Who We Are

We represent private equity firms, family offices, and president/CEOs of buy-side companies who value:

• Speed, quality, efficiency
• Responsiveness
• Solutions, not problems
• Business acumen/vertical expertise
• Understanding business strategies/goals
• True advisors, not just lawyers
• Reasonable/sensible fees
• Likability
• Availability/accessibility
• Senior management team quality
• Cross-servicing

We help private equity firms navigate sell-side roadblocks and close deals with fluency in seller psychology. We coordinate family office platform capabilities, buy/hold strategies, purchase of businesses that are interested in legacy, and outside general counsel needs. We help buy-side business executives coordinate deal structure, due diligence and financing by being multi-disciplinary problem solvers with deep industry knowledge and seller psychology insights. We are also effective partners and allies with private equity and family office intermediaries by aligning shared client service core values and treating their reputations as our own.

Why Private Equity Firms and Family Offices Choose Greensfelder

With decades of positive client feedback and repeat representations, clients tell us they value Greensfelder for:

• Bench strength
• Sophistication
• Lean staffing
• Senior lead attorney accessibility
• Track record
• Fluency in seller, family dynamics and executive stakeholder psychology
• Competitive/flexible fees
• Represent attractive deal targets
• Single point of contact, multi-disciplinary counsel
• Access to new deal targets
• Red-flag-spotting capabilities and sensitivity
• Estate planning insights/coordination
• Ability to satisfy stakeholder priorities
• Repeat deal/history

What We Do

Private Equity

For clients seeking private equity funding, we can help form the organizational structures necessary to raise funds from a variety of sources. From private placements of debt to equity securities to a hybrid approach, Greensfelder corporate attorneys guides clients through the planning, structuring, negotiation, and documentation of funding.

Greensfelder lawyers represent entrepreneurs seeking equity in a broad range of corporate transactions, advising on the following:

• Selecting an organizational infrastructure necessary to attracting funding
• Developing business plans and business models
• Delivering a business-case-driven intellectual property strategy to perfect intellectual property rights
• Navigating complex pre-closing structures
• Creating valuation models and comparable exit strategies

Private Equity Investors

Private equity investors seek Greensfelder counsel in all stages of the investment process – from the creation of the investment fund and early stage investments to leveraged recapitalizations and later stage financing. We typically advise investor clients on such matters as:

• Performing extensive due diligence
• Negotiating term sheets
• Evaluating proprietary ownership of intellectual property rights
• Negotiating and documenting the investment transaction

Greensfelder experience allows the team to structure the proposed investment in accordance with today’s market standards while taking into consideration client specific needs and planned exit strategy.

Mergers & Acquisitions

We don’t dabble in M&A. With over half of Greensfelder corporate attorneys working on deals at any particular moment – from simple acquisitions to highly complex mergers – we know what it takes to get a client deal done. We understand what drives decisions and can anticipate many of the issues before they become problems, potentially impacting the deal.

While many clients are buying businesses in the $5 million to $200 million range, we have also represented buyers in transactions in excess of $1 billion.

From publicly traded companies to private corporations, Greensfelder clients’ businesses are in the US and abroad and span a range of industries – food, pharmaceutical, health, manufacturing, importing, media and professional services.

Greensfelder lawyers handle all aspects of the deal – from the capital raise to the tax issues. This allows us to quarterback the entire process, seeing how negotiations are coming together, spotting issues that may arise and anticipating how each may impact the ultimate business goal. This holistic approach, putting aside any narrow, singularly focused specialties found in other firms, provides us with a clear view of the big picture. We cover all of the bases including:

• Financial matters
• Tax aspects
• Securities issues
• Risk avoidance
• Intellectual property audits, diligence, valuation and transfer
• Financing – including venture capital, mezzanine, and equity financing

We can also advise on creative forms of acquisitions and divestitures, including management buy-outs, acquisitions, sale of a business, ESOPs and sale transactions related to spin-offs.

Family Offices

We frequently work with clients who have a family office – a professional team established to manage the family’s wealth, investments and professional advisors. We serve as trusted members of the team, bringing business, tax, estate planning and planned giving expertise to the table.

Greensfelder is a proud member of the Family Office Exchange (FOX). FOX supports wealthy families and their advisors in handling the challenges of managing family wealth, running family offices, and planning for future generations.