Sep. 12, 2013
Richard E. Climan
See more on Richard E. ClimanWeil, Gotshal & Manges LLP | Redwood Shores | Practice type: Corporate
Last year was a tale of two law firms for Climan, as he jockeyed between two high-profile deals while his law firm was collapsing around him.
"It was surreal," said Climan, recalling the demise of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, and his subsequent move - along with three fellow mergers and acquisitions partners, among others - to Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in May 2012.
"The most important thing to me and the team was not leaving any of our clients in the lurch, regardless of what was happening around us," Climan added.
While all of this was being played out in a very public way, Climan said, he also was handling two headline-grabbing matters.
Climan led the representation of Illumina Inc., a San Diego-based gene-mapping equipment maker, in its successful defense against Roche's $6.2 billion hostile takeover attempt.
The company had tried to acquire the outstanding shares of Illumina, originally offering to pay shareholders $44.50 in cash per Illumina share, later raising its offer to $51 per share, Climan said.
"Roche launched this hostile multi-pronged attack, combined with a proxy fight to replace directors and change Illumina's bylaws," he said.
In his successful defense of Illumina, Climan said, "We showed that Roche's offer was not high enough, and that Illumina's long-term prospects were too bright and that Roche had undervalued the company."
He added. "It was a battle fought on many different fronts. But Illumina remains today an independent company. It won the battle."
In the other big deal, Climan was lead M&A lawyer for the Los Angeles Dodgers in its more than $2 billion sale to a consortium.
The buyers included basketball star Magic Johnson, baseball executive Stan Kasten, movie executive Peter Guber and financial services firm Guggenheim Partners.
Meanwhile, Climan and his partners were being ardently courted by competing law firms.
"Dozens of law firms were pursuing our group," he recalled. "We had a relatively short period of time to orchestrate a move and finish our work."
Climan said they ultimately decided on going with Weil because of the quality of the law firm, its company culture and "international footprint."
"So many transactions we work on have a cross-border element to them," he added. "It was important to have a firm with transnational capabilities."
- PAT BRODERICK
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