Introduction
John is an officer in the Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate, Securities, Private Equity & Venture Capital, and Corporate Governance & Investigations Groups. John’s practice focuses on working with both public and private companies in a wide range of industries on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, securities, Board of Director duties, monetization of IP, and general corporate matters. His experience includes private and fully registered mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, leveraged and management buyouts, corporate restructurings, capital formation, public and private securities offerings, defensive advisory work, private equity and venture capital transactions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances. John serves as corporate secretary for public and private companies, advises senior management and Boards of Directors on a wide range of corporate issues, and assists sellers and buyers of businesses execute their transactions in an effective and efficient manner. He is also active in the M & A Jurisprudence Subcommittee and other subcommittees of the Mergers and Acquisitions Committee of the ABA’s Section of Business Law.
Education
Bar Admissions
- Minnesota
Practice Areas
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Corporate
- Securities
- Corporate Governance & Investigations
- Private Equity & Venture Capital
Representative Experience
Representative experience includes:
- Represented public companies as outside counsel in their general corporate needs and coordination of all legal services.
- Represented buyers, sellers, financial advisers and director committees in mergers, acquisitions and dispositions of businesses including private and public companies, strategic and financial participants, fully funded and highly leveraged, taxable and tax-free acquisitions and dispositions in technology, communications, manufacturing, retail and service industries.
- Represented companies and underwriters in all aspects of capital formation, including public and private securities offerings for issuers and underwriters in equity, convertible debt and straight debt offerings.
- Represented private equity and venture capital participants, on both buy and sell side.
- Represented companies implementing strategies to most effectively derive value from intellectual property.
- Represented public companies engaged in financial restructurings in and out of bankruptcy.
- Represented Boards of Directors in consideration and adoption of anti-takeover defensive measures, including charter amendments, poison pills and employment and other agreements.
- Represented investment companies and independent directors in connection with numerous mutual fund matters.
Representative clients, acting as lead outside, M & A or securities counsel, include (current and former):
- Arctic Cat Inc.
- Best Buy Co., Inc.
- Golf Galaxy, Inc.
- MTS Systems Corporation
- Munsingwear, Inc.
- Musicland Group, Inc.
- National Presto Industries, Inc.
- Ontrack Data International, Inc.
- Sajan, Inc.
- Schwan Foods Company
- Transport Corporation of America, Inc.
Selected Publications & Presentations
Frequent lecturer at legal education and business association seminars on M & A, corporate finance, securities law, and corporate governance topics, including:
- Presenter, “Exits, IPOs, International Exchanges & More,” 25th Annual Minnesota Venture & Finance Conference, October 12-13, 2011
- “Board of Directors I: Developing and Motivating a Great Board,” The Collaborative, June 4, 2009
- Panelist, “2008 Leadership in Retail Forum,” Argyle Executive Forum, October 25, 2007
- “Successfully Executing the M&A Transaction,” The Collaborative, April 19, 2007
- “Attracting a Great Board and Leveraging It Well Can Make a Tremendous Difference in a Growth Company’s Success,” February 26, 2006
Professional Activities
- American Bar Association, Business Law Section and Mergers & Acquisitions Committee
- Minnesota State Bar Association, Business Law and Corporate Counsel Sections
- Hennepin County Bar Association, Securities Law Section
- Corporate Counsel Association of
Honors & Distinctions
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in
- Named a “Super Lawyer,” Minnesota Super Lawyers magazine (formerly Minnesota Law & Politics)
- Saint Louis University Law Journal, Articles Editor 1980-1981, staff member 1979-1980