George R. Bason, Jr.
Co-chair of Mergers & Acquisitions and a three-time American Lawyer “Dealmaker of the Year.” A leader in the M&A field who advises on industry-changing transactions.
As co-chair of our Mergers & Acquisitions practice, Gar handles some of the largest and most industry-changing mergers, acquisitions and joint venture transactions. Clients also rely on Gar for his extensive experience with cross-border transactions, restructurings, takeover defenses and corporate governance issues, as well as for general corporate and securities law advice.
The transformative deals on which Gar has advised include Exxon and Mobil’s $81 billion merger, J.P. Morgan’s $38.6 billion merger with Chase, Gillette’s $57 billion acquisition by Procter & Gamble, Baker Hughes’ $32 billion combination with GE Oil & Gas, and Citigroup and Morgan Stanley’s Smith Barney joint venture.
The American Lawyer has named Gar a “Dealmaker of the Year” three times. Legal industry publications including Chambers Global, Chambers USA and Law360 have recognized his exceptional dealmaking skill and named him as one of the top practitioners in his field.
Experience
- Baker Hughes’:
- Combination with GE Oil & Gas
- A series of long-term agreements that amend the commercial and technological relationships with General Electric Company
- Joint venturing of its pressure pumping business
- Proposed $38 billion sale to Halliburton
- Exxon Mobil’s:
- $81 billion merger with Mobil
- $31 billion acquisition of XTO Energy
- Acquisition of InterOil
- Acquisition of certain companies owned by the Bass family
- Firmenich’s €41 billlion merger of equals with DSM
- Tyson’s:
- Contested $8.6 billion acquisition of Hillshire Brands
- $4.2 billion acquisition of AdvancePierre Foods
- $2.2 billion acquisition of the Keystone Foods business from Marfrig Global Foods
- Shire’s:
- £46 billion acquisition by Takeda
- $5.2 billion acquisition of NPS
- $54 billion proposed acquisition by AbbVie
- CSX’s:
- acquisition of New England’s Pan Am Railways
- acquisition of Quality Carriers
- settlement with Mantle Ridge and its simultaneous hiring of a new CEO
- SouthState’s $2 billion acquisition of Independent Bank and $542 million acquisition with Atlantic Capital Bancshares
- CenterState’s all-stock $6 billion merger of equals with SouthState
- First Interstate BancSystem’s $2 billion merger with Great Western Bancorp
- SSW Partners’ $4.5 billion acquisition of Veoneer with Qualcomm
- Traton’s $3.7 billion acquisition of Navistar International
- Raven Industries’ $2.1 billion acquisition by CNH Industrial
- MSG Networks’ all-stock acquisition by Madison Square Garden Entertainment
- Kyocera’s $1 billion acquisition of the shares of common stock of AVX Corporation not already owned by Kyocera
- Kosmos Energy’s $1.2 billion acquisition of Deep Gulf Energy from First Reserve
- HSN’s $2.6 billion acquisition by Liberty Interactive
- Charoen Pokphand’s $1 billion acquisition of Bellisio Foods
- Electrolux’s proposed $3.3 billion acquisition of GE Appliances
- CNOOC’s $17.9 billion acquisition of Nexen
- Advanced Semiconductor Engineering’s contested proposed acquisition of SPIL
- Citigroup’s:
- $306 billion loss protection agreement with the U.S. government in 2008
- Joint venture of the Smith Barney business with Morgan Stanley in 2009
- $52.5 billion capital realignment and $20.5 billion capital raise in 2009
- Termination of the loss protection agreement with the U.S. government in 2009
- Gillette’s acquisition by Procter & Gamble
- J.P. Morgan’s $38.6 billion merger with Chase
Insights
News
Recognition
American Lawyer – “Dealmaker of the Year,” 2008, 2014 and 2016
American Lawyer – “Transatlantic Corporate Dealmaker of the Year,” 2015
Best Lawyers – “Lawyer of the Year,” Mergers and Acquisitions Law, New York City, 2023
Chambers Global – Corporate/M&A (International & Cross-Border), Band 1
Chambers USA – Corporate/M&A, New York, Band 1
The Deal – “Impact Dealmaker,” 2022
IFLR1000 – M&A, United States, Highly Regarded
Law360 – “M&A MVP of the Year,” 2014 and 2015
Legal 500 U.S. – M&A: Large Deals ($1bn+), Hall of Fame
Expert Guides – Best of the Best USA (Top 30), Corporate Governance
Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who Legal) – Corporate Governance, M&A, Thought Leader
Education
- cum laude
- magna cum laude
Prior experience
- Paris office, 1980-1983 and 1989-1991
Qualifications and admissions
- State of New York
- U.S. District Court, E.D. New York
- U.S. District Court, S.D. New York