Spencer T. Moats is a partner and business lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP. Spencer practices general corporate and business law, with an emphasis in mergers & acquisitions, securities law, and corporate governance. Spencer is also a member of the firm’s Transactions Practice.
Spencer has completed dozens of public and private mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and other business combination transactions for a wide variety of clients. Spencer has worked with Fortune 500 companies as well as private equity and middle-market publicly traded and privately held clients throughout North America ,Europe, China, India, Brazil, Japan, and South Africa.
Spencer has significant experience as the primary corporate counsel, and mergers & acquisitions counsel to numerous private equity clients. Spencer’s private equity experience crosses many industries, including manufacturing, food & beverage, oil & gas, health care, technology, and hospitality.
Spencer also has particular experience assisting closely held businesses to transition their ownership and management to the next family generation, a third-party acquirer, or an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
In addition, Spencer advises clients regarding state and federal securities law compliance, and routinely assists NYSE and NASDAQ listed clients with the preparation and review of Securities Exchange Act filings.
He also represents issuers in securities transactions, including public and private offerings of equity and debt securities. Spencer has completed offerings with aggregate proceeds in excess of $5 billion. Spencer’s securities law and corporate governance experience also includes counseling clients in connection with takeover defense, and proxy contests.
Education :
Spencer is a graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law (J.D., with high distinction), where he was elected to the Order of the Coif. While in law school, he served as a member and an associate editor for The Journal of Corporation Law.
Spencer obtained his bachelor’s degree in public administration from the University of Northern Iowa (B.A., summa cum laude), where he was awarded the “Purple and Old Gold Award” as the most outstanding graduate in public administration.
Admissions and Professional Memberships :
Spencer is a member of the Milwaukee Bar Association, the State Bar of Wisconsin and the American Bar Association.
Representative Matters :
- Foley represented Omron Management Center of America, Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Japan-based Omron Corporation, which provides automation, sensing, and control products and services to several industries worldwide in the acquisition of Adept Technology. The transaction involved an all cash tender offer followed by a second-step merger.
- Foley represented Milwaukee Bucks President and Owner Herbert Kohl in the sale of the basketball franchise to New York investment firm executives Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens. The deal, announced on April 16, 2014, is valued at approximately $550 million.
- Consistent with his commitment to the Bucks and Milwaukee, Kohl, a former U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, has pledged a $100 million gift for the development of a new arena for the team.
- In addition to honoring Kohl’s requirement that the team be kept in Milwaukee, the prospective new owners have committed to contribute at least an additional $100 million towards the development of a new arena in the city.
- The Foley team was led by Partners Patrick Quick and Kevin Schulz, and also included Spencer Moats, Tyler Parramore, Tim Voigtman, Jason Kohout, George Dionisopoulos, Corey Sheahan, Garrett Bishop, Trish Lane, Nick Faleris, Belinda Morgan, Holden Brooks, and Irwin Raij, among others.
- On March 3, 2010, Oshkosh Corporation sold $250 million aggregate-principal amount of 8.25 percent Senior Notes, due 2017, and $250 million aggregate-principal amount of 8.5 percent Senior Notes, due 2020, in a private placement.
- Subsequently, Oshkosh completed an exchange offer to exchange corresponding notes that it had registered under the Securities Act of 1933 for notes that it had sold in the private placement. Foley assisted Oshkosh in both transactions.
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