Neill Jakobe is the office managing partner for the Chicago office and an Industry Group Leader for Private Equity. Focusing on private equity buyouts and strategic M&A, Neill has helped steer clients through complex deals ranging in size from tens of millions to more than a billion dollars.
Neill’s global client base includes private equity sponsors and public and private companies across various industries, such as health care, life sciences, financial services and manufacturing.
Neill offers clients rare insight into the dealmaking process. In addition to his legal experience structuring, negotiating and closing complex deals, Neill has firsthand transactional experience from his work as an investment banker with the Financial Sponsors Group at Morgan Stanley.
He has evaluated acquisitions from a financial perspective, developed financial models, arranged equity and debt financing, and worked on a number of transactions (including IPOs, LBOs and other M&A) on the finance side.
Neill’s understanding of the business side of a deal allows him to anticipate his clients’ needs throughout the life cycle of a transaction and take a pragmatic approach in complex negotiations.
Neill’s earlier experience as a securities litigator also benefits clients with corporate governance issues, as he can help identify and analyze the types of securities issues that often lead to litigation in this era of shareholder activism and an activist plaintiffs’ bar. Early in his career, Neill was a member of litigation teams handling high-profile securities fraud matters, including a number of actions arising from the bankruptcy of Enron.
A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Michigan Law School, Neill has lived and worked in the Midwest for the last 15 years, and he possesses an in-depth knowledge of the region’s private equity and venture capital communities.
EDUCATION :
- JD, cum laude, University of Michigan Law School, 2002; Awarded Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) Fellowship with Chicago Volunteer Legal Services
- BA (Finance and Business Economics), cum laude, University of Notre Dame, 1998; Dean’s List, Honors from College of Business Administration; Member,Notre Dame Club of Chicago ; Notre Dame Alumni Advisor
ADMISSIONS : Illinois, 2002
PROFESSIONAL & CIVIC ACTIVITIES : Chicago Corporate Advisory Council for Cradles to Crayons
Experience :
- Acting for Baring Private Equity Asia on its and PAI Partners’ acquisition of World Freight Company International, the global leader in the General Sales and Service Agent market
- Represented GHO Capital in its (i) acquisition of DNA Diagnostics Centers and (ii) acquisition of Caprion Biosciences.
- Represented Cressey and Company in a variety of transactions, including the (i) acquisition of D4C, (ii) acquisition of PurFoods, (iii) sale of VetCor, (iv) sale of Encompass Home Healthcare, (v) sale of Homecare Homebase, and many others.
- Represented Baring Private Equity in a number of transactions, including Baring’s (i) investment in St. George’s University, (ii) investment in Solera Holdings, (iii) investment in BPO business of Telus International and (iv) IP business of Thomson Reuters.
- Represented BV Investment Partners in a number of matters, including (i) sale of Butterfield Fulcrum group and FORS Limited, (ii) investment in Critical Mix, (iii) investment in geoLogic systems, and (iv) investment in C-4 Analytics.
- Represented Pfingsten Partners in its (i) acquisition and sale of Allied Reliability Group, (ii) sale of Technibus Inc. and (iii) acquisitions of Crane 1 Services.
- Represented Coca Cola Bottling Company in its acquisition of bottling assets and territory rights from Coca Cola Company in Northern Florida, Central Florida and Southern Florida.
- Represented Nypro, Inc., an employee-owned manufacturing company, in its $665 million sale to Jabil Circuit, Inc.
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