Jonathan L. Davis, P.C.
Overview
Jonathan is an extremely talented and commercial attorney.” - Chambers and Partners
Jonathan Davis is a corporate partner in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. His practice primarily focuses on public and private company M&A transactions and activist defense. Jonathan also advises corporations and their directors on general corporate and governance matters.
Over the course of his career, Jonathan has advised on transactions having an aggregate value of more than $750 billion. In recent years, he has participated in some of the largest and most high profile M&A transactions in history, including Anheuser Busch InBev’s $123 billion acquisition of SABMiller, Bristol Meyers Squibb’s $90 billion acquisition of Celgene, AbbVie’s $63 billion acquisition of Allergan and H.J. Heinz’s $60 billion merger with Kraft.
In 2021, Jonathan was one of six M&A attorneys recognized in Bloomberg Law’s inaugural “They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40” awards, and was profiled by Insider as one of 29 M&A lawyers “leading the way on billion-dollar M&A deals.” He was recognized as a 2020 “Dealmaker of the Year” by The American Lawyer, which called him an “M&A star” and “extraordinarily bright,” and he was one of five M&A attorneys nationwide chosen as a Law360 MVP in 2019. Chambers and Partners has listed Jonathan as a top M&A attorney in 2020–2024, and clients praise him for being “an incredible talent.” He has been repeatedly recognized by The Legal 500 U.S. for his work in M&A generally and in the technology sector from 2016–2024 and received a “Leading Lawyer” ranking for M&A in 2023 and 2024. After naming him a “Rising Star” in 2017–2019, IFLR1000 has recognized Jonathan as “Highly Regarded” in 2020–2024.
Experience
Representative Matters
Public M&A Transactions Since 2015
- Anheuser‑Busch InBev in its $123 billion acquisition of SABMiller
- Bristol Myers Squibb in its $90 billion acquisition of Celgene
- Honeywell in its $90 billion proposal to acquire United Technologies
- AbbVie in its $63 billion acquisition of Allergan
- H.J. Heinz Company in its $60 billion merger with Kraft Foods Group to create The Kraft Heinz Company
- Amcor in its pending $37 billion merger with Berry Global
- Controlling stockholder of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE), Vincent McMahon, in $21+ billion merger of WWE and UFC to form a global live sports and entertainment company
- Mead Johnson Nutrition in its $17.9 billion sale to Reckitt Benckiser Group plc
- Bristol Myers Squibb in its $13.1 billion acquisition of MyoKardia
- Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Spectrum Brands in connection with the $10 billion merger of Spectrum Brands and HRG Group
- Bristol Myers Squibb in its $5.8 billion acquisition of Mirati Therapeutics
- Bristol Myers Squibb in its $4.1 billion acquisition of Turning Point Therapeutics
- Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. in its PIPE investment from L Catterton as part of Norwegian’s multi-tranche financing for aggregate proceeds of up to $2.4 billion
- Pinnacle Foods in its $975 million acquisition of Boulder Brands
- Special Committee of Board of Directors of Verso Corporation in response to an unsolicited takeover bid and subsequent $825 million sale to BillerudKorsnäs
- Fortive Corporation in its $770 million acquisition of Landauer
- Alliant Techsystems in the spin‑off of its Sporting Group to its shareholders and merger of its Aerospace and Defense Groups with Orbital Sciences through a tax‑free Morris Trust merger of equals
- Avaya Holdings Corp. in its strategic partnership with RingCentral, Inc.
- Keysight in connection with acquisition of Cliosoft
- Special Committee of the Board of Directors of MSC Industrial Supply in connection with MSC’s dual-class reclassification transaction with its controlling shareholders
Cross-Border Transactions Since 2015
- Delhaize Group in its $29 billion merger of equals with Royal Ahold
- Allwyn Entertainment in its proposed $9.3 billion combination with Cohn Robbins Holdings Corp.
- Amcor Ltd. in its $6.8 billion acquisition of Bemis Co.
- Investindustrial Acquisition Corp. in its $3.2 billion combination agreement with Ermenegildo Zegna Group
- Amer Sports, along with its investor consortium, in its $420 million sale of Amer’s Precor division to Peloton
- Ahold Delhaize in its acquisition of FreshDirect
- Anheuser‑Busch InBev in its asset swap with Ambev
- Arya Sciences Acquisition Corp. in its combination with Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH
Carve-Out Transactions Since 2015
- Bristol Myers Squibb in its $13.4 billion divesture of Celgene’s OTEZLA® program to Amgen
- Anheuser‑Busch InBev in its $12 billion divestiture of SABMiller’s U.S. and global Miller branded businesses to Molson Coors
- Wynn Resorts in its proposed $3.2 billion combination of its Wynn Interactive business with Austerlitz Acquisition Corporation
- Spectrum Brands in its $2 billion carve-out sale of its global consumer battery business to Energizer
- Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel) in its $1.95 billion sale of its wireless business to T-Mobile USA
- Stanley Black & Decker in its $1.95 billion acquisition of the Tools business of Newell Brands
- ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp IV it its proposed acquisition of Amicus Therapeutic’s Gene Therapy Business
- Avon in the sale of 80% of its North America business to Cerberus Capital Management and in the PIPE investment by Cerberus in Avon’s international business
- Wyndham Destinations in its acquisition of the Travel + Leisure brand and related assets from Meredith Corporation
Private M&A Transactions Since 2015
- General Motors in connection with a series of transactions involving GM Cruise, GM’s autonomous vehicle (AV) business, including:
- $2.25 billion investment from the SoftBank Vision Fund (at a $11.5 billion valuation)
- $2.8 billion investment from Honda (at a $14.6 billion valuation)
- $1.15 billion investment from new institutional investors. including T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., as well as existing investors (at a $19 billion valuation)
- $2 billion investment from Microsoft (at a $30 billion valuation)
- Colfax Corporation in its $3.15 billion acquisition of DJO Global Inc.
- Fortive Corporation in its $2 billion acquisition of Accruent; $570 million acquisition of Intelex Technologies; and combination of its Tektronix Video business with Telestream
- Allwyn in its acquisition of Camelot UK Lotteries Limited from Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
- Allwyn in its acquisition of the Camelot Lottery Solutions group of companies from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board
- IBM in its acquisitions of Bluewolf, Resource/Ammirati, Cleversafe, Meteorix and Explorys
- Le Tote Inc. in its acquisition of Lord + Taylor
- Vista Outdoor in its acquisition of Camp Chef
- Aon on its pending sale of The Townsend Group to an investor group led by The Riverside Company
- RLS Radiopharmacies in its pending sale to Telix Pharmaceuticals
Private Equity Sponsor Transactions Since 2015
- Vista Equity Partners in its $8.4 billion acquisition of Avalara, Inc.
- Vista Equity Partners in its pending $8.4 billion acquisition of Smartsheet
- Pamplona Capital Management in its $5 billion acquisition of PAREXEL International
- Sun Capital Partners in its $441 million acquisition of Select Interior Concepts
- Accelya, a portfolio company of Vista Equity Partners, in its acquisition of Farelogix
- Durational Capital Management in its acquisition of Casper Sleep Inc.
- Vista Equity Partners in its acquisition, alongside funds managed by Blackstone, of Ellucian
SPAC Transactions Since 2015
- Atlas Crest Investment Corp in its $1.7 billion combination with Archer Aviation
- Tailwind Two Acquisition Corp. in its $1.58 billion business combination with Terran Orbital Corporation
- Tailwind Acquisition Corp. in its proposed $1.4 billion combination with QOMPLX, Inc.
- Arya Sciences Acquisition Corp. II in its $1.3 billion combination with Cerevel Therapeutics
- Arya Sciences Acquisition Corp. III in its $1.3 billion combination with Nautilus Biotechnology
Prior Experience
Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
More
Recognition
Variety’s “Legal Impact Report 2024: Meet Hollywood’s Top Entertainment Attorneys”
Corporate/M&A – New York, Chambers USA, 2020–2024
Mergers and Acquisitions, IFLR1000, 2017–2024
M&A: Large Deals ($1bn+) [Leading Lawyer], The Legal 500 U.S., 2016–2024
They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40 (M&A), Bloomberg Law, 2021
MVP, Mergers and Acquisitions, Law360, 2019
Mergers and Acquisitions, Law360, 2017–2018
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- New York
Education
- New York University School of LawJ.D.
- University of Wisconsin-MadisonB.B.A.