Global: FT Big Deal Series

Baker McKenzie and the Financial Times co-created a multimedia series, the FT Big Deal, to explore new trends shaping transactions and how to unlock value. In this series, Baker McKenzie lawyers are joined by industry thought leaders to discuss the key developments and issues shaping the future of global transactions.

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The Healthtech Sector’s Spectacular Surge in SPACs and de-SPACS

Baker McKenzie partner Derek Liu alongside Michael Meyers, Vice Chairman, Head of M&A and Strategic Advisory Services at H.C. Wainwright & Co, discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a significant rise in SPAC investments in the healthtech sector. While SPACs offer opportunities for healthtech companies, the road to a de-SPAC process can be complex and perilous.

Guests: Derek Liu (Partner, San Francisco), Michael Meyers (Vice Chairman, Head of M&A and Strategic Advisory Services, H.C. Wainwright & Co.)

The Rise of Private Equity in the Complex Carve-out

With businesses reassessing strategy more than ever before, private equity companies are profiting from the resulting growth in complex carve-outs. Baker McKenzie partners Jannan Crozier and David Allen are joined by Matthew Nord, Co-Lead Partner of Private Equity at Apollo to discuss how the financial turbulence of the past year has prompted corporates to assess strategy with a greater emphasis on core operations.

Guests: Jannan Crozier (Chair of Baker McKenzie’s Global M&A group, London), David Allen (Head of Corporate, London), Matthew Nord (Co-Lead Partner of Private Equity, Apollo)

ESG and the Rise of Sustainable Dealmaking

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations have become an increasingly integral part of decision making for investors and companies. Baker McKenzie partners Alyssa Auberger and Robert Wright are joined by Avinash Mehrotra, global head of Activism and Shareholder Advisory & Takeover Defense Practices at Goldman Sachs, to reveal how the rise of ESG considerations are affecting global dealmaking and influencing the way acquirers view and select targets.

Guests: Alyssa Auberger (Chief Sustainability Officer), Robert Wright (Partner, Hong Kong), Avinash Mehrotra (Global Head of Activism and Shareholder Advisory & Takeover Defense Practices, Goldman Sachs)

Can Cross-Border Transactions Fuel Growth in a Post-COVID World?

Cross-border transactions have picked up pace in the wake of COVID-19, driving focus on strategy for growth. Baker McKenzie partners Brian Chia and Jannan Crozier, together with Laurent Bouvier, managing director at UBS Investment Bank, share how companies are using cross-border transactions as a valuable tool for accessing new markets and adapting to the challenges and opportunities presented by COVID-19-related disruptions.

Guests: Brian Chia (Partner, Kuala Lumpur), Jannan Crozier (Chair of Baker McKenzie’s Global M&A group, London), Laurent Bouvier (Managing Director, UBS Investment Bank)

M&A as a Driver of Digital Transformation: The Legal Dimension

COVID-19 has accelerated digital transformation, with tech M&A gathering particular momentum. Baker McKenzie partners Lisa Fontenot and Michelle Blunt are joined by Reshma Sohoni, co-founder and partner of Seedcamp, to discuss the unique legal considerations arise when dealing with tech transactions.

Guests: Lisa Fontenot (Partner, Palo Alto), Michelle Blunt (Partner, London), Reshma Sohoni (Co-founder and Partner, Seedcamp)

M&A in the Wake of COVID-19: Strategies for a Healthy Business

Amid current economic landscape, companies are regularly conducting financial health checks. Baker McKenzie partners Ai Ai Wong and Nick Bryans, alongside Christophe Francoise, senior partner at McKinsey & Company, discuss the importance of evaluating business strategies in light of the pandemic and the transformational potential of M&A.

Guests: Ai Ai Wong (Partner, Singapore), Nick Bryans (Partner, London), Christophe Francoise (Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company)

Is ESG Prompting the End of Shareholder Primacy?

Looking at the investment landscape today, 90% of the decision makers in M&A processes as investors are looking at ESG issues, which demonstrates a clear appetite to acquire businesses that already have strong ESG credentials. Baker McKenzie partners Beatriz Araujo and Nikolaus Reinhuber together with Halla Tómasdóttir, CEO at The B Team, address the pressure to integrate ESG factors into corporate culture and what it could mean for big business.

Guests: Beatriz Araujo (Partner, London), Nikolaus Reinhuber (Partner, Frankfurt), Halla Tómasdóttir (CEO, The B Team)

Why Technology is the Biggest Disruptor of Traditional M&A?

Technology is transforming the business world in a revolutionary way, and traditional sectors such as industrials and manufacturing are no exception, as they need to evolve by adopting the latest technologies. Baker McKenzie partners Jannan Crozier and Hideo Norikoshi together with Mark Bulanda, Senior Vice President of Planning and Development for Emerson, discuss how the impact of technology has altered the way these companies operate.

Guests: Jannan Crozier (Chair of Baker McKenzie’s Global M&A group, London), Hideo Norikoshi (Partner, Tokyo), Mark Bulanda (Senior Vice President, Planning and Development, Emerson)

Why Healthtech Gets our Pulses Racing?

Increasing pressure on healthcare systems, massive tech growth and consumer-led demand are the perfect recipe for strong M&A activity in the emerging healthtech sector. Baker McKenzie partners Alan Zoccolillo and Jane Hobson share the opportunities as well as the whole host of new environmental and regulatory issues in the sector.

Guests: Alan Zoccolillo (Partner, New York), Jane Hobson (Partner, London)

Author Derek Liu

Derek Liu is a partner in Baker McKenzie's San Francisco office. Derek handles mergers and acquisitions, and other complex corporate transactions, and has signed transactions with an aggregate transaction value of more than USD 110 billion. Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Derek practiced at two top-tier firms in San Francisco and New York.

Author Jannan Crozier

Jannan Crozier is a partner in Baker & McKenzie's Corporate Group based in London and the Firms Global M&A Chair. Jannan practices in Corporate Law and advises clients in relation to cross-border mergers and acquisitions and negotiated carve out transactions.
Jannan joined Baker & McKenzie's London office as a trainee solicitor in 2003, qualifying as a solicitor in the Corporate Group in 2005 and being promoted to partner in 2015.
The Legal 500 lists Jannan as a "Next Generation Partner" within M&A: upper mid-market and premium deals, GPB 500 million and ".. is especially experienced in cross-border M&A, and complex carve-outs."

Author David Allen

David Allen is a partner in the Firm's London office, leading the Firm's private equity & funds team in London and globally. David's team won "Private Equity Team of the Year" in the 2016 British Legal Awards and was shortlisted for "Private Equity Team of the Year" in 2018 and 2017 in the British Legal Awards and Legal Business Awards respectively.

Author Alyssa Auberger

Alyssa is Baker McKenzie's Chief Sustainability Officer. In this role, Alyssa is responsible for the Firm’s multi-practice sustainability client offering as well as for overseeing the Firm's internal sustainability program, goals and reporting, working closely with other Firm functions that are key to the Firm’s sustainability efforts. She maintains the Firm's relationships with global policy-shaping forums such as the World Economic Forum, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the UN, with a keen focus on engaging the businesses community on sustainability issues, and promoting collaboration, such as through the Firm’s patronage of the Action Platform for Peace Justice and Strong Institutions (Goal 16), working with clients and like-minded businesses to encourage deeper corporate engagement on Goal 16.
Alyssa brings to the role of Chief Sustainability Officer strong client relationships and deep industry knowledge, thanks to her most recent role as Global Chair of the Firm's Consumer Goods & Retail (CG&R) Industry Group and her practice as an M&A lawyer, dual-admitted in the United States and France, advising French, American and multinationals and private equity funds on their acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, partnerships and strategic alliances worldwide, as well as on their international expansion. With nearly 30 years of transactional experience, Alyssa was a partner in the Paris office of Baker McKenzie for 15 years, ran the Paris office M&A practice through 2012 and was a member of the Firm’s EMEA M&A Steering Committee.
In her CG&R industry role, Alyssa organized numerous initiatives, seminars, roundtables and conferences with global industry experts, including several focused on sustainability given its importance to the industry. She created a Baker McKenzie podcast series, Off the Shelf, to provide short, practical tips and legal advice to CG&R companies, is ranked by Legal 500 as a “Leading Individual” in the luxury goods sector and participated in the Vogue Business Brand Index as a member of its Advisory Board. She has been interviewed by several leading industry publications on topics of relevance to the industry, including sustainability.
Alyssa is based in Paris, France, is a Franco-American dual national and speaks French and English fluently.

Author Robert Wright

Robert Wright is a senior lawyer in the Baker McKenzie Asia Pacific M&A group and is a lead member of the Hong Kong office Private Equity team. Robert has significant experience in advising financial sponsors and multinational corporates across a range of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, corporate restructurings and strategic investments for listed and unlisted companies.

Author Lisa Fontenot

Lisa A. Fontenot has advised clients as to mergers and acquisitions and other complex corporate transactions, securities transactions, regulation and corporate governance matters for 25 years. Ms. Fontenot is ranked as a leading attorney in the Corporate Law and Mergers & Acquisitions Law categories of the current and prior editions of The Best Lawyers in America©. She was previously named a Woman Leader in Tech Law by The Recorder – San Francisco, a Woman of Influence by the Silicon Valley Business Journal, and shortlisted for the 'Best in Media and Entertainment' Euromoney Legal Media Group Americas Women in Business Law Award.

Author Nick Bryans

Nick is a partner in Baker McKenzie's London office and a member of the M&A and Corporate Finance teams. Before joining Baker McKenzie, Nick was a partner in another international law firm for over 14 years and was the head of Middle East and based in Dubai from 2007 to 2010. Nick spent one year on secondment to a San Francisco law firm between 1999 and 2000.

Author Nikolaus Reinhuber

Dr. Nikolaus Reinhuber has more than 25 years' experience in cross-border transactions and is the Global Chair of the Industrials, Manufacturing and Transportation (IMT) industry group in Baker McKenzie’s office in Frankfurt. Clients have described him as "statesmanlike, with real interpersonal skills, who strikes the right note at 3 a.m. and gets the deal to the finish line" as well as "excellent work and extremely strong dedication" (JUVE 2014/2015). Before joining Baker McKenzie in 2008, he served as an M&A and corporate partner with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where he also held a global management position. Dr. Reinhuber has also acted as a supervisory board member of listed companies and advised them on their IPOs.

Author Hideo Norikoshi

Hideo Norikoshi has over 25 years experience working on a wide range of cross-border M&A transactions, joint ventures and corporate and corporate finance matters in Europe and Asia. He has advised numerous multinational companies, international investment banks and government organizations on landmark transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, public takeovers, corporate restructurings, private equity, international offerings and listing, structured finance and project finance. Hideo spent 10 years in the Japanese civil service from 1980 to 1990 before qualifying as a solicitor. In Japan, he is listed as a leading international lawyer for Corporate/M&A by Chambers Asia-Pacific in 2011-2017.

Author Alan F. Zoccolillo, Jr.

Alan Zoccolillo is the Chair of the North American Transactional practices, the past Chair of the North American Healthcare group and co-managing partner of the New York office. Mr. Zoccolillo was named by Chambers & Partners, the Legal 500 and Acritas as one of the leading lawyers in the US for mergers and acquisitions.

Author Jane Hobson

Jane E. Hobson is a partner in Baker Mckenzie's London office. She works in the Firm's London Corporate group, is a member of the Global M&A Practice Group, and focuses on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, licensing transactions and joint ventures in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector.