M & A appointments

Banc of America Securities – Former Goldman Sachs managing director and technology banker Andrew Bednar joined the firm as head of U.S. M&A. Arnold & Porter – Among the eight attorneys poached from Dorsey & Whitney in recent weeks is corporate transactions and private equity specialist partner Robert Wessely, based in firm’s New York office. Bear Stearns Merchant Banking Partners – The private equity firm has hired Daniel Porter as a consultant. Porter, the former chairman and CEO of WMC Mortgage, focuses on investments in the financial services industry, particularly consumer finance. Benchmark Capital -Early-stage high-tech venture capital firm Benchmark has hired Richard Barton, founder of Expedia, as a venture partner. Most recently, Barton had served as chairman and CEO of Zillow, an Internet services company. Bryan Cave – Robert Rawn, a former Pillsbury Winthrop partner, recently joined the firm’s New York office as a partner. He specializes in M&A, IPOs and private placements, securities compliance, and corporate governance. Citigroup – Frank Yeary, former co-head of global M&A at Citigroup, was promoted to head of global M&A. Tom King, Yeary’s former co-head, has been appointed as head of Citigroup’s European investment banking division. Deloitte & Touche – Joining the firm’s corporate finance subsidiary as a managing director and head of consumer and commercial financial services is Brenda White She previously ran her own advisory services firm. Cypress Group – Ronald Rittenmeyer, the former chairman, president, and CEO of Safety-Kleen Systems, was named a managing director at the firm, with responsibility for monitoring Cypress’s portfolio companies. Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky – Corporate and finance attorneys Andrew Sherman and Alan Schaeffer joined the Washington, D.C., office of Dickstein Shapiro as partners. Sherman, a former McDermott, Will & Emery partner, provides legal and strategic advice on M&A, alliances, and JVs. Schaeffer, also a former McDermott Will partner, concentrates on M&A, JVs, alliances, securities offerings, and other corporate matters. Goodwin Procter – Four more attorneys from disbanding Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault recently joined Goodwin Procter as partners, and will focus on dealmaking and related areas. F. George Davitt, Testa, Hurwitz’s former managing partner, specializes in M&A, private equity, and securities law. Inez Friedman-Boyce concentrates on M&A-related litigation, contests for corporate control, and securities litigation. Rufus King represents venture capital and other private equity funds as well as public and private tech companies. George Lloyd focuses on M&A, venture capital, and securities law. Greenbriar Equity Group – Greenbriar recently appointed two principals, John Daileader and Jill Raker, and its CFO, Kathleen Moran, as managing directors. Daileader, who joined Greenbriar in 2002, previously had been a principal at J.P. Morgan. Raker joined the firm in 2001, after having served as a principal at Compass Partners International, where she focused on M&A and LBOs. Before joining Greenbriar in 1999, Moran had spent nine years at Goldman, Sachs, most recently as a VP. Highland Capital Partners – The Waltham, Mass.-based venture capital firm promoted Richard de Silva, an IT investment specialist, to principal. Before joining Highland in 2003, he had been co-founder and president of SiteBurst, an enterprise software supplier. Jordan Co. – Senior associates Eion Hu and Michael Denvir have been appointed VPs. Hu joined Jordan in 1999 from Salomon Smith Barney, where in worked in the firm’s M&A division. Denvir joined Jordan in 2001 from portfolio company Sourcelink. Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham – Former Jenkens & Gilchrist attorney John Dickey came aboard as a partner in the firm’s Dallas office. His practice focuses on M&A, private placements, technology-related IPOs, and regulatory matters. McKenna Long & Aldridge – New partner Luis Aguilar, based in Denver, specializes in M&A, public and private offerings, and corporate governance He recently joined McKenna Long from Alston & Bird. Merrill Lynch – Mark Friedman has joined the firm as a managing director in the gaming, leisure, and transportation group. Prior to joining Merrill, Friedman was a transportation banker at Goldman, Sachs. Morgan Joseph – This mid-market investment banking firm has recruited Michael Bruder as a managing director in its restructuring group. Bruder is a former Miller Buckfire Lewis Ying principal. O’Melveny & Myers – Spencer Klein and M&A colleagues Gregory Puff and Paul Scrivano – all McDermott Will & Emery defectors – recently landed at O’Melveny & Myers. Klein, the former head of M&A at McDermott Will, now co-heads the firm’s M&A and Private Equity practice and leads the firm’s Global Mergers & Acquisitions practice. Former McDermott partners Gregory Puff and Paul Scrivano are partners in the firm’s Transactions Department. All three attorneys are based in New York. In other news, the firm recruited several senior merger attorneys from rival Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as part of its drive to expand its dealmaking practice. It snapped up Wilson Sonsini partners Steve Camahort and Michael Kennedy – who founded that firm’s San Francisco office – as well as partner Michael Dorf. Kennedy, who headed Wilson Sonsini’s M&A practice, helps lead O’Melveny’s West Coast M&A efforts. All three work in San Francisco. PricewaterhouseCoopers – The firm announced two appointments in the banking practice of its Transaction Services group. Todd Williams, formerly part of the mortgage banking and structured finance groups at PWC, has been named U.S. Leader. He is supported in that position by Phil Weaver, who previously led Fifth Third Bank’s M&A efforts. Sagent Advisors – Bob Johnson has joined the investment bank as a managing director. Johnson, a former head of the media and telecom group at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, most recently served as a senior adviser and managing director at Credit Suisse First Boston. Stephens Inc. – With the recent expansion of its investment banking presence in Atlanta, the firm added managing director Brad Yates, who leads the investment banking practice in Atlanta, and SVPs R. Bruce Miller and John C. Nagy, who focus primarily on M&A, divestitures, and middle-market capital-raising. Yates previously served as the founder of an independent advisory firm, Atlantic Southern Advisors, in New York. Miller and Nagy were investment banking principals at Burke Capital Group, a financial services investment banking boutique based in Atlanta. Thelen Reid & Priest – Among the nine attorneys that the firm recently named as partners are three that work in M&A and related areas. Louis Bevilacqua (based in the Washington, D.C., office) specializes in M&A and other business combinations, public offerings and private placements, and equity and debt financing. Joseph Tiano Jr. (Washington, D.C.) focuses his practice on M&A and other business combinations, financial restructuring, distressed asset sales, and equity and debt offerings. Thomas Giblin Jr. (New York) specializes in a broad range of corporate, finance, and securities matters. Thompson & Knight – The firm opened an office in New York, and has landed Robert Saunders from Shearman & Sterling and Carlos Mendez-PeZate and Marcello Hallake from Coudert Brothers to help run it. All three joined as partners. The new office provides M&A, project and private finance, securitization, and capital markets services. Winston & Strawn – Michael Smith has joined the New York office as a partner in the corporate department. Smith specializes in M&A, cross-border finance, and U.S. and Canadian and securities law. He joins Winston & Strawn from McCarthy Tetrault, Canada’s largest law firm, where he was U.S. counsel and co-head of the New York office. Copyright 2005 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.thomsonmedia.com http://www.majournal.com