Sotheby’s, the international auction house, announced on June 17 that it had entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by BidFair USA, an entity wholly owned by media and telecom entrepreneur Patrick Drahi, in a transaction with an enterprise value of $3.7 billion.
The S&C team advising Sotheby’s on this historic deal included corporate partners John Mead and Melissa Sawyer, as well as associates Julia Kim and Ashlyann Harrison.
This transaction, which will return Sotheby’s to private ownership after more than 30 years as a public company, offers the auction house the opportunity to accelerate the successful program of growth initiatives in a more flexible private environment. “It positions us very well for our future and I strongly believe that the company will be in excellent hands for decades to come with Patrick as our owner,” said Sotheby’s CEO Tad Smith.