What do we do?
The Private Equity Transactions practice group represents private equity funds and institutional investors in a full range of transactional work involving both public and private companies, including "going private" transactions, acquisitions and dispositions of subsidiaries and divisions, purchases of businesses from entrepreneurs, sales of portfolio companies  between private equity firms, and transactions effected through bankruptcy.

The firm’s clients includes 13 of the 35 largest global funds (based on Private Equity International’s The PEI 300 2010) which we regularly advise on larger (over $1 billion) transactions and more than 30 middle market sponsors routinely doing $100 million to $1 billion transactions. Our clients include private equity sponsors such as Audax Group, Bain Capital, Berkshire Partners, KarpReilly, Fenway Partners, Thomas H. Lee Partners, TPG Capital, TSG Consumer Partners and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe.  Ropes & Gray is consistently recognized as a leader in Private Equity, which is substantiated by the number of innovative transactions we handle.

• Represented TPG Capital in its $3 billion acquisition, along with Leonard Green & Partners, of J. Crew Group, Inc., a leading clothing retailer. For a description of an associate's role in the transaction, click here.
• Represented TPG Capital in its $1.8 billion acquisition, along with Goldman Sachs, of Ontex N.V., Europe’s market leading hygienic disposable products manufacturer, from Candover Partners Limited. For a description of an associate's role in the transaction, click here.
• Represented Bain Capital in its $1.8 billion acquisition of Gymboree Corporation, a specialty retailer, which operates stores that offer apparel, accessories, and play programs for children. For a description of an associate's role in the transaction, click here.
• Represented TPG Growth in a wide range of transactions including their recent acquisitions of Powerplan Consultants, Inc., Hilex Poly Co., and VPSI.
• Represented Berkshire Partners in its $820 million sale of Electro-Motive Diesel, a premier provider of locomotive technology. For a description of an associate's role in the transaction, click here.
• Represented TSG Consumer Partners in a number of transactions including their recent acquisition of Kenra Ltd. and their sale of Smashbox Beauty Cosmetics.
• Represented Thomas H. Lee in its $1.1 billion acquisition of inVentiv Health, Inc., a pharmaceutical service provider.
• Represented Bain Capital in the $489 million sale of Feixiang Chemicals to Rhodia, one of China's leading makers of amines and surfactants.
• Represented Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe in the $1.3 billion sale of AGA Medical Holdings Inc. to St. Jude Medical Inc.
• Represented Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe in the $1.7 billion leveraged buyout transaction for US Oncology, the largest provider of cancer care services in the U.S.
• Represented Thomas H. Lee in its $928 million bid for CKE Restaurants, operator of the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurant chains.  For a description of an associate's role in the transaction, click here.
• Represented Berkshire Partners, Advent International Corporation and Bain Capital in their $1.1 billion acquisition of SkillSoft PLC, a leading Software as a Service (SaaS) provider of on-demand e-learning and performance support solutions. For a description of an associate's role in the transaction, click here.
• Represented TPG Capital and the CPP Investment Board in their $5.2 billion acquisition of IMS Health Inc., a leading provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.  According to Bloomberg, the deal was the largest LBO of 2009. 
• Represented Bare Escentuals, a portfolio company of Berkshire Partners, in its $1.7 billion sale to Shiseido, manufacturer and marketer of cosmetics, cosmetics equipment, and toiletries in Japan.  For a description of an associate's role in the transaction, click here.
• Represented Bain Capital in its $1.1 billion acquisition of Bellsystem24, the leading call center operator in Japan.  For a description of an associate's role in the transaction, click here.
• Represented Kohlberg & Co. in its $275 million take private acquisition of Centerplate, Inc., leading provider of food and related services including concessions, catering and merchandise services in more than 130 sports facilities. Ropes & Gray also represented Kohlberg & Co. and Centerplate, Inc. in the acquisitions of Boston Culinary Group, John Harvard’s Brew House.  For a description of an associate's role with this client click here.
• Represented Bain Capital in its multi-million dollar acquisition of Higa Industries Co. Ltd., operator of 179 franchised Domino's Pizza stores in Japan.
• Represented Avaya, a portfolio company of Silver Lake Partners and TPG, in its $915 million acquisition of Nortel's enterprise solutions business. Nortel has been under bankruptcy protection since January 2009 and has been trying to sell its main assets since then.