Mark Schwed, P.C.

Representative Clients

Mark’s representative clients have included:

American Securities, Amherst, Aterian Investment Partners, Avista Capital Partners, Berkshire Partners, Blackstone, Centerbridge Partners, Charlesbank, Cornell Capital, CPP Investments, Genstar Capital, Goldman Sachs, Gores Group, MGM Resorts International, MGM Growth Properties LLC, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, Providence Equity Partners, Providence Strategic Growth Partners, SoftBank Vision Fund, Tishman Speyer and TPG.

Representative Matters

Since joining Kirkland, Mark has been involved in the following representations:

• Patient Square Capital in connection with the following:
  • its acquisition of SOC Telemed
  • its acquisition of Summit BHC
  • as lead investor, in the $100 million Series B financing round for Kriya Therapeutics
• Viking Global Investors, together with Casdin Capital, in the $250 million convertible preferred equity investment in Fluidigm Corp.
• Wendel Group, alongside Gridiron Capital-backed Colibri Group, in the $1 billion acquisition of the financial services segment of Adtalem Global Education, which includes the acquisition of Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists by Wendel, and Becker Professional Education and OnCourse Learning by Colibri
• Arsenal Capital Partners in its acquisition of Eckhart
• Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe in its growth investment in LINQ
• American Securities in connection with the following:
  • its acquisition of Hexion Holdings Corp.
  • its acquisition of r-pac International
  • its acquisition of Trace3
  • Prince International Corp.’s pending $2.1 billion acquisition of Ferro Corp.
• Gamut Capital Management in connection with the following:
  • its acquisition of Davis-Standard
  • Grede’s acquisition of Neenah Enterprises's commercial vehicle business and the supporting capital assets, select portions of its industrial casting business and the Advanced Cast Products business
• L Catterton in connection with the following:
  • its acquisition of majority stake in HGGC-backed Beauty Industry Group
  • its acquisition of Kodiak Cakes
• American Securities and P2 Capital Partners-backed Oregon Tool in its sale to Platinum Equity 

Prior to joining Kirkland, Mark’s representative transactions included:

Private Equity

• American Securities in connection with the following:
  • its $2.5 billion take-private acquisition of Air Methods Corporation
  • in its acquisition of Chromaflo Technologies Corporation
  • in its acquisition of Henry Company LLC
  • its acquisition of MW Industries, Inc.
  • its acquisition of NAPA Management Services Corporation
  • its acquisition of Emerald Performance Materials LLC and its subsequent $300 million sale of CVC Thermoset Specialties and its sale of its specialties, polymer additives and nitriles business lines
  • its $1.37 billion take-private of Foundation Building Materials and its acquisitions of the Interior Products Business of Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc.
  • its acquisitions of Grede Holdings LLC, HHI Group Holdings, and Metaldyne LLC and their combination to form Metaldyne Performance Group Inc. (MGP)
  • Metaldyne Performance Group Inc. in its $170 million initial public offering and in its $3.3 billion sale to American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc.
  • its acquisition and subsequent sale of Ulterra Drilling Technologies
  • its acquisition and subsequent sale of its majority stake in Aspen Dental Management Inc.
  • its acquisition and subsequent sale of Tekni-Plex, Inc.
  • its acquisition and subsequent $1.6 billion sale of Royal Adhesives & Sealants, LLC
• Berkshire Partners in connection with the following:
  • its sale of its portfolio company National Vision to an affiliate of KKR
  • its sale of Vi-Jon Inc.
  • its sale of SRS Distribution Inc. to Leonard Green & Partners
  • its recapitalization, along with Warburg Pincus, of Consolidated Precision Products Corp.
  • its sale of Farm Boy Inc.
  • its $3.85 billion sale, with OMERS Private Equity, of Husky IMS International Ltd. to Platinum Equity
  • the formation and subsequent sale of Torres Unidas to Andean Tower Partners LLC
  • its acquisition of VetStrategy
  • Parts Town LLC in its acquisitions of Heritage Food Service Group and the foodservice parts distribution and field service business assets of 3Wire Group Inc.
  • its acquisition of The Portillo Restaurant Group, Inc.
  • together with TPG Growth and other investors, a $275 million investment in and subsequent sale of Precision Medicine Group, Inc.
  • its acquisition of Teraco Data Environments (Pty) Ltd.
  • together with WCAS and Tetrad Ventures, a minority investment in U.S. Anesthesia Partners, Inc.
  • in its acquisition of a minority stake in EP Wealth Advisors
  • its acquisition of The Rockport Company
  • its majority recapitalization of National Carwash Solutions Inc.
• Softbank Group Corp. and Softbank Vision Fund in connection with the following:
  • the $3.3 billion acquisition of Fortress Investment Group, marking the first time a publicly traded U.S. private equity and asset-management firm was taken private
  • the $2.25 billion investment in GM Cruise Holdings LLC (Cruise) together with a $1.1 billion investment in Cruise by General Motors (GM)
  • the investment in the Advanced Technologies Group of Uber Technologies Inc., together with Toyota Motor Corporation and DENSO Corporation
  • the $500 million investment in the autonomous vehicles division of Didi
• Genstar Capital in connection with:
  • together with TA Associates, the acquisitions of Orion Advisor Solutions and Brinker Capital and their combination
  • its sale of the Global Marine and Mobile business of Power Products Holdings LLC to Brunswick Corporation
  • its sale of ECM Industries
  • its sale of Ministry Brands, LLC to Insight Venture Partners
  • its sale of Infinite Electronics, Inc.
• Blackstone in connection with the following:
  • The Blackstone Group in the acquisition by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities of Amergint Technologies, Inc.
  • The Blackstone Group in the acquisition by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities of Aqua Finance
  • The Blackstone Group in the sale of the U.S. Claims business of DRB Financial Solutions to Further Global, and the related financing transaction of DRB Capital
  • Blackstone Growth in its investment in ISN Software Corporation, in a transaction that valued ISN at over $2 billion
  • The Blackstone Group in its investment in Sema4
  • The Blackstone Group in its acquisition of a majority stake in ZO Skin Health, Inc.
  • The Blackstone Group, as controlling shareholder of Vivint Solar, in the approximately $7.5 billion sale of Vivint to Sunrun Inc. via an all-stock transaction
• Oak Hill Capital Partners in connection with:
  • its acquisition of EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants
  • along with EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, the merger of EPIC and JenCap Holdings, LLC (a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group)
  • EPIC’s acquisition of Frenkel & Company
  • its sale of EPIC to Harvest
• Goldman Sachs & Co. in connection with the following investments:
  • its sale of Drayer Physical Therapy Institute to Upstream Rehabilitation
  • its acquisition of Trader Interactive from Landmark Media
  • its acquisition of PSAV, Inc. (f/k/a PSAV Presentation Services) and subsequent sale
  • its acquisition of Restaurant Technologies, Inc. from Aurora Management Partners
  • its acquisition of a significant stake in Zaxby's Operating Company L.P.
• Centerbridge Partners in connection with the following:
  • its sale of P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Inc.
  • its sale of Pei Wei Asian Diner LLC
  • True Food Kitchen’s receipt of a minority investment by Ms. Oprah Winfrey
  • its acquisition of KIK Custom Products, Inc.
  • its $1.2 billion acquisition of IPC Systems, Inc. and IPC System Inc.’s acquisition of Etrali Trading Solutions
• Aterian Invesment Partners in connection with the following:
  • its acquisition of Pioneer Metal Finishing, LLC (PMF) and PMF in its acquisition of Indianhead Plating, Inc.
  • its acquisition of Xpress Global Systems
  • its acquisition of Vander-Bend Manufacturing, Inc.
  • its acquisition of Hain Pure Protein
• Cornell Capital in connection with the following investments:
  • its acquisition of Knowlton Development Corporation Inc.
  • Knowlton Development Corporation’s merger with HCT Group Holdings Limited
  • Knowlton Development Corporation in the acquisition of Benchmark Cosmetic Laboratories
  • Knowlton Development Corporation in the acquisition of CLA
  • Knowlton Development Corporation in the acquisition of Zobele Holding S.p.A.
  • Knowlton Development Corporation in the acquisition of the manufacturing assets of Swallowfield plc
  • Knowlton Development Corporation in the acquisition of Alkos Group
  • its acquisition of PureStar from A&M Capital Partners
• Providence Strategic Growth Partners and its portfolio companies in numerous transactions involving AbacusNext, Anju Software, BackAgent, BirdDogHR, BoldLeads.com, Inc., Boston Logic Technology Partners, Inc., Burning Glass Technologies, DivvyCloud Corporation, eGovernment Solutions, LLC, ExakTime Innovations, Inc., Evercommerce, GlobalTranz Inc., JobCase, Inc., Logic Monitor, Ministry Brands, LLC, Ncourt, LLC, Patron Manager, LLC, Pineapple Payments LLC, Property Brands, Inc. and Vacation Brands (n/k/a InhabitIQ), Property Base GmbH, ShowClix, Inc., SignUpGenius, Inc., ThreatConnect, Inc., YourCause Holdings, LLC, Pixel Labs, LLC, and Shootproof, LLC.
• Providence Equity Partners in connection with the following portfolio companies:
  • its acquisition of the assets of Influence Media Music SPV, LLC
  • together with Ares Management, a $400 million acquisition of convertible preferred shares of OUTFRONT Media, Inc.
  • together with Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, the sale of Ascend Learning, LLC
  • its acquisition of KPA Services
  • its acquisition of a majority stake in n2y
  • its acquisition and sale of Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI)
  • its merger of Callaway and Topgolf Entertainment Group
  • its acquisition of GlobalTranz Enterprises, Inc.
  • its acquisition of an equity stake in RentPath, Inc.
  • its acquisition of a majority interest in DoubleVerify, Inc.
• Technology Crossover Ventures and its portfolio companies in numerous transactions including Peloton Interactive, Inc., Venafi, Inc., TradingScreen, Inc., Bytedance, Ltd., Newsela Inc., Payoneer Inc., One Trust LLC, Vice Media, Inc., Spotify Limited, SiteMinder, and HireVue Inc.
• Charlesbank in connection with:
  • the formation of Bridges Consumer Healthcare and acquisitions by Bridges of the North American rights to ThermaCare HeatWraps and Clarion Brands
  • its significant minority investment, with Oaktree, in City Brewing

Real Estate

• MGM Resorts International in connection with:
  • its $1.05 billion initial public offering of MGM Growth Propeties
  • its $1.175 billion sale of the real property of the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey to MGM Growth Properties LLC. The sale followed MGM Resorts’ $900 million acquisition of the 50% interest in the Borgata that it did not already own from Boyd Gaming Corporation
  • its $1.2 billion sale of MGM National Harbor to MGM Growth Properties
  • its $4.25 billion sale of the Bellagio to a joint venture MGM Resorts formed with Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust and its leaseback of the Bellagio
  • in the formation of a joint venture between MGM Growth Properties LLC and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust to acquire the Las Vegas real estate assets of the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay for $4.6 billion and to lease back these assets to subsidiaries of MGM Resorts
• Brookfield Asset Management Inc. in connection with:
  • its $2.8 billion acquisition of all of the outstanding common shares not already owned by Brookfield Property Partners L.P. of Rouse Properties, Inc., a REIT that owns and manages regional shopping malls in the United States
  • IDI Gazeley (n/k/a IDI Logistics Realty), at the time a part of Brookfield Logistics Properties, in its $302 million sale of its entire Mexican industrial portfolio to FINSA and Walton Street Capital
  • its sale of IDI Logistics Realty to Ivanhoe Cambridge Inc.
• HNA Group in its $6.5 billion acquisition of a 25% stake in Hilton Inc., Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. and Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. (collectively, formerly known as Hilton Worldwide Holdings) from Blackstone
• Front Yard Residential Corporation in connection with:
  • its proposed $2.3 billion sale to Amherst Residential, LLC
  • its $2.5 billion take-private by a partnership formed by Pretium Partners and Ares Management
• AMP Capital Investors in its acquisition of ITS ConGlobal
• Antin Infrastructure Partners in its acquisition of FirstLight Fiber

SPACS

Initial Public Offerings

• TPG Pace Beneficial Finance Corp., a SPAC sponsored by TPG Global, in its $350 million initial public offering
• TPG Pace Energy Holdings Corp., a SPAC sponsored by TPG Global that seeks a target business in the energy, or energy-related, industries, in its $650 million initial public offering
• TPG Pace Holdings Corp., a SPAC sponsored by TPG Global that seeks a target business in the technology, media or business service industries, in its $450 million initial public offering
• TPG Pace Tech Opportunities Corp., a SPAC targeting the tech industry sponsored by TPG Global, in its $450 million initial public offering
• Gores Holdings, a SPAC sponsored by The Gores Group, in its $375 million initial public offering
• Gores Holdings II, a SPAC sponsored by The Gores Group, in its $400 million initial public offering
• Gores Holdings III, Inc., a SPAC sponsored by The Gores Group, in its $400 million initial public offering
• Gores Holdings IV, Inc., a SPAC sponsored by The Gores Group, in its $425 million initial public offering
• Gores Holdings V, Inc., a SPAC sponsored by The Gores Group, in its $525 million initial public offering
• Gores Holdings VI, Inc., a SPAC sponsored by The Gores Group, in its $345 million initial public offering
• Fortress Value Acquisition Corp., a SPAC sponsored by Fortress Investment Group, in its $345 million initial public offering
• Fortress Value Acquisition Corp. II, a SPAC sponsored by Fortress Investment Group, in its $345 million initial public offering
• Fortress Value Acquisition Corp. III, a SPAC sponsored by Fortress Investment Group, in its $230 million initial public offering
• Fortress Capital Acquisition Corp., a SPAC sponsored by Fortress Capital Acquisition Sponsor LLC, in its $400 million initial public offering
• Atlantic Avenue Acquisition Corp., a SPAC sponsored by an affiliate of MC Credit Partners, in its $250 million initial public offering
• RMG Acquisition Corp., a SPAC sponsored by Riverside Management Group, in its $200 million initial public offering

De-SPAC Transactions

• TPG Pace Holdings Corp., a SPAC sponsored by an affiliate of TPG, in its business combination with Playa Hotels & Resorts B.V., having an initial enterprise value of approximately $1.75 billion
• TPG Pace Holdings Corp., a SPAC sponsored by TPG Global, in its business combination with Accel Entertainment, Inc., with the resulting entity having an initial enterprise value of approximately $884 million
• Gores Holdings IV, Inc., a SPAC sponsored by an affiliate of The Gores Group, in its business combination with United Wholesale Mortgage, LLC (UWM), in a transaction that values UWM at approximately $16.1 billion
• Gores Holdings V, Inc., a SPAC sponsored by The Gores Group, in its $8.5 billion business combination with Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A.
• Fortress Value Acquisition Corp., a SPAC sponsored by Fortress Investment Group, in its acquisition of Secure Natural Resources and MP Materials in a transaction that valued the combined company at $1.5 billion
• Avista Healthcare Public Acquisition Corp., a SPAC sponsored by Avista Capital Holdings, in its proposed $924 million merger with Envigo International Holdings, Inc.
• York Capital Management, Valinor Management and Halcyon Capital Management, principal equity owners of NextDecade, LLC, in the $1 billion business combination of NextDecade with SPAC Harmony Merger Corp.
• Irving Place Capital Management and Agiliti Holdco, Inc. (f/k/a Universal Hospital Services, Inc.) in Agliti’s combination with Federal Street Acquisition Corp. (FSAC), a SPAC sponsored by Thomas H. Lee Partners, in a new holding company formed by FSAC named Agiliti Health, Inc., having an implied enterprise value of approximately $1.74 billion
• Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation, a SPAC sponsored by Mudrick Capital, in its acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Hycroft Mining Corporation, with an initial enterprise value of approximately $537 million