Joseph Frumkin has provided legal counsel on many of the largest mergers and acquisitions transactions in history, representing buyers, sellers and special committees of independent directors. His practice focuses on U.S. and cross-border acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, corporate preparedness and proxy contests as well as corporate governance and general corporate representation.
Mr. Frumkin is the managing partner of S&C’s Mergers & Acquisitions Group.
Selected Clients and Transactions
Cash Transactions (Domestic)
- TXU in its $45 billion acquisition by an investor consortium led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Texas Pacific Group
- Cingular in its $47 billion acquisition of AT&T Wireless
Cross-Border Transactions
- Moore Wallace (Canada) in its $6 billion acquisition by RR Donnelley
- PowerGen (U.K.) in its $3.2 billion acquisition of LG&E
- ING (Netherlands) in its $7.7 billion acquisition of Aetna
Proxy Contests/Activism
- Southern Union in its contest with Sandell Asset Management
- Undisclosed media company with shareholder activists
- Undisclosed energy company with shareholder activists
Stock for Stock Transactions (Domestic)
- AT&T in its $86 billion acquisition of BellSouth
- SBC Communications in its acquisitions of AT&T, Pacific Telesis and SNET
- DTE Energy in its $3.9 billion acquisition of MCN Energy
Corporate Preparedness
- Endesa (Spain) in defending a hostile takeover from Gas Natural (Spain) and in its agreed $58 billion acquisition by Enel (Italy) and Acciona (Spain)
Private (Non-Public) M&A
- AT&T in the $2.35 billion acquisition of Alltel wireless properties from Verizon
- Constellation Energy in the sale of its European coal and energy trading businesses to Goldman Sachs and U.S. downstream natural gas trading businesses to Macquarie Cook Energy (Australia)
- Prudential Financial in its $2.1 billion acquisition of CIGNA’s retirement business
Independent Directors/Committees
- Dynegy in connection with its $1.5 billion transaction with 42% stockholder LS Power
- UST in connection with its $11.7 billion cash sale to Altria Group
- Telewest Global in its $11.4 billion acquisition by NTL Incorporated (now Virgin Media)
Bankruptcy/Restructuring
- UBS (Switzerland) in its acquisition of the Enron energy trading business
- Sempra Energy in purchase of two businesses from Enron in separate 363 sales
- Allegheny Energy in connection with its financial restructuring
Energy Transactions
- TXU in its $45 billion acquisition by an investor consortium led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Texas Pacific Group
- Sempra in the $1.3 billion disposition of its energy trading businesses to a joint venture of The Royal Bank of Scotland (U.K.) and Sempra
- Canada Pension Plan Board (Canada) as part of a consortium that acquired Project Energy for $3.2 billion
- Consortium led by Macquarie Infrastructure Partners (Australia) in its $1.59 billion acquisition of Duquesne Light Holdings
- Powergen (U.K.) in its $7.4 billion sale to E.On (Germany) and its $3.23 billion acquisition of LG&E
- DTE in its $3.9 billiion acquisition of MCN
Recognitions
Mr. Frumkin was an American Lawyer “Dealmaker of the Year” in 2004 for his work in the Cingular-AT&T Wireless transaction. He was named to The BTI Transactions All-Star Team in 2008 and has been recognized as a leading lawyer in recent editions of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business, among other publications.