Brett F. Roberts

Brett helps clients buy and sell businesses. He has counseled public-company, private-equity and other clients in public and private M&A transactions on both the buy- and sell-side. His M&A experience has involved a wide variety of industries, including manufacturing, technology, agriculture, food, construction, health care, marketing, and insurance businesses.

In addition to his M&A experience, Brett assists entrepreneurs with entity formation and capital raising, and he also regularly serves as outside general counsel to his business clients, including by providing advice on commercial agreements and by helping clients manage director and shareholder relationships with operating agreements, buy-sell agreements and other governance documents. Before joining the firm, Brett was an attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.

• $825 million “carve out” acquisition of a business of distributing electrical-transmission products
• $190 million acquisition of a Canada-based insurance company
• $142 million acquisition of a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of beverage-refrigeration products for the residential industry
• $132 million acquisition of an Indiana-based manufacturer of valves and other water-flow solutions
• $127 million acquisition of an Arkansas-based provider of outdoor-advertising services
• $74.1 million acquisition of a manufacturer of beverage-dispensing equipment
• $47 million acquisition of a Minnesota-based provider of healthcare services
• $47 million acquisition of an appliance distributor
• $40.5 million acquisition of a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of components for the defense and aviation industries
• $40 million acquisition of the U.S. operations of a provider of hygiene and sanitization products
• $35 million acquisition of a Texas-based provider of product-design services
• $34 million acquisition of an insurance agency
• $31.5 million acquisition of an Illinois-based food-ingredients business
• $27.4 million acquisition of an Australia-based manufacturer of cooking and dishwashing equipment for the commercial foodservice industry
• $26.5 million acquisition of a California-based provider of HVAC services
• $24 million acquisition of a manufacturer of wooden pallets and related logistics products
• $20 million acquisition of a Colorado-based manufacturer of battery chargers
• $15 million acquisition of a manufacturer of water-jet cutting equipment for the food-processing Industry
• $12.7 million “carve out” acquisition of a U.K.-based business of manufacturing slicing equipment for the food-processing industry
• $12.5 million acquisition of a Washington-based manufacturer of coffee and espresso machines
• $12.5 million acquisition of a manufacturer and servicer of avionics, pumps and other components for the aviation and defense industries
• $12 million acquisition of a provider of internet marketing services
• $12 million acquisition of a California-based architectural-millwork business
• $11.75 million acquisition of a manufacturer of specialty door solutions
• $11.2 million acquisition of an India-based supplier of foodservice equipment
• $10.7 million acquisition of an Ohio-based manufacturer of wooden pallets
• $10 million acquisition of a manufacturer of agricultural products
• $9.5 million acquisition of a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of battery sensors
• $9.5 million acquisition of an Oklahoma-based public relations firm
• $6.75 million acquisition of a manufacturer of aviation equipment
• $6.5 million acquisition of an Indiana-based manufacturer of environmental sensing and monitoring solutions
• $5.5 million acquisition of a New York-based manufacturer of deck ovens for the commercial foodservice industry
• $4.7 million acquisition of a developer of supply-chain software
• $3.9 million acquisition of a distributor of beverage products
• $3.0 million acquisition of a U.S.-based textiles company by an India-based client
• $3.0 million acquisition of a provider of a capital-raising platform
• $2.0 million acquisition of a provider of erosion-control services
• $1.6 million acquisition of a provider of materials-testing services
• $1.2 million acquisition of a fitness center
• $1 million acquisition of a provider of agricultural-construction services
• $1 million acquisition of a provider of septic-maintenance services

Education

• The University of Iowa College of Law, J.D., 2010, with high honors
• The University of Iowa, B.A., 2007, with honors and distinction

Admissions

• Illinois, 2010
• Iowa, 2016
• Minnesota, 2016

Clerkships

• Law Clerk, Honorable Michael J. Melloy, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 2010-2011

• Great Plains Super Lawyers Rising Star, Mergers & Acquisitions, 2017-2020
• Justice Holland Prize for Corporate Scholarship, 2010
• Order of the Coif

Professional Activities

• Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute, Governance Chair, Board of Governors
• Iowa Law Review; Senior Articles Editor (Vol. 95), Student Writer (Vol. 94)

Community

• State Judicial Nominating Commission
• Judicial Nominating Commission, District 5C
• Iowa Prayer Breakfast Committee
• Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute, Board of Governors, 2019-2021; Community Leadership Program, 2017-2018