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James H. Snelson
Shareholder
Email: jsnelson@fredlaw.com
Office: 612.492.7194
Assistant: Kelly Hall, 612.492.7561
Overview
Jamie helps his clients buy and sell businesses. He has completed deals big and small, from $100,000 investments to acquisitions and divestitures valued at $500 million and more. His financial background and in-house experience allow him to better understand his clients’ goals and manage legal risks to help achieve them.
Jamie regularly represents strategic parties and private equity groups in minority investment, acquisition, exit and divestiture transactions involving companies in a variety of industries, including life sciences, retail and professional services, and manufacturing. In connection with these activities, he also assists clients with commercial arrangements regarding product development, supply, manufacturing and distribution, technology licensing, consulting services, and related matters. Jamie has experience working with boards of directors and management, as well as in-house legal counsel and corporate development professionals.
Jamie is a Shareholder and Co-Chair of Fredrikson’s Life Sciences and Mergers & Acquisitions Groups and has been a member of the firm’s Board of Directors since 2013. He is also the former chair of the firm’s Associate Development Committee. Before joining Fredrikson in 1997, Jamie worked as an accountant and financial analyst for Price Waterhouse LLP and IBM Corp. In 2002, he joined Medtronic, Inc. as in-house legal counsel supporting corporate development activities, and he returned to Fredrikson in 2003.
Experience
REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE
- Assisted Medtronic, Inc. in:
- Public offering of common stock
- Acquisitions of public companies including Sofamor Danek Group, Inc., Arterial Vascular Engineering, Inc., Xomed Surgical Products, Inc., MiniMed Inc., Restore Medical, Inc. and Osteotech, Inc.
- Acquisitions of stock and assets of several private businesses
- Asset and business line dispositions, strategic investment and technology licensing transactions
- Assisted a portfolio company of MVC Private Equity Fund, L.P. in its acquisition of assets from AccuMED Innovative Technologies, LLC, general corporate matters relating to the acquired business, including a product line divestiture, and the subsequent sale of the business to a strategic acquirer
- Assisted a portfolio company of Advent International in its acquisitions of assets from several private companies
- Assisted an independent sponsor in the acquisition of a manufacturing business
- Assisted American Medical Systems in several product line divestitures and strategic investments
- Assisted McGladrey & Pullen, LLP in acquisitions of assets of several private firms and in other matters
- Assisted Thomson Reuters in acquisitions of assets and stock of several private entities
- Assisted Zomax, Inc. in 1998 public offering of common stock, as well as in acquisitions of and investments in several private entities
- Assisted in the reorganization of a software development company and in several subsequent rounds of private investment by individual, strategic and venture capital investors
- Assisted regional retailer in private preferred equity financings
- Advised several clients regarding corporate governance and general corporate law
Articles & Presentations
PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS
- Co-presenter, "Key Issues Driving the M&A Market," Fredrikson & Byron Mergers & Acquisitions Seminar, June 19, 2018
- “Legal Project Management in M&A Transactions,” with Leigh-Erin Irons, presented at Association of Corporate Counsel, Minnesota Chapter, Minneapolis, MN, October 4, 2016
- Panelist, “M&A Research: Nuts & Bolts,” DealLawyers.com, May 3, 2016
- “10 Issues that Medical Device Buyers Should Consider,” Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine, December 2014 (co-author with Derek Devgun, Medtronic, and Daniel Weintraub, Audax Group)
- “Developments in Delaware Law and Practice Affecting M&A,” Minneapolis, MN, October 13, 2014 (co-presenter with Patricia O. Vella, Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell)
- “Tips for Sellers on How to Maximize the Sell-Side Result Along with Tips for Buyers on How to Win the Deal,” Association for Corporate Growth, Minneapolis, MN, June 19, 2012
- “M&A Update 2012,” RR Donnelly SEC Hot Topics Institute, Minneapolis, MN, May 17, 2012
- “Structure and Process Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions,” with Ryan Brauer, presented at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Summit, Minneapolis, MN, February 2012
- “Fiduciary Duties of Directors and Controlling Stockholders,” Practicing Law Institute seminar on Acquiring or Selling the Privately Held Company, Chicago, IL, May 25, 2011
Honors & Education
EDUCATION
- University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., 1997, cum laude
- Purdue University, B.S., Accounting, 1988
BAR ADMISSIONS
- Minnesota, 1997
HONORS
- Managing Editor, Minnesota Journal of Global Trade, 1996-97
Professional Activities
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
- American Bar Association Business Law Section: Committee on Mergers & Acquisitions; Joint Task Force on Governance Issues in Business Combinations
- Minnesota State Bar Association
- Hennepin County Bar Association