Barbara L. Borden

Over the past two years, Borden has worked on mergers and acquisitions totaling more than $15 billion. The co-chair of Cooley’s M&A practice specializes in both public and private company M&A, cross-border transactions, joint ventures and other complex transactions.

Last year, she helped lead the team that advised cloud communications company BroadSoft Inc. on its sale to tech giant Cisco Systems Inc. The buyer paid an aggregate purchase price of about $1.9 billion under the terms of the agreement, which closed earlier this year.

The deal was particularly complex, Borden said, because the team negotiated with multiple bidders and, in the case of strategic buyer Cisco, had to deal with added antitrust issues.

“We essentially negotiated three separate deals [with] different deal structures and different mixes of consideration, so it was a complicated process,” she said. “I think most people think we just produce documents and serve as scriveners, but it’s a lot more than that.”

She also co-led the M&A team that advised Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc. on its recent acquisition by Mallinckrodt in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.2 billion.

Working near the life science hub in La Jolla, Borden often deals with highly structured private transactions and a large volume of public acquisitions.

“On the public side, there tends to be more companies sold, in part because the whole model for life science companies is they go public sometimes when they don’t even have approved products,” she said. “It’s just part of the natural rhythm of the industry.”

She said the complexity involved in handling such transactions requires sound judgment and organized thinking — skills she has refined over more than 30 years as an attorney.

Borden often carves out a few minutes in the morning to do the New York Times’ mini-crossword puzzle on her tablet. Although her wiles as a wordsmith have not directly translated into securing a 10-figure deal for a client, she sees parallels between the two pursuits.

“I always liken them to puzzles,” she said. “You have to keep a lot of facts straight and be strategic and thoughtful about what you’re doing.”

— Mark Armao