Jeffrey H. Cohen

Mr. Cohen has represented both buyers and sellers in numerous large and middle-market mergers and acquisitions. His clients include private equity funds and their portfolio companies as well as private and public companies, entrepreneurs and family businesses. In addition, he has counseled clients on numerous investments in distressed debt and acquisitions of distressed businesses.

Mr. Cohen’s representations have included clients in an array of industries, such as apparel, beauty, consumer products, energy, fintech, food, gaming, retail, sports and media, among others. In addition, he routinely counsels corporations and their officers and directors on securities and corporate governance matters.

Mr. Cohen’s experience, creativity and background in finance enable him to effectively address clients’ business needs. He has been widely and repeatedly recognized for his work, including in:

• Chambers Global in its U.S., International & Cross-Border category and Chambers USA in its Corporate/M&A and Private Equity: Buyout categories, with clients noting that he “provides an excellent balance of technical skill and business judgment” with a “keen ability to understand both his clients’ needs and the situation as a whole to deliver the deal”
• The Legal 500 U.S. (including as part of its M&A Private Practice Powerlist) and IFLR1000
• the Los Angeles Business Journal, which included him among its Who’s Who in L.A. Law, Top 40 Most Influential M&A Advisors in Los Angeles and top five corporate lawyers in Los Angeles
• Best Lawyers, including as its 2022 Los Angeles Corporate Law Lawyer of the Year, and Lawdragon as one of its 500 Leading Dealmakers in America
• the Daily Journal as one of its top 10 private equity lawyers in California and as part of a cover story that profiled Mr. Cohen and documented Skadden’s success in building a substantial corporate practice in Los Angeles

Notable Transactions

Strategic Mergers and Acquisitions

• Scopely, Inc.:
  • in its $1 billion acquisition of GSN Games, Inc. from Sony Pictures Corporation
  • in connection with an investment in a business in Ukraine
• AdvancePierre Foods Holdings, Inc. in its $4.2 billion acquisition by Tyson Foods, Inc.
• PLBY Group, Inc., owner of the Playboy brand, in its acquisition of a social content platform
• Saban Capital Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, in its proposed but terminated acquisition of Panavision Inc. and Sim Video International Inc.
• Total Merchant Services, Inc. in its acquisition by North American Bancard Holdings, LLC
• Cardenas Markets, Inc. in the sale of its retail grocery business to an affiliate of KKR & Co. L.P.
• Del Real Foods in an investment by Palladium Equity Partners, LLC
• ABL Space Systems in connection with a minority investment in the company, valuing ABL at $1.3 billion
• Performance Sports Group in the acquisition of the assets of the hockey equipment business of Easton Hockey
• GLAMGLOW and its owners in the sale of substantially all of its assets to The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
• CircusTrix Holdings, LLC and its principal owners in a significant investment by an affiliate of Palladium Equity Partners, LLC
• Z Gallerie in its strategic partnership with Brentwood Associates, Inc.
• OPI Products, Inc. and its owners in connection with the sale of the company to Coty Inc.
• Jerrod Blandino and Jeremy Johnson, co-founders of Too Faced Cosmetics, LLC, in the company’s acquisition by The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
• Serge Azria and The Collected Group f/k/a Dutch, LLC in a majority investment by TA Associates in Dutch, the global fashion company behind the JOIE, Equipment and Current/Elliott brands
• BCBG Max Azria Group, LLC in its recapitalization transaction with affiliates of Guggenheim Partners and other investors, strengthening its capital structure and positioning it for future growth
• Oakley, Inc. in the sale of the company to Luxottica Group S.p.A
• Pierre Foods, Inc. in the acquisition of Advance Foods Company and Advance Brands, AdvancePierre Foods in multiple acquisitions
• American Apparel Inc. in the sale of the company to a special purpose acquisition company and in various other matters
• The News Corporation Limited and Fox Entertainment Group, Inc. in the purchase and subsequent sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers and investments in other sports assets, including the Staples Center
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art in connection with an acquisition

Private Equity

• ArchKey Solutions, a portfolio company of the Power Opportunities Group of Oaktree Capital Management, in its acquisition by an affiliate of One Rock Capital Partners, LLC
• Stone Point Capital LLC and its portfolio company Stretto (f/k/a Bankruptcy Management Solutions, Inc.) in the acquisition of Credit Infonet Holdings, Inc. (doing business as CINgroup)
• The Power Opportunities Group of Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. in a partnership with Sachs Electric Co.
• Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. in its controlling investment in My Alarm Center, LLC
• Ready Pac Foods, Inc. and its majority stockholder, H.I.G. Bayside Capital, in the acquisition of Ready Pac Foods by Bonduelle, SAS
• Sachs Holdings Inc., a portfolio company of Power Opportunities Group of Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., in its acquisition of Parsons Electric LLC
• a portfolio company of Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. in the sale of an option to acquire an interest in the transfer capacity of the West Devers transmission upgrade project in Southern California to Axium Infrastructure, Inc.
• Funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. in connection with the formation of an investment entity to invest in certain transportation assets and the initial acquisition by that entity
• a portfolio company of Crimson Investment in connection with the potential sale of the company
• Highview Capital in connection with the acquisition, together with Victory Park Capital Advisors, of substantially all of the assets of Katy Industries Inc.
• Tengram Capital and its portfolio company, Robert Graham, in connection with the combination of Robert Graham with Joe’s Jeans
• Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. and its co-investors in connection with the sale of a majority of the stock of Alliance Healthcare Services, a publicly listed company, to Fujian Thai Hot Investment Company
• Infrastructure Investing Group of Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (formerly Highstar Capital) in connection with an investment in an energy transmission project
• The Power Opportunities Group of Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. in the acquisitions of Recon Services; Energy Solutions Holdings, L.P.; and InfraSource Incorporated; and in the acquisitions and subsequent sales of Sheehan Pipeline Construction Company; Snelson Companies, Inc.; Elgar Electronics Corporation; and UtiliQuest Holdings Corp.
• New Cotai Holdings, an entity owned by funds managed by Silver Point Capital, L.P. and Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., in the negotiation of a joint venture with Melco Crown Entertainment Limited for the development and construction of an integrated casino resort in Macau
• an investor group led by Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. in the acquisition and recapitalization of AmericanWest Bank. The transaction was the first of its kind, involving the bankruptcy of a bank holding company and the sale of its subsidiary bank in a court-supervised Section 363 sale
• Crimson SV, LLC in the acquisition of Tyden Group, Inc. and Tyden Group in the acquisitions of E.J. Brooks Co., Inc. and Stoffel Holding Company