Nicholas J. Olson

Nicholas J. Olson’s practice focuses primarily on mergers, acquisitions and other transactions involving public and private investment management firms, broker-dealers and related businesses. Mr. Olson has represented clients in many significant U.S. and cross-border transactions, including:

• Wells Fargo in connection with its carve-out sale of Wells Fargo Asset Management and related legal entities to GTCR and Reverence Capital Partners;
• Sun Life Financial in its acquisitions of InfraRed Capital Partners and Crescent Capital Group;
• Affiliated Managers Group in numerous transactions, including its acquisition of Parnassus Investments and its acquisitions of minority equity interests in Baring Private Equity Asia, Garda Capital Partners, Comvest Partners, Jackson Square Partners and OCP Asia;
• Foresters Financial in its sale of assets related to its U.S. asset management business, including First Investors mutual funds, to Macquarie Investment Management; and assets related to its U.S. broker-dealer and advisory business to Cetera Financial Group;
• BlackRock in its acquisition of Citigroup’s Mexican asset management business;
• Vantiv in its $12 billion merger with Worldpay;
• Tennenbaum Capital Partners in its acquisition by BlackRock;
• Resolute Investment Managers in its acquisition of an interest in RSW Investments;
• Tunbridge Partners in its acquisition of a minority interest in Savanna Capital Partners;
• Eurazeo in its acquisition of a minority interest in private equity manager Rhône Group;
• American Capital in its merger with Ares Capital and in the sale of American Capital Mortgage Management to American Capital Agency;
• Raymond James Financial in the acquisition of the Private Client Services business of Deutsche Bank Securities (the legacy business of Alex. Brown);
• DST Systems/ALPS Advisors in its acquisition of Red Rocks Capital; and
• John Hancock Retirement Plan Services in its acquisition of the retirement plan services business of New York Life Investment Management.

Mr. Olson’s practice also involves the structuring of compensation, retention and equity ownership arrangements for asset management and other financial services firms and their principals. He also advises clients in connection with corporate governance and compliance matters.