Leonard Kreynin and Will Pearce named 2023 “Dealmakers of the Year” by the American Lawyer
Davis Polk partners Leonard Kreynin and Will Pearce were named “Dealmakers of the Year” by the American Lawyer. The award honors the lawyers who led 2022’s most complex deals – those who relied on ingenuity, deep client relationships and novel arrangements to get their clients’ deals done.
Leonard and Will were recognized for their work advising Brookfield Business Partners in connection with the $16 billion acquisition of Nielsen by a private equity consortium led by Brookfield and Evergreen Coast Capital Corporation. The deal – the second-largest LBO of 2022 – faced many obstacles and complications.
For one, Nielsen was U.S.-listed, therefore falling outside the scope of the U.K. takeover code, but it was UK-incorporated, meaning the deal was subject to UK court approval pursuant to a scheme of arrangement. “Schemes of arrangement of U.K. companies listed in the U.S. always raise some interesting corporate law issues as a result of the way U.K. shares are held and traded in the U.S.,” Will told the American Lawyer.
He went on to explain that the multijurisdictional nature of the deal “afforded advisers a little more creativity to use tools from both markets.”
The American Lawyer’s 2023 “Dealmakers of the Year” were announced on March 27, 2023, and featured in the April 2023 print edition of the publication’s magazine.