Michael D. Saliba

Gibson Dunn announced today that Dean Masuda has joined the firm’s New York office as a partner in the Finance Practice Group. A leading debt finance lawyer, Dean advises private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies on leveraged acquisition financings. “Dean is an incredibly versatile finance lawyer and an exciting addition to our growing team in New York,” said Aaron F. Adams, Co-Chair of the firm’s Finance Practice Group. “Dean is thoughtful, energetic, and entrepreneurial, and his deep experience navigating large cap syndicated and privately placed leveraged acquisitions will be invaluable to our clients as they look for market opportunities.” “Gibson Dunn has an outstanding reputation and a clear emphasis on transactional growth, with private equity as a primary driver, and I’m thrilled to begin the next chapter of my career as a member of the fast-growing team,” said Dean. “As funds continue to deploy capital in today’s market, choosing the right financing structure can be critical to realizing success. The synergies between Gibson Dunn’s finance and dealmaking teams are seamless, resulting in creative solutions that help clients best meet their investment objectives. I look forward to working alongside these exceptional, collaborative colleagues to continue the upward trajectory of the firm’s premier transactional platform.” The firm’s transactional practices in New York have experienced significant synergistic growth with the addition of more than a dozen lateral partners over the past few years. Recent arrivals include capital markets partner Michael Saliba, private credit partner Ryan Kim, M&A partner George Sampas, private equity partner Brian Scrivani, and special situations partner Caith Kushner. About Dean Masuda Dean represents private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies as they navigate complex leveraged financing transactions. He has represented some of the most well-known investment firms in the market. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Dean served as a partner at an international law firm. He earned his law degree from Columbia Law School in 2015, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. Download PDF

Jun 30

1 min

Surmodics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRDX), a provider of medical device and in vitro diagnostic technologies to the healthcare industry, has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by GTCR, a leading private equity firm with a long track record of investment expertise across healthcare and healthcare technology. Under the terms of the agreement, affiliates of GTCR will acquire all outstanding shares of Surmodics. Surmodics shareholders will receive US$43 per share in cash, for a total equity valuation of approximately US$627 million. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of calendar year 2024, subject to customary closing conditions. Latham & Watkins LLP represented Oak Hill Advisors, L.P. and other financing sources in the transaction with a finance and hybrid capital team led by partners Stelios Saffos, Peter Sluka, Michael Saliba, and Zachary Judd, and counsel Marcela Ruenes, with associates Christian DeSimone, Ben Winnett, and Katherine Page. Advice was also provided on tax matters by partner Jiyeon Lee-Lim, with associate Nicholas Sun; and on uniform commercial code matters by partner Brian Rock.~~

May 30

1 min

Gibson Dunn is pleased to announce that Michael Saliba has joined the firm’s New York office as a partner in the Capital Markets Practice Group. Michael advises clients on a range of complex capital markets transactions, including registered and private equity financings such as high-yield debt, preferred stock, and other private credit transactions, and special situations and restructuring transactions. “Michael’s broad-based finance practice perfectly aligns with the continued growth in our M&A, private equity, and restructuring practices, and we are thrilled to welcome him to Gibson Dunn,” said Andrew L. Fabens, Co-Partner in Charge of the New York office and Co-Chair of the firm’s Capital Markets Practice Group. “We are in a new world of capital markets. As U.S. markets rise and regulatory hurdles fall, deepening our premier transactional platform with an experienced, technically talented, and versatile capital markets lawyer like Michael will greatly benefit clients seeking to navigate today’s financing environment.” “I’m delighted to begin the next chapter of my career alongside this extremely talented, collaborative, and elite Gibson Dunn team,” said Michael. “Gibson Dunn’s strength across key transactional areas, including capital markets, private credit, debt finance, and project finance offers the ideal platform to accelerate my practice. With the markets in growth mode, complexity in financing deal transactions is only expected to increase, making this an exciting time to be a capital markets lawyer.” The firm’s transactional practices in New York have experienced significant synergistic growth with the addition of more than a dozen lateral partners over the past few years. Recent arrivals include private credit partner Ryan Kim, M&A partner George Sampas, private equity partner Brian Scrivani, and special situations partner Caith Kushner. Gibson Dunn’s preeminent capital markets team provides a deep understanding of all complex capital markets deals for clients ranging from multinational corporations to startups, and from investment banks to private funds, across various industries and jurisdictions. This includes IPOs and other equity transactions, investment grade, high-yield, and other debt, converts, preferred stock, PIPEs, and liability management transactions. About Michael Saliba Michael has developed a wide-ranging practice advising issuers, underwriters, sponsors, and investors on a range of complex domestic and cross-border capital markets and hybrid finance transactions. He also regularly counsels clients on a variety of corporate and securities law matters, as well as high-yield debt covenant and debt structuring analyses. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Michael served as a partner at another leading international law firm. He earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 2007. Download PDF

Mar 17

2 min

Gibson Dunn advised Apollo Capital Management, L.P. and Apollo Global Securities, LLC (collectively, Apollo) in connection with the financing for the take-private of Soho House & Co Inc. (Soho House), an international private members’ club. Funds managed by affiliates of Apollo provided capital in the form of a $695 million senior secured OpCo notes facility, a $220 million senior HoldCo notes facility (a portion of which was provided by another investor), and a common equity investment, the proceeds of which were used to refinance certain of Soho House’s existing indebtedness and also fund, in part, the take-private transaction. The take-private transaction has an implied $2.7 billion enterprise value.~~Our corporate team was led by the firm’s Head of Hybrid Capital, partner Michael Saliba, and included associates James Sullivan, Lily Paulson Stephens, Melody Karmana, and Storey Wanglee. Partners Jennifer Sabin, Sandy Bhogal, and James Chandler advised on tax aspects of the transactions. Partner David Irvine and associates Charles Kim, Yinn Lim, and Olwethuthando Ndlovu advised on U.K. law matters. Partner Sebastian Schoon, of counsel Daniel Rogits, and associate Laura Kylmänen advised on German law matters.~~Download PDF~~

Feb 2

1 min

Latham & Watkins represented UGI Corporation (NYSE: UGI), a distributor and marketer of energy products and services, in connection with the high yield offering of US$500 million of senior notes due 2028 by certain of UGI’s AmeriGas subsidiaries (the issuers) and the related tender offer for the issuers’ outstanding senior notes due 2024. The notes offering and the tender offer closed on May 31, 2023. The Latham capital markets team was led by Houston partners Ryan Maierson and Kevin Richardson and New York partner Michael Saliba, with associates Paul Rafla, Jie Lin Nai, and Christina Schrantz. Advice was also provided on banking matters by Houston partner Catherine Ozdogan and Houston counsel Bryce Kaufman; on tax matters by Houston partners Tim Fenn and Bryant Lee, with associate Molly Elkins; on benefits matters by New York partner Bradd Williamson, with associate Madeline Hong; and on environmental matters by Los Angeles/Houston partner Josh Marnitz.~~

Jun 5

1 min