Record revenue and profits

Record revenue and profits

In 2018, Goodwin grew by double digits across key financial metrics, marking the firm’s sixth consecutive year of record revenue and profits, earning the firm Mergers & Acquisitions' 2018 M&A Mid-Market Award for Law Firm of the Year. Technology-rich practice areas drove this growth: The firm’s private equity and life sciences practices both grew revenues by 31 percent; technology revenues were up 18 percent; and real estate revenues were up 17 percent. Goodwin’s headcount growth for these practices has soared over the past five years, with the life sciences practice increasing its headcount by 500 percent to 100-plus lawyers, the private equity practice by 350 percent to more than 250 lawyers and the technology companies practice by 257 percent to more than 200 lawyers.

See the full list of Mergers & Acquisitions' 2018 M&A Mid-Market Awards.

All deals are tech deals today

The law firm prides itself on sitting “at the intersection of capital and innovation.” As a firm representative put it, “In today’s technology-driven economy, every company, even one not selling ‘technology,’ is significantly technology-enabled and dependent. From an investor perspective, it is no longer sufficient to simply understand how to execute a venture or a private equity deal. Rather, investors are looking for lawyers who understand technology and how it impacts the viability of a target investment. In other words, there’s an ongoing convergence of capital and innovation, and this convergence requires legal advisors who are equally fluent in both worlds. This is a Goodwin hallmark.”

Focused on the middle market

While Goodwin has received attention for advising on larger deals, such as Qualtrics International Inc.’s $8 billion sale to SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) and Centerview Partners’ $11.9 billion acquisition of Kite Pharma, the core of the firm’s M&A practice remains focused on the middle market. Goodwin improved its overall U.S. deal count from 266 deals valued at $59.5 billion in 2017 to 290 deals valued at $143.3 billion in 2018. Globally, the firm increased from 320 deals valued at $64.1 billion in 2017 to 337 deals valued at $154.5 billion in 2018.

Experience counts

Founded in 1912, Goodwin today boasts more than 100 corporate M&A attorneys and professional staff with experience in structuring complex mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, spinoffs and tender offers. The firm represents clients on both buy and sell side in a wide range of transactions, working with private equity investors and large public companies acquiring private businesses. Anna Dodson, partner, Goodwin, is one of 36 dealmakers named in Mergers & Acquisitions’ 2019 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A.

Completed deals

· Represented Kensho Technologies Inc., which Goodwin represented Kensho Technologies Inc., a developer of artificial intelligence founded out of MIT and Harvard University in 2013, in its sale to S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) for an aggregate purchase price of $550 million.

· Advised Primus Capital in its sale of Hyperwallet, a Primus portfolio company that helps individuals and small firms receive payments for goods and services that they sell on online marketplaces, to PayPal Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: PYPL) for $400 million in cash.

· Advised WisdomTree Investments Inc. in its acquisition of ETF Securities’ European exchange-traded commodity, currency and short-and-leveraged business, for cash and stock valuing the target at $523 million.