Shenna N. Johnson

Shenna Johnson focuses her practice on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, corporate governance, and SEC and other regulatory compliance issues. She also represents clients in general corporate and securities matters.

Ms. Johnson advises public and private companies in a variety of sale and acquisition transactions, including mergers, joint ventures and stock and asset acquisitions and divestitures. Additionally, she counsels clients on corporate financings and related transactions, securities law compliance, periodic reporting, annual board of directors assessments and other corporate governance concerns.

Ms. Johnson’s notable representations include, among others:

• Orica Limited in its pending $640 million acquisition of Cyanco Intermediate 4 Corp. from an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P.
• Cardinal Health, Inc. in its $1 billion sale of its Cordis business to an affiliate of Hellman & Friedman
• R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company in its proposed but terminated $2.1 billion acquisition by affiliates of Atlas Holdings LLC, and subsequent $2.3 billion acquisition by affiliates of Chatham Asset Management, LLC
• Ball Corporation in its $530 million sale of its beverage packaging business in Russia
• Ecolab Inc. in the $4.4 billion merger of its upstream energy business with Apergy Corporation, creating a combined company with an enterprise value of approximately $7.4 billion
• Credit Acceptance Corporation in various financing matters, including its:
  • $400 million senior notes due 2024 and its concurrent cash tender offer on $300 million of outstanding senior notes due 2021
  • $600 million senior notes due 2028 and its concurrent cash tender offer on $400 million of outstanding senior notes due 2024
• AutoNation, Inc. in its offering of $500 million of its senior notes due 2030
• Kemper Corporation on its $90 million sale of Reserve National Insurance Company to Medical Mutual of Ohio
• Apartment Investment and Management Company (Aimco) in its reverse spin-off of Apartment Income REIT Corp., a publicly traded REIT with an approximately $10.4 billion portfolio of apartment communities, and the related division of Aimco’s publicly held operating partnership
• Advice to the board of directors of ACI Worldwide, Inc. in connection with various corporate matters
• Veritas Capital in its $2.8 billion acquisition, along with Evergreen Coast Capital Corporation, of Cubic Corporation
• Noble Corporation plc with respect to certain corporate matters, including its debt and equity rights offering, in connection with the restructuring transactions contemplated in its Chapter 11 plan of reorganization, which reduced the company’s debt from approximately $4 billion to $400 million

Ms. Johnson also has an active pro bono practice. She has advised, among others, individuals seeking asylum in the United States, as well as 501(c)(3) organizations in connection with various corporate governance matters and a wide range of commercial arrangements.

Ms. Johnson is a member of Skadden’s Chicago Associates Committee and the Steering Committee for the firm’s Chicago Black Lawyers for Diversity affinity network. She also serves on Skadden’s Global Black Lawyers for Diversity Committee. Ms. Johnson is actively involved in Skadden’s recruiting and corporate training programs and is a member of the Chicago office’s Summer Associates Committee. Ms. Johnson also serves as a member of the Young Professionals Board of the Public Interest Law Initiative.

In recognition of her work, Ms. Johnson has been named repeatedly as one of National Black Lawyers’ Top 40 Under 40.