in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, King & Spalding had 15 practice area rankings (including corporate and mergers and acquisitions) spanning the firm’s offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Geneva, London, Paris and Riyadh. In addition, Legal 500 recognized 20 King & Spalding lawyers as leading legal practitioners.
- King & Spalding is among the best law firms in the U.S. advising on corporate governance matters according to Corporate Board Member magazine.
- King & Spalding served as the adviser in a 2011 transaction that Asian-MENA Counsel named as one of the top deals of the year.
- In the 2012 edition of Chambers annual guide to the leading Asia-Pacific legal practices, King & Spalding was identified as one of the premier law firms advising on Indian mergers & acquisitions.
- Latin Lawyer 250 repeatedly selects King & Spalding as one of the leading Latin American practices focusing on mergers and acquisitions, project finance, trade and arbitration.
