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Brian Hamilton is a partner in the Firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity Groups. Mr. Hamilton advises on public and private mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions, both in and outside the United States, and in a variety of industries.

Mr. Hamilton was resident in the Firm’s London office for three years, where he was deputy head of the European Mergers and Acquisitions Group, returning to the New York office in 2010.

Selected Clients and Transactions

Publicly Announced M&A Transactions

• Abu Dhabi Future Energy Corporation in its investment in WinWinD Oy
• AirTran Holdings, Inc. in its $3.4 billion acquisition by Southwest Airlines Co.
• the special committee of the board of directors of American Greetings Corporation in its pending $878 million acquisition by members of the Weiss family and certain related parties
• Augere Holdings (Netherlands) B.V. in connection with its formation and funding and in Wimax-related ventures in Pakistan, Uganda and Bangladesh
• the financial adviser to Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in its $585 million acquisition of Actient Holdings LLC
• Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (BBVA) in the $541 million sale of its Colombian pension fund administrator, BBVA Horizonte Sociedad Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones y Cesantías, S.A., to Sociedad Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones y Cesantías, Porvenir, S.A., as Purchaser, and Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A., as Guarantor
• Barclays Bank plc in its $15.2 billion sale of Barclays Global Investors to BlackRock Inc., and in its acquisition of EquiFirst Corporation from Regions Financial Corporation 
• Cúram Software Limited in its acquisition by IBM Corporation
• Digital Sky Technologies Limited in the restructuring of its Mail.ru Group Limited internet joint venture with MIH and Tiger Global Private Investment Partners
• Gildan Activewear Inc. in its $350 million acquisition of Gold Toe Moretz Holding Corp. and in its $88 million acquisition of Anvil Holdings, Inc.
• the financial adviser to GLG Partners, Inc. in its $1.6 billion acquisition by Man Group plc
• The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. in its $550 million sale of Goldman Sachs Administration Services (GSAS) to State Street Corporation
• IMS Health Incorporated in its proposed $6 billion acquisition by VNU N.V. 
• ING Groep N.V. in the $3.1 billion sale of ING Bank of Canada to The Bank of Nova Scotia and in the $9 billion sale of its ING Direct USA online banking operation to Capital One Financial Corp.
• J Sainsbury plc in its $2.5 billion sale of Shaw’s Supermarkets, Inc. and the Star Market Company to Albertsons, Inc.
• Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., owner of a minority interest in Universal Pictures and Universal Music, in connection with Vivendi Universal’s sale of Vivendi Universal Entertainment LLP to General Electric, and in Matsushita’s subsequent sale of its interest in Universal Music and other Universal entities to Vivendi
• Medco Health Solutions, Inc. in its $2.2 billion acquisition of Accredo Health, Incorporated
• Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. in the $10 billion combination of its investment management business with BlackRock, Inc.
• the financial adviser to Microsoft Corporation in its $1.2 billion acquisition of Fast Search & Transfer ASA
• the financial adviser to Nuon NV in its $10.9 billion merger with Vattenfall AB
• priceline.com Incorporated in its $1.8 billion acquisition of KAYAK Software Corporation
• SBC Communications Inc. in its $22 billion acquisition of AT&T Corp.
• Swift Transportation Co., Inc. in its $2.75 billion going-private acquisition by Swift’s founder and largest stockholder
• Vodafone Group plc in its $6 billion, two-stage acquisition of a controlling interest in Japan Telecom from British Telecommunications plc and AT&T Corp., respectively

Private Equity M&A Assignments

• agri.capital Group S.A. in connection with Alinda Capital Partners’ acquisition of a controlling stake
• Allegheny Energy, Inc. in the $250 million sale of its West Virginia natural gas distribution business to a private investor group backed by ArcLight Capital LLC
• ARAMARK Corporation chairman and CEO Joseph Neubauer in the $8.3 billion leveraged buyout of ARAMARK led by Mr. Neubauer and a sponsor group consisting of GS Capital Partners, CCMP Capital Advisors, LLC, J.P. Morgan Partners, LLC, Thomas H. Lee Partners L.P. and Warburg Pincus LLC
• Eurazeo, S.A. in the buyout by partners of Lazard LLC of Eurazeo’s significant ownership interest in Lazard
• GS Capital Partners in connection with the $1.7 billion acquisition of UICI by a consortium of private equity investors
• the financial adviser to H.J. Heinz Company in its pending $28 billion acquisition by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital
• Jo-Ann Stores, Inc. in its $1.6 billion acquisition by Leonard Green & Partners, L.P.
• the financial adviser to Permira Advisers LLP in the $2.1 billion acquisition of NDS Group PLC by Permira and News Corporation
• Silver Lake Partners-led consortium in its $2.025 billion acquisition of a 65% interest in Skype Technologies from eBay Inc.

Publications

• “Cross-Border Joint Ventures: When They Are Useful and What to Watch Out For,” Bloomberg Law Reports – Mergers & Acquisitions (May 2012)
• “Dodd-Frank, Beyond Financial Regulation: What Lawyers Need to Watch,” Bloomberg Law Reports – Mergers & Acquisitions (co-author) (November 2010)
• “Cross-Border Mergers & Acquisitions: A Study in Convergence and Cross-Fertilization,” Bloomberg Law Reports – Mergers & Acquisitions (co-author) (July 2010)