Brian C. Patterson

Patterson helped seal a deal that drew massive interest from beauty blogs and barber shops as well as widely-circulated business publications.

Global consumer products producer The Procter & Gamble Co. agreed to buy Walker & Co. Brands, which develops health and beauty supplies. The deal would allow P&G to serve more consumers of color with access to Walker & Co.’s offerings, such as the Bevel brand for men and other hair-care products for women.

Patterson led the team of Gunderson Dettmer attorneys advising Walker & Co., then based in Palo Alto. Selling Walker & Co. to Cincinnati-based P&G was slightly different from many other deals he has worked on.

“P&G isn’t a serial buyer in the Valley, so that made for a dynamic that was particularly interesting,” Patterson said.

Legal teams working on the deal often had different approaches.

“It was really just a difference in the way each of us viewed completing a transaction fundamentally. If you break down the various aspects of an M&A transaction, there were things that were standard to us that weren’t standard to them,” he said.

Attorneys on both sides worked together, and the deal finalized earlier this year. Walker & Co. moved its headquarters to Atlanta. Now a subsidiary of P&G, the company is still led by its CEO and Founder Tristan Walker, who Patterson credits for building a successful business.

“All of the credit goes to Tristan and his team. You had an African American who isn’t from the classic Silicon Valley background,” Patterson said. “He’s someone who made his name by hard work and perseverance and was not discouraged by obstacles.”

Patterson’s practice focuses on emerging companies as well as representing venture capital and private equity investment funds. In addition to M&A deals, he handles corporate formation and governance, equity and debt financings, public offerings, as well as other ventures. He is on Gunderson Dettmer’s management committee and is also one of its hiring partners. Patterson is committed to diversity and inclusion efforts in legal and technology sectors.

“Think about diversity and inclusion. That’s an area and way of doing business where everyone benefits,” he said. “I’m really passionate about that.”

— Melanie Brisbon