Kara L. Mungovan

Advises clients on the tax aspects of complex mergers and acquisitions, capital markets transactions and bank financings, both in the United States and globally.
Kara advises clients on the tax aspects of complex mergers and acquisitions, capital markets transactions and bank financings, both in the United States and internationally. Her work spans industries including consumer products and retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, and tech, media and telecom.
Kara’s work is recognized by Chambers USA and Legal 500. Sources quoted by Chambers say she is “really hard-working and very smart” and “an excellent lawyer.” She was recognized as one of “Five Fresh Faces to Know in Tax” by Bloomberg Law in 2021.
She is a member of the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association Tax Section and a member of the New York Tax Forum.
Experience
Selected M&A Experience
- Campbell Soup’s:
- $2.7 billion acquisition of Sovos Brands
- sale of Noosa Yoghurt
- TPG Capital’s:
- $1.1 billion take-private acquisition of Convey Health Solutions
- acquisition of Forcepoint G2CI from Francisco Partners
- Roper Technologies’:
- $3.725 billion acquisition of Frontline Education
- $1.25 billion acquisition of Syntellis Performance Solutions
- Sitio Royalties $4.8 billion all-stock merger with Brigham Minerals
- UBS $3.2 billion acquisition of Credit Suisse
- Verisk’s $3.1 billion sale of Wood Mackenzie to Veritas Capital
- AssetMark’s $2.7 billion acquisition by GTCR
- Cleveland-Cliffs’ $2.5 billion acquisition of Stelco Holdings
- Cheney Brothers’ $2.1 billion acquisition by Performance Food Group
- Billtrust’s $1.7 billion acquisition by EQT Private Equity
- AnHeart Therapeutics’ acquisition by Nuvation Bio
- Various acquisition financings for private equity and strategic acquirers
Selected Capital Markets Experience
- IPOs for Agriculture & Natural Solutions Acquisition, Baicha Baidao, Bold Eagle Acquisition, Metagenomi, ODDITY Tech, Smith Douglas Homes and ZJLD Group
- Securities offerings for issuers: ADC Therapeutics, Automatic Data Processing, Canadian National Railway, Cleveland-Cliffs, Equinix, Mastercard, Natura, Novartis, Nuveen, Spectrum Brands, Telefónica, Toyota Motor Credit, Verisk and Walgreens
Notable representations before joining Davis Polk:
- Deutsche Telekom (DT) on various transactions
- Deutsche Börse on various transactions
- Mylan on various transactions
- Centrica’s $3.625 billion sale of its North American energy supply, services and trading business (Direct Energy) to NRG Energy
- GKN’s £8.1 billion unsolicited offer from Melrose and proposed $6.1 billion combination of its Driveline business and Dana
- Altra’s $3 billion combination with four operating companies from Fortive’s Automation and Specialty platform
- AXA’s $15.3 billion acquisition of XL Group
- Linde’s $70 billion merger of equals with Praxair
Insights
News
Recognition
Chambers USA – Tax, New York
Legal 500 U.S. – International Tax, Next Generation Partner
Bloomberg Law – “Five Fresh Faces to Know in Tax,” 2021
Law360 – “Rising Star: Tax,” 2018
Euromoney LMG Americas Women in Business Law Awards – “Rising Star: Tax,” 2018
American Lawyer – “Corporate Attorney of the Year – Capital and Solutions” finalist, 2024
Education
- magna cum laude
Prior experience
- Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, 2017-2021
- Associate, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, 2008-2016
Qualifications and admissions
- State of New York