Anthony F. Vernace

Anthony Vernace is a Partner in the Firm’s Corporate Department, where he specializes in the representation of private equity firms and public companies in mergers and acquisitions, investments, joint ventures and other corporate transactions. Anthony also regularly counsels clients on corporate governance, shareholder activism and securities law matters. His clients span a wide range of industries and include leading technology, transportation, healthcare, industrial, financial services and consumer products companies. In addition to being profiled by Business Insider for his work as a private equity deal lawyer, Anthony has received recognition for his work on numerous marquee M&A transactions on behalf of both private equity firms and public companies, including being named by the New York Law Journal as one of the 2023 “Dealmakers of the Year,” The American Lawyer as a 2023 “Dealmaker of the Year,” The Legal 500 as a “Next Generation Partner” in both M&A: Large Deals and Private Equity Buyouts, and by Law360 as an “MVP” in M&A (2022) and Private Equity (2014). Most recently, Anthony was recognized among Variety’s Dealmakers of 2023 for his representation of Microsoft in its $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Anthony is recognized by Chambers USA, which lauds him for “his track record in advising on high-end transactional matters on behalf of a range of major sponsors” and reports that he is identified by clients as “a terrific lawyer.” In addition to his legal practice, Anthony regularly serves as a panelist and guest lecturer on corporate and M&A-related topics, including at Harvard, Duke and University of Pennsylvania law schools. Anthony currently serves as a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee, and he was formerly Co-Chair of the Finance Committee and a member of the Recruiting Committee. 

Selected public company M&A transactions include advising:

• ADT in its $15 billion sale to Apollo Global Management

• Apax Partners led consortium in their $6.8 billion acquisition of Kinetic Concepts, Inc.

• Apria in its $1.6 billion sale to Owens & Minor

• Blackstone in its $10 billion acquisition of QTS Realty

• Blue Buffalo Pet Products in its $8 billion sale to General Mills

• Cisco Systems in its $28 billion acquisition of Splunk 

• Genesee & Wyoming in its $8.4 billion sale to affiliates of Brookfield Infrastructure and GIC

• Genesee & Wyoming in its acquisitions of RailAmerica ($1.4 billion), Providence and Worcester Railroad Company ($126 million) and its proposed majority investment by Grupo México Transportes in its CG Railway joint venture

• Microsoft Corporation in its acquisitions of Activision Blizzard ($75 billion), LinkedIn ($28.2 billion); and Nuance Communications ($19.7 billion) 

• TeamHealth in its $1.6 billion acquisition of IPC Healthcare and $6.1 billion sale to funds affiliated with Blackstone and certain co-investors

• TRW in its $13.5 billion sale to ZF Friedrichshafen

• TD Bank Group in its $668 million acquisition of Epoch Holding Corporation

• Twitter’s Board of Directors in its sale to Elon Musk

Other strategic M&A transactions on which Anthony has worked include the representation of:

• American Family Insurance in its acquisition of Bold Penguin
• Ameriprise Financial in its $1 billion acquisition of the long-term asset management business of Columbia Management from Bank of America
• AMERGINT Technologies in its acquisition of the space-based precision optics business of Raytheon Technologies
• Big Heart Pet Brands in its $5.8 billion sale to The J.M. Smucker Company
• Genesee & Wyoming in its acquisitions of the west end of the Dakota ($210 million), the Minnesota & Eastern Railroad from Canadian Pacific, the Arkansas Division of Pinsly Railroad Company and its investment in Cargomatic 
• GFL Environmental Holdings in its acquisition of Waste Industries
• Microsoft Corporation in its acquisitions of Skype ($8.5 billion), ZeniMax Media, Inc. ($7.5 billion), Nokia Corporation’s phone business ($7.2 billion) and GitHub ($7.5 billion), and its $300 million investment in Barnes & Noble’s NOOK business
• The Bank of Nova Scotia in its $5.6 billion FDIC-assisted acquisition of R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico
• Vungle in its acquisitions of JetFuel, Inc. and GameRefinery Oy

Selected private equity M&A transactions include the representation of: 

• Blackstone in its acquisitions of, and investments in, Advarra, Array Technologies, Ascend Learning, AZZ, Bumble, Chainalysis, Chamberlain Group, Clari, Crocs, Cryoport, First Eagle Investment Management, FireEye, Gates Corporation, International Data Group, LifeScience Logistics, Liftoff Mobile, Medline, Patria, Phoenix Tower International, QTS Realty, Simpli.fi, TaskUs, Travelport, Vungle, Walker Edison and 7 Brew
• BC Partners in its investment in EAB; its acquisitions of NAVEX Global and GFL Environmental; PetSmart’s acquisition of Chewy, Inc.; and its sale of Teneo 
• Certares in its $325 million purchase of 8% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock in Liberty TripAdvisor
• The Invus Group in its investment in Cava Group, Inc.
• Atairos Group in its acquisition of General Atlantic’s approximately 26% ownership stake in TriNet Group, Inc. for approximately $440 million
• Apax Partners and ALM Media in ALM Media’s sale to Wasserstein & Co.
• Emerson Electric Co. in the sale of a majority interest in its Embedded Computing & Power business to Platinum Equity
• Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Vestar Capital Partners and Centerview Partners in their $5.3 billion acquisition of Del Monte Foods Company
• Hellman & Friedman in its $640 million acquisition of Internet Brands, Inc.
• Corsair Capital as the lead investor in National City's $7 billion capital raise
• TPG Rise Climate in its acquisition of AmSpec

Anthony received his J.D. in 2005 from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He received his B.S., summa cum laude, from Fordham University in 2002. Anthony is admitted to practice in New York.