Overview
Michele Cumpston is a corporate partner in the Los Angeles and Bay Area offices of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Michele concentrates her practice in the areas of mergers & acquisitions, private equity and corporate governance. She represents buyers, sellers, private equity funds and their portfolio companies and financial institutions in a variety of complex M&A transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, going private transactions, divestitures, restructurings, recapitalizations, minority investments, business combinations and executive compensation and equity incentive arrangements.
Experience
Representative Matters
Oaktree Capital Management in various matters, including its:
- Investment in Boardriders and Boardriders’ subsequent sale to Authentic Brands Group
- Investment in Shout! Factory
- Acquisition of Enercon Services from AE Industrial Partners
- Investment in Rand Logistics
- Investment in J&J Ventures Gaming and J&J Ventures Gaming’s subsequent acquisitions of Awesome Hand Services, Illinois Gaming Systems and B&B Amusement of Illinois and pending acquisition of Golden Route Operations
- Investment alongside Hartree Partners L.P. in Energywell
- Joint venture investment in Alliance Sports FinCo
- Acquisition of Kondaur Capital Corp. from Tourmalet Advisors
- Investment alongside Alvarez and Marsal Capital Partners in Nevada Heart and Vascular Center
- Investment in BusPatrol
- Investment in REEF Technology and growth equity investment in, and formation of a joint infrastructure vehicle (Neighborhood Property Group) with, REEF Technology
- Joint venture with affiliates of Ascendant Capital Partners to invest in Watermark Lodging Trust
- Investment in WHP Global and WHP Global’s subsequent acquisitions of the Joseph Abboud trademarks from Tailored Brands and a controlling interest in Tru Kids
- Investment in Coriant International Group and Coriant International Group’s subsequent sale to Infinera Corporation
- Investment in Dayton Superior Corporation
- Sale of Osmose Utility Services to Kohlberg & Co.
- Sale of Tecta America Corp. to ONCAP Management Partners
- Sale of Triton Digital to Vector Capital
- Investment in Singular, a Chilean asset management firm
- Acquisition of Nordic Cold Storage Holdings by Agro Merchants Group, a portfolio company of Oaktree Capital Management
- Acquisition of Contract Land Staff by RSH Energy, a portfolio company of GFI Energy Group
- Acquisition of Sterling Lumber Company (n/k/a Sterling Site Access Solutions) by GFI Energy Group and Sterling Site Access Solutions subsequent sale to Blue Wolf Capital
- Acquisition of MWH Constructors by GFI Energy Group
Oaktree Acquisition Corp. II in its $2.25 billion business combination with Alvotech Holdings S.A.
Oaktree Acquisition Corp. in its $1.6 billion business combination with Hims, Inc.
Oaktree Capital Management and KKR in their acquisition of Proserv Group
H.I.G. Capital in various matters, including its:
- Acquisition of the payroll and professional services business of Alight for up to $1.2 billion
- Carve out acquisition of the human resources consulting and benefits administration business of Conduent, Inc. (n/k/a Buck Global) and Buck Global’s subsequent $660 million sale to Arthur J. Gallagher
- Significant strategic growth investment in 3Pillar Global and 3Pillar Global’s subsequent acquisitions of Jonah Group and Chenoa Information Services
- Sale of Tastes on the Fly to Paradies Lagardère
- Majority strategic growth investment in Mobileum, Inc.
- Growth investment in General Datatech, L.P.
- Significant strategic growth investment in Cleo Communications
- Acquisition of Lionbridge Technologies and subsequent $935 million sale of the Lionbridge AI business to TELUS International
- Acquisition of Keefe Group, which was combined with its existing portfolio company, Trinity Services Group
- Carve out acquisition of the Quicken business of Intuit, Inc. and subsequent sale of Quicken to Aquiline Capital Partners
- Investment in Soleo Health
H.I.G. Acquisition Corp. in its $325 million initial public offering
Francisco Partners in various matters, including its:
- Pending sale of QGenda to Hearst Health
- Partnership with Leonard Green & Partners to Invest in RedSail Technologies, and RedSail Technologies prior acquisition of TransactRx
- Significant equity investment in Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
- Carve out acquisition of The Weather Company assets from IBM
- Significant strategic investment in Accela, alongside Berkshire Partners
- $1.7 billion acquisition of Sumo Logic
- Carve out acquisition of bswift from CVS Health
- Carve out acquisition of Litmos from SAP
- Carve out acquisition of the healthcare data and analytics assets of Watson Health (n/k/a Merative) from IBM
- Capital raise and stake sale by EG Group, a portfolio company of Francisco Partners
- Acquisition of Bluemark by Office Ally, a portfolio company of Francisco Partners
- Acquisition of West Academic by BARBRI Global, a portfolio company of Francisco Partners
Värde Partners and J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC in the acquisition of CitiFinancial Canada
Värde Partners in various matters, including its:
- Pending acquisition of Wells Fargo’s non-agency third-party commercial mortgage servicing business by Trimont, a portfolio company of Värde Partners
- Investment in PaperWorks Industries and PaperWorks Industries in its acquisition of The Standard Group
- Investment in Daybreak Community
- Investment in Windsong Ranch
- Investment in OneMain Holdings, Inc.
- Restructuring of Global Cloud Xchange
Levine Leichtman Capital Partners in various matters, including its:
- Sale of Revenew International to Sentinel Capital Partners
- Acquisition of Capsa Solutions
- Sale of Tronair Parent to Golden Gate Capital
- Sale of Global Franchise Group to Lion Capital and Serruya Private Equity
Arcline Investment Management in various matters, including its:
- Carve out acquisition of the reciprocating compression business of Baker Hughes, and the subsequent acquisition by such portfolio company of various complimentary businesses
- Carve out acquisition of Fairbanks Morse from EnPro Industries
TPG Growth in various matters, including its:
- Acquisition of Angie’s Artisan Treats and Angie’s Artisan Treats’ subsequent sale to Conagra Brands, Inc.
- Joint venture with Evolution Media Capital
Aurora Capital Partners in various matters, including its:
- Acquisition of Randall-Reilly
- Acquisition of Cold Chain Technologies
Industrial Growth Partners in various matters, including its:
- Acquisition of Grakon and Grakon’s subsequent sale to Methode Electronics, Inc.
- Sale of Ideal Tridon to Snow Phipps Group
Lovell Minnick Partners in various matters, including its:
- Acquisition of LSQ Funding Group
- Growth capital investment in Currency Capital
- Sale of Commercial Credit to BDT Capital
Vista Equity Partners in its strategic growth investment in Jebbit
Hello Sunshine in its majority investment from a media company backed by Kevin Mayer, Tom Staggs and Blackstone Group
Ares Management Corporation and its portfolio company Convergint Technologies in Ares’ sale of a portion of its equity to Leonard Green & Partners and Harvest Partners
Mondee Inc. in its business combination with ITHAX Acquisition Corp.
Chantecaille Inc., USA in its acquisition by Beiersdorf Group, valued at $590 to $690 million
Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors in its sale of a strategic minority interest in Kayne Anderson Real Estate to Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Petershill
Marlin Equity Partners in a strategic minority investment in its business by Blackstone’s Strategic Capital Group
AECOM in its $175 million acquisition of Shimmick Construction
Sycamore Partners in its $3 billion acquisition of Belk, Inc.
Sapporo Holdings Limited in its acquisition of Anchor Brewing Co.
Lion Capital in its investment in Alex & Ani
Platinum Equity and its portfolio company, Interior Logic Group, in Interior Logic Group’s merger with Interior Specialists, Inc.
Lincolnshire Management in its sale of PADI Worldwide to Providence Equity Partners
Clearlake Capital Group in its acquisition of Syncsort, Inc.
Brentwood Associates in its acquisition of Excelligence Holdings Corp.
Longview Power, LLC and certain of its affiliates with an exit financing in connection their Chapter 11 cases
CareTrust REIT Inc. on the closing of its public offering
Prior Experience
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Summer Associate 2012 & 2013
Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Summer Associate 2013
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Recognition
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- 2014California
Education
- Stanford Law SchoolJ.D.2014
Pro Bono Distinction
Co-Editor in Chief, Stanford Journal of Law, Business & Finance
- University of California, Los AngelesB.A., Business Economics; Accounting Minorsumma cum laude2010Phi Beta Kappa