Ross A. Fieldston

Paul, Weiss is advising Homesteaders Life Company in its joint acquisition of Park Lawn Corporation with Birch Hill Equity Partners. The all-cash transaction is valued at approximately C$1.2 billion, including Park Lawn’s net debt. Homesteaders is an Iowa-based mutual insurance company supporting advance funeral planning and end-of-life expenses. Park Lawn is a Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Canadian company that owns and operates cemeteries, crematoria, funeral homes, chapels and event centers throughout Canada and the United States. The transaction is expected to close in August 2024, subject to customary conditions, including court, regulatory and shareholder approvals. The Paul, Weiss team is led by corporate partners Ross Fieldston and Adam Givertz, and includes partner David Tarr, and counsel Christian Kurtz and Marc Shepsman.

Jun 4

1 min

Paul, Weiss is advising a newly formed holding company owned by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo in its all-cash, $6.3 billion acquisition of International Game Technology’s gaming and digital business IGT Gaming, as well as Everi Holdings, one of the largest suppliers of technology solutions for the casino floor. Upon the deal’s closing, IGT Gaming and Everi will be privately owned companies that are part of one combined enterprise, and IGT will change its name and stock ticker symbol, becoming a premier pure play lottery business. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. The Paul, Weiss team is led by corporate partners Ross Fieldston, Ian Hazlett and counsel Rosita Lee, and includes, among others, partners Gregory Ezring, Mark Wlazlo, Danielle Penhall, Brian Janson, David Lakhdhir and Matthew Goldstein, and counsel Lisa Koff, Nathan Mitchell and Zuzanna Knypinski; tax partners Brad Okun, Sohail Itani and Cian O’Connor, and counsel Jamie Chambers; intellectual property partner Claudine Meredith-Goujon; executive compensation partner Rebecca Coccaro and counsel Sasha Belinkie; antitrust partner Annie Herdman and counsel John Magruder and Chad de Souza; litigation partners Gregory Laufer and Andrew Ehrlich, and counsel Charles Crandall and Darren Johnson; and real estate partner Peter Fisch.

Jul 30

1 min

Paul, Weiss advised Apollo on its $700 million capital solution to Sony Music Group, an affiliate of Sony Group Corporation, for investments in the music industry. The investment was made on behalf of Apollo’s affiliated and third-party insurance clients and other investors. The Paul, Weiss team was led by corporate partners Gregory Ezring, Robert Zochowski and Brian Finnegan, and included, among others, partners John Scott, Stefan Arnold-Soulby, Jarryd Anderson, Thomas de la Bastide, Ross Fieldston, Luke Jennings, Matthew Goldstein, Aaron Schlaphoff and Nadeem Waeen, and counsel Justin Fraterman, Elizabeth Scherer, Zuzanna Knypinski, David Levine and Daniel Meade; intellectual property partner Chuck Googe; tax partners Brad Okun and Cian O’Connor, and counsel Patrick Karsnitz; litigation partners Gregory Laufer and Lynn Bayard; restructuring partner Kyle Kimpler; antitrust counsel Chad de Souza and John Magruder; and executive compensation counsel Jake Glazeski.

Jul 26

1 min

Paul, Weiss is advising funds and affiliates managed by Apollo in their joint venture with Intel Corporation related to Intel’s Fab 34 semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility in Leixlip, Ireland. Under the terms of the deal, announced on June 4, the Apollo funds and affiliates will lead an $11 billion investment to acquire a 49% interest in the new entity. The joint venture will have rights to manufacture wafers at Fab 34 to support long-term demand for Intel’s products and provide capacity for customers of Intel’s newly established operating segment Intel Foundry. The Paul, Weiss team is led by corporate partners Ravi Purohit, Ross Fieldston and Gregory Ezring, and includes partners Robert Zochowski and Luke Jennings, M&A counsel Michael Spirtos and Lukas Richards, corporate counsel Nadeem Waeen, David Levine and Nathan Mitchell, and finance counsel Elizabeth Scherer; tax partners Brad Okun and Sohail Itani; intellectual property partners Claudine Meredith-Goujon and Bonnie Chen; litigation partner John Carlin; and executive compensation counsel Jake Glazeski.

Jun 4

1 min

Paul, Weiss advised Hunt Equity Opportunities, LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Hunt Companies, Inc., on its acquisition of a controlling stake in leading staffing and recruitment firm Kelly Services, Inc. Under the transaction, Hunt acquired more than 3 million shares of Kelly’s Class B common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $106 million (with potential additional cash of $15 million if Kelly’s market capitalization reaches $1.2 billion within 48 months) to become Kelly’s controlling stockholder with 92.2% of its Class B common stock, the only class of shares entitled to voting rights. In connection with the closing, the Kelly board was reconstituted to add four Hunt-designated directors, with James Christopher Hunt becoming chairman. The Paul, Weiss team was led by corporate partners Ross Fieldston and Jeffrey Marell, and included partner Raphael Russo; and tax partner Scott Sontag.

Jan 30

1 min