For del Calvo, 2016 was the end of a series of very long stories. The attorney helped sell Alliance Fiber Optic Products Inc., or AFOP, a company he took public 17 years ago, and helped Financial Engines Inc., a company he took public five years ago, make its first major acquisition.
Del Calvo said AFOP survived a downturn in its industry that saw its stock price fall to 40 cents at one point, and eventually sold for more than $18 per share. Corning Inc. bought the company for $305 million.
He helped Financial Engines acquire investment advisement firm The Mutual Fund Store, for $550 million.
He also worked with fellow Pillsbury partner Allison M. Leopold Tilley to help Synnex Corp. acquire IBM's customer care business for $505 million. The business unit consisted of 50,000 employees in 16 countries.
"Not only were you dealing with IBM, a world in its own right, it was just a lot of different moving pieces that had to be coordinated at once."
Del Calvo said his practice would heavily focus on mergers and acquisitions in the coming year, due to the dearth of initial public offerings occurring in the marketplace.
"I think we're going to have the worst year from an IPO standpoint since 2003," he said. "It may even be worse than 2003."
He said three years ago he would have described himself as an IPO lawyer, but his practice has since broadened in a way that complements the current market swing.
"A few years back, I'd be sitting on my hands right now," he said. "Instead, we're beyond busy."
— Joshua Sebold
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