Private Equity

In Depth

Cooley has been a trusted advisor to private equity funds and their portfolio companies in sophisticated transactions since the industry’s earliest days. Today, our private equity platform is purpose-built for the pace and complexity of an environment where speed, relationships and sector insight define success.

We blend unmatched experience in innovation-rich sectors with business acumen to deliver market-informed intelligence to each deal, including how regulators are moving, where valuations are shifting and what terms are holding. Our dominant position at the heart of the market, advising both high-growth companies and the sponsors who fuel their next chapter, gives us an entrepreneurial perspective that mirrors the mindset of top dealmakers.

Our counsel also aligns with sponsors’ long-term playbooks, providing end-to-end legal and strategic advice. From fund formation and acquisitions to portfolio management and exits, our integrated, cross-practice platform provides support across the entire private equity investment life cycle, enabling clients to focus on opportunities and performance while we manage the complexities of execution and risk.

Our results – Representative private equity transactions

Private equity investors

• Astra Capital Management in its sale of Searchlight Cyber, a threat intelligence company, to Charlesbank Capital Partners
• Battery Ventures in its acquisition of Signiant, a file transfer company for the media and entertainment industries
• Cerberus Capital Management in its investment in Aquatech, a provider of advanced industrial water and wastewater treatment services
• ChrysCapital in its $850 million sale of GeBBS Healthcare Solutions, a business process outsourcing services provider, to EQT
• Hughes & Company in its merger of Curvo and BroadJump to form a consolidated healthcare supply chain platform
• JMI Equity in its sale of Incident IQ, a K-12 school operations management platform, to Cove Hill Partners
• Perceptive Advisors in its take-private acquisition of Vapotherm, a medical device manufacturer
• Rubicon Technology Partners in its investment in Ascend Analytics, a provider of energy transition analytics solutions
• Tiger Infrastructure Partners in its investment in Minnesota Coaches, a motor coach and school bus transportation company
• Vance Street Capital in its acquisition of System Seals, an engineering and manufacturing company of custom and proprietary sealing products

Private equity-backed portfolio companies

• BlackSignal Technologies, a national security and defense company backed by Razor’s Edge, in its $200 million sale to Parsons Corporation (NYSE: PSN)
• Clubessential Holdings, a software-as-a-service provider for membership-based organizations, backed by Battery Ventures and Silver Lake, in multiple add-on acquisitions and subsequent merger with Xplor Technologies
• Definitive Healthcare (Nasdaq: DH), a commercial intelligence company backed by Advent International and Spectrum Equity, in its acquisition of Populi
• Expert Institute, a legal technology company backed by Spectrum Equity, in its sale to Levine Leichtman Capital Partners
• HG Insights, a business-to-business data insights platform backed by Riverwood Capital, in its acquisition of MadKudu
• Midwestern Electric, an electrical contractor backed by CAI Capital Partners, in its acquisition of Bear Electrical Solutions
• TickPick, an event ticket sales company backed by Brighton Park Capital, in its acquisition of Fanimal
• Transact Campus, a financial services company backed by Reverence Capital Partners, in its $1.6 billion sale to Roper Technologies (Nasdaq: ROP)
• Unchained Labs, a developer of life sciences biologics tools backed by The Carlyle Group, in its acquisition of Blacktrace
• Vision Government Solutions, a provider of property tax appraisal services backed by Rubicon Technology Partners, in its majority recapitalization with Great Hill Partners

Private/public companies (investments from private equity)

• AuditBoard, a governance, risk and compliance software platform, in its $3 billion sale to Hg
• Avid Bioservices (Nasdaq: CDMO), a contract development and manufacturing organization, in its $1.1 billion sale to GHO Capital Partners and Ampersand Capital Partners
• CallTower, a communications company, in its investment from BV Investment Partners
• Chemistry Communications, an advertising and marketing agency, in its sale to Breakwater Management
• Egnyte, an enterprise content management and cloud storage service, in its investment from GI Partners and TA Associates
• Evite, an online invitation and social planning website, in its investment from Francisco Partners
• LeagueApps, a sports management platform, in its investment from Accel-KKR
• PetLab Co., a pet supplement company, in its sale to BC Partners
• PlayAGS, a casino and gaming supplier, in its $1.1 billion sale to Brightstar Capital Partners
• Summer Fridays, a skincare and makeup brand, in its investment from TSG Consumer Partners