EXPERIENCE

Brian’s recent M&A experience includes advising:

• Apollo Global Management and affiliated funds in numerous high-profile transactions, including:
  • in Apollo’s $11 billion merger with Athene
  • the $1.792 billion of debt financing to support the merger of New Media Investment Group, Inc., owner of the newspaper chain GateHouse Media, and Gannett Co., Inc.
  • in the initial closing of an $816 million convertible equity portfolio financing agreement with NextEra Energy Partners, one of the largest global renewable energy producers
  • in their acquisition of Global IID Holdco, LLC, a Texas-based provider of alcohol monitoring solutions, and its subsidiaries, including 1A Smart Start, LLC
  • in their acquisition of a majority-stake in AS Graanul Invest, an Estonia-based producer of sustainable wood pellets
  • in their acquisition of a majority stake in Reno De Medici S.p.A., an Italy-based producer of recycled cartonboard in Europe
  • in their commitment to invest up to $500 million in senior secured credit facilities originated by Victory Park Capital, a global investment firm with an extensive track record in asset-backed credit origination for emerging and established companies
  • in their $338 million take-private acquisition of The New Home Company Inc., a homebuilder with operations in California, Arizona and Colorado
  • in their majority acquisition of ABC Technologies Holdings Inc. from ABC Group Canada LP (ABC LP), an affiliate of funds managed by Cerberus Capital Management, L.P.
  • in their acquisition of the aluminum can and aluminum rolling businesses from Showa Denko K.K., a Japan-based producer of functional chemicals and industrial materials
  • the sale of Endemol Shine Group, which was co-owned by The Walt Disney Company and funds managed by affiliates of Apollo, to France-based Banijay Group
  • the acquisition of leading Italian gaming company Gamenet Group S.p.A
  • the acquisition of an 80.1 percent interest in Lumileds, a leading supplier of LED components and automotive lighting, from Royal Philips, in a transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $2 billion
  • the acquisition of internet photo products pioneers Shutterfly, Inc., Snapfish, LLC, with the Shutterfly transaction valued at $2.7 billion and Shutterfly in its $225 million acquisition of Spoonflower, a global marketplace offering custom, print-on-demand fabric, wallpaper and home decor designed by global independent artists
• Maiden Holdings, Ltd., a Bermuda reinsurance company, in the sale of the renewal rights to its U.S. treaty reinsurance underwriting business to Transatlantic Reinsurance Company
• Virtu Financial, Inc., a New York-based technology-enabled market maker, in several transactions, including:
  • the $400 million sale of its fixed income trading venue BondPoint to Intercontinental Exchange
  • its approximately $1.4 billion all-cash acquisition of retail electronic trading firm KCG Holdings, Inc.
  • its approximately $1 billion acquisition of Investment Technology Group, Inc., a New York-based financial technology company

Brian’s recent hybrid capital experience includes advising:

• Apollo Global Management and affiliated funds in numerous high-profile transactions, including:
  • a $1.25 billion secured note financing for Wolfspeed, Inc., a leader in the worldwide adoption of silicon carbide and gallium nitride technologies
  • in their $300 million structured solution in the form of a senior secured loan and structured warrants to Circulus Holdings, PBLLC, a portfolio company of Ara Partners and a company which utilizes cutting-edge technologies to transform olefin plastics into resins suitable for a variety of commercial and industrial applications
  • on behalf of certain funds and accounts it manages in a $6.5 billion joint bid alongside Knighthead Capital Management and Certares Opportunities, as sponsor to Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.’s chapter 11 plan of reorganization and to fund the company’s exit from bankruptcy
  • in leading a $225 million preferred equity investment in Capital Integration Systems LLC (CAIS), a leading online financial services platform, through the purchase of newly-created preferred units issued by CAIS
  • in connection with commitments in respect of a $2.5 billion preferred equity issuance to support the acquisition of Citrix by affiliates of Vista Equity Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital
  • in their commitment to invest up to $470 million in U.S. Acute Care Solutions (USACS), a national leader in physician-owned emergency medicine, hospitalist and observation services
  • in their €500 million investment in Sazka Group A.S., a Czech Republic-based lottery operator
  • as lead investors, in the $1.75 billion preferred investment in Albertsons Companies, an Idaho-based food and drug retailer
  • the $300 million investment in Cimpress plc, a worldwide leader in the mass customization and production of print, signage, merchandise and other marketing products for small business, graphic designers and consumers through a number of brands, including Vistaprint
  • the $1.2 billion investment, alongside Silver Lake Partners, in Expedia Group, a Washington-based online travel shopping company for consumer and small business travel

Brian’s fund formation and investment management experience includes advising:

• Apollo Global Management and affiliated funds in numerous high-profile transactions, including:
  • in the formation of its Sponsor and Secondary Solutions business (S3), a dedicated secondary and fund finance capital solutions platform totaling $4 billion, including a cornerstone investment from ADIA
  • in its strategic and financial partnership with Sofinnova Partners, a France-based life sciences venture capital firm
  • in the formation of Apollo Accord strategy, a series of dislocation credit funds totaling over $5 billion
  • in the formation of Apollo Investment Fund IX, L.P.
  • in the formation of Apollo Hybrid Value Fund I, a credit and equity fund totaling $3.25 billion, and Apollo HVF II, targeting $5 billion
  • in the formation of Apollo Impact Fund, a social impact fund targeting $1.5 billion
  • in the formation of Apollo Infrastructure Opportunities Fund II, an infrastructure-focused private equity fund totaling $2.6 billion
  • in connection with the launch of HarbourView Equity Partners, a New Jersey-based alternative asset manager focused on investment opportunities in the media and entertainment space founded by Sherrese Clarke Soares
  • in its strategic partnership with a specialist private equity firm focused on financial technology investments, with Apollo acquiring a 24.9% minority stake in their management company and Apollo becoming limited partners in their managed vehicles
• Blackstone Alternative Asset Management in connection with numerous investment transactions and fund formation matters

Brian’s restructuring experience includes advising:

• Hexion Holdings LLC, the world’s leading producer of thermosetting resins, and a leading producer of adhesive and structural resins and coatings, in connection with the company’s chapter 11 cases, through which Hexion restructured over $3.8 billion of debt and successfully emerged from chapter 11;
• Claire’s Inc., one of the world’s leading specialty retailers of fashionable jewelry and accessories for girls, teens, and young women, and certain of its affiliates, including in their chapter 11 cases
• Certain noteholders holding a majority of notes issued by Mood Media Corporation, a leading global provider of in-store media and marketing services with $650 million in funded debt obligations, in connection with a comprehensive debt and equity restructuring of the company through proceedings in Canada and the United States
• Preferred Sands, a Pennsylvania-based producer of sand and resin coated proppants, in a comprehensive restructuring that included the restructuring of indebtedness of more than $1.4 billion and the carve-out of certain of its in-basin production assets into a new entity, Signal Peak Silica, LLC

Brian’s SPAC experience includes advising:

• Algoma Steel, Inc., a Canada-based steel producer, in its combination with Legato Merger Corp., a New York-based special purpose acquisition company
• Apollo Strategic Growth Capital, a special purpose acquisition company, in its IPO and $5 billion business combination with American Express Global Business Travel, a B2B travel platform, to form a publicly traded company
• Pine Technology Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, in its merger with The Tomorrow Companies Inc., a Massachusetts-based platform for global weather and climate security, to form a publicly traded company with a pro-forma equity value of $1.2 billion