Christopher M. Barlow

Mr. Barlow regularly advises private equity firms, alternative asset managers, public and private companies, SPACs and financial institutions in a variety of corporate matters, including acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings, financial advisor engagements, financings, leveraged buyouts, shareholder activism, corporate governance and takeover preparedness. Examples of his representations include:

• Shopify in its sales of Deliverr, Inc. and 6 River Systems, LLC
• Spotify in numerous acquisitions, including:
  • Podsights
  • Chartable, Inc.
  • Findaway
  • Podz, Inc.
  • Betty Labs Incorporated
  • Megaphone from Graham Holdings
  • Bill Simmons’ The Ringer
  • Cutler Media, LLC
  • Gimlet Media Inc.
  • Anchor FM Inc.
  • SoundBetter
  • The Echo Nest
  • Loudr.fm
• Permira Funds in numerous transactions, including:
  • its $4.2 billion sale of a majority stake in Duff & Phelps
  • its $2.4 billion acquisition of Cambrex Corporation
  • its acquisition of a majority stake in Reformation
  • the $1.9 billion sale of an 80% stake in its portfolio company Netafim Ltd. to Mexichem, S.A.B. de C.V.
  • the sale of a majority stake in Teraco Data Environment to Berkshire Partners
  • its investment in Curriculum Associates
  • its acquisition of a majority stake in Cielo, Inc. from Accel-KKR
  • its acquisition of Evonik Jayhawk Fine Chemicals Corporation from Evonik Industries AG
• Elon Musk in his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, Inc.
• Social Capital Hedosophia in its:
  • $8.65 billion merger with SoFi
  • $3.7 billion merger with Clover Health Investments Corp.
  • $4.8 billion merger with Opendoor Labs
  • $1.5 billion merger with Virgin Galactic
• The Blackstone Group and Stearns Holdings in the sale of Stearns Lending to Guaranteed Rate, Inc.
• Kelso & Co. in its acquisition of Physicians Endoscopy, LLC in a recapitalization transaction with management from Pamlico Capital
• Reinvent Technology Partners in its:
  • $6.6 billion merger with Joby Aviation
  • $11 billion merger with Aurora Innovation, Inc.
• FaZe Clan Inc. in its $1 billion merger with B. Riley Principal 150 Merger Corp.
• Aspirational Consumer Lifestyle Corp. in its $2.1 billion merger with Wheels Up Partners Holdings LLC
• Neuberger Berman Group in its $12.5 billion combination of its Dyal Capital Partners division and Owl Rock Capital Group to form Blue Owl Capital, which will become publicly listed through a business combination with Altimar Acquisition Corporation
• Kemet Corp. in its pending $1.8 billion acquisition by Yageo Corp.
• NXP Semiconductors N.V. in its proposed but terminated acquisition by Qualcomm Inc.
• Wenner Media LLC in numerous transactions and corporate matters, including:
  • a strategic investment in Wenner Media LLC from Penske Media Corporation
  • its sale of US Weekly to American Media, Inc.
  • its sale of a 49% stake in Rolling Stone Magazine
• Anbang Insurance Group Co., Ltd. as lead member of an investor group in its proposed, unsolicited $14 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., which would have been the largest acquisition of a U.S. company by a Chinese buyer if completed
• Pinnacle Entertainment in connection with the unsolicited offer by Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc. and subsequent merger with GLPI following a spin-off of Pinnacle’s operating business;
• Frontier Communications Corporation in its $10.5 billion acquisition of the wireline businesses of Verizon in California, Texas and Florida
• Integrated Whale Media Investments, a Hong Kong-based investor group, in its acquisition of a majority stake in Forbes Media LLC
• Cobham plc in its $1.46 billion acquisition of Aeroflex Holding Corp.
• BlackBerry Ltd. in its exploration of strategic alternatives, culminating in a $1 billion private placement of convertible debentures
• Gardner Denver, Inc. in its $3.9 billion acquisition by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P.
• Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. in multiple transactions and corporate matters, including its:
  • $8.7 billion acquisition of Bausch + Lomb Holdings Incorporated from Warburg Pincus LLC
  • acquisition of OraPharma Inc. from Water Street Healthcare Partners
• Dean Foods Company in its $1.45 billion sale of its Morningstar Foods division to Saputo Inc.
• Transocean Limited in its proxy contest with Carl Icahn
• EverBank Financial Corp. in its 2012 initial public offering
• IAC’s Match.com in its minority investment in Zhenai Inc.
• financial advisors, including Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Centerview Partners LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Guggenheim Securities, LLC and Lazard Frères & Co. LLC in numerous transactions

Mr. Barlow has been named one of the Top Advisor Lawyers in North America by MergerLinks and recognized as a Rising Star by The Deal. He also has provided pro bono legal services to a variety of New York-based clients.