Chad B. Crowell

Kirkland & Ellis is advising GTCR in its definitive agreement to acquire ADT’s Commercial fire and security segment (ADTC) from ADT Inc. (NYSE: ADT), a transaction that values the business at approximately $1.6 billion. ADTC is among the leading national providers of electronic security and fire safety services to commercial enterprises and multi-site national accounts. It was formed through ADT's 2017 merger with Protection 1 (P1), a prior GTCR investment. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023 subject to customary regulatory approvals. Read GTCR’s press release The Kirkland team was led by corporate partners Daniel Guerin, Kyle McHugh and Stephen Ritchie, and also included corporate associates Christopher Grady, Kate Kennedy, Katie Nagley, Andrew Zeller and Anna Grilley; debt finance partners Patrick Loughery and Thomas Dobleman and associates Alex Straka and Alex Bender; tax partners Mike Carew and Polina Liberman and associate Rory Minnis; executive compensation partner Michael Krasnovsky and associates Lauren Cates and Dillon Jones; employee benefits partner Alexandra Mihalas and associates Mackenzie Packard and Hannah Barlow; technology & IP transactions partners Seth Traxler, Aaron Lorber and Matthew Darch and associates John Poulos and Malia Taqbeem; employment and labor partner Sydney Jones and associates Jaime Wamble and Maayan Sachs; real estate partner Rob Miceli and associate Benjamin Stoyenko; environmental partner Carleigh Trappe-Rodriguez and associate Katie McKeen; litigation partner Aaron Marks; international trade & national security partners Mario Mancuso and Luci Hague and associate Chad Crowell; government contracts partner Boyd Greene; antitrust & competition partners Ian John, Jill Ross and Mike Thorpe and associates Catherine Kordestani and Ben Feis; transactional liability insurance partners Hayley Hollender and Jessica Sicsu; and investment funds partners Sean Malone, Mike Pergler and Katy Kim and associates Devon Salge and Zachary Scott Roemer.

Aug 8

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Bain Capital Tech Opportunities on its Series B funding in Defense Unicorns, a leader in airgap software delivery for national security mission systems. The investment brings the company to unicorn status with a valuation exceeding $1 billion, driven by the company's rapid and profitable growth. The new capital will enable Defense Unicorns to further scale and integrate open-source and commercial dual-use technology throughout the U.S. military and allied forces. Read Bain Capital’s press release The Kirkland team included corporate lawyers Chris Elder, Kendahl Mordini, Matthew O’Brien, Luv Karia and Millie Ball; tax lawyers Mike Carew and David Gilbert; capital markets lawyers Sophia Hudson and Sarah Lipinski; technology & IP transactions lawyers Dan Lewis and Jackson Zebovitz; litigation lawyer Nick Niles; executive compensation lawyers Scott Price, Kelsie Harris and Shyion Byfield; employment & labor lawyers R.D. Kohut, Madeline Klebanov and Jon Link; employee benefits lawyers Alexandra Mihalas and Daniel Coleman; government contracts lawyers Rob Ryland and Dana Diaz; and international trade & national security lawyers Ivan Schlager, Justin Campbell and Chad Crowell; sustainability lawyers Abbey Raish and Annah Akhoun-Murat.

Jan 14

1 min

Law360 (October 30, 2025, 5:45 PM EDT) -- A North Carolina federal judge refused to further sanction a Chinese manufacturer on Wednesday after an American rival accused it of sidestepping court orders that seek information in fulfillment of a judgment exceeding $17 million. In a one-sentence text-only order, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. of the Western District of North Carolina said, "As stated in the hearing on the motion, the court will not impose additional sanctions at this time." The decision follows an April request from U.S. pool parts supplier Hayward Industries Inc. to sanction Ningbo C.F. Electronic Tech Co. Ltd. and related parties, with suggestions including the arrest of part owner Richard Chen. Ningbo is the parent company of co-defendant Blueworks Corp., which was first sued by Hayward, a North Carolina manufacturer of saltwater pool chlorination systems, at the end of 2020. Hayward alleged that Blueworks misled customers about replacement salt cell generators, which produce chlorine in swimming pools by converting dissolved salts, that were sold on Amazon. Specifically, Hayward said Blueworks made it appear as though Hayward recommended Blueworks' products as good substitutes for its own. After a February 2024 trial, Blueworks was found liable for false advertising and violations of North Carolina's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The resulting $4.9 million verdict eventually tripled under the law to $17.8 million with interest. Blueworks sought protection under Chapter 11, saying the lawsuit crippled it into insolvency. Judge Cogburn later held Blueworks, Ningbo and Chen in civil contempt for "frustrating" collection efforts on that judgment, and barred the companies from importing and selling in the U.S. until the judgment was fulfilled. In July, Judge Cogburn permitted Blueworks to sell off around $216,000 in excess Amazon inventory. In the most recent motion for sanctions, Hayward cast Ningbo's litigation tactics as "delay and obstruction" to avoid paying up. Hayward said the import ban clearly wasn't enough, arguing that its Chinese competitor didn't produce information on its assets and bank accounts. Hayward had suggested Chen's arrest as a tool to "persuade" the defendants that they can't ignore court orders. Counsel for neither party immediately responded Thursday to a comment request. Hayward is represented by Erik P. Belt, James H. Donoian, Anne E. Shannon and Alexander L. Ried of McCarter & English LLP, and by Patrick G. Spaugh and B. Chad Ewing of Womble Bond Dickinson. Blueworks is represented by Matthew L. Tomsic, Natalie E. Kutcher and Ashley B. Oldfield of Rayburn Cooper & Durham PA. The case is Hayward Industries Inc. v. Blueworks Corp. et al., case number 3:20-cv-00710, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. –Additional reporting by Hayley Fowler and Ryan Harroff. Editing by Karin Roberts. For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.

Oct 30

2 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Gemspring Capital Management, LLC on its acquisition of Fenceworks, LLC, which builds, installs, rents and maintains fencing systems throughout Southern California and the Bay Area for both commercial and residential customers. Read Gemspring’s press release The Kirkland team was led by corporate partners Michael Sartor and Dan Vaczy and associates Molly Boyd and Sydney Hood; tax partners Vin Thorn and Brandon Short; debt finance partner Jason Serlenga and associates Lucas Hinds, Hayley Maybaum and Zemon Lu; employment & labor partner Peter Mee and associate Paul Vasiloff; executive compensation partner Matthew Wood and associate Alexandra Studwell; employee benefits partner Maureen O’Brien and associates Caitlin Pyrce and Annika Morin; environmental transactions partner Paul Tanaka and associate Matt Swanson; technology & IP transactions partners Daniel Lewis and Joanna Schlingbaum and associate Amani Coutinho; real estate partner Jennifer Sheehan and associate Adam Amdur; government contracts partner Boyd Greene; and international trade & national security partners Mario Mancuso and Luci Hague and associate Chad Crowell.

Nov 20

1 min

Law360 (October 30, 2025, 5:45 PM EDT) -- A North Carolina federal judge refused to further sanction a Chinese manufacturer on Wednesday after an American rival accused it of sidestepping court orders that seek information in fulfillment of a judgment exceeding $17 million. In a one-sentence text-only order, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. of the Western District of North Carolina said, "As stated in the hearing on the motion, the court will not impose additional sanctions at this time." The decision follows an April request from U.S. pool parts supplier Hayward Industries Inc. to sanction Ningbo C.F. Electronic Tech Co. Ltd. and related parties, with suggestions including the arrest of part owner Richard Chen. Ningbo is the parent company of co-defendant Blueworks Corp., which was first sued by Hayward, a North Carolina manufacturer of saltwater pool chlorination systems, at the end of 2020. Hayward alleged that Blueworks misled customers about replacement salt cell generators, which produce chlorine in swimming pools by converting dissolved salts, that were sold on Amazon. Specifically, Hayward said Blueworks made it appear as though Hayward recommended Blueworks' products as good substitutes for its own. After a February 2024 trial, Blueworks was found liable for false advertising and violations of North Carolina's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The resulting $4.9 million verdict eventually tripled under the law to $17.8 million with interest. Blueworks sought protection under Chapter 11, saying the lawsuit crippled it into insolvency. Judge Cogburn later held Blueworks, Ningbo and Chen in civil contempt for "frustrating" collection efforts on that judgment, and barred the companies from importing and selling in the U.S. until the judgment was fulfilled. In July, Judge Cogburn permitted Blueworks to sell off around $216,000 in excess Amazon inventory. In the most recent motion for sanctions, Hayward cast Ningbo's litigation tactics as "delay and obstruction" to avoid paying up. Hayward said the import ban clearly wasn't enough, arguing that its Chinese competitor didn't produce information on its assets and bank accounts. Hayward had suggested Chen's arrest as a tool to "persuade" the defendants that they can't ignore court orders. Counsel for neither party immediately responded Thursday to a comment request. Hayward is represented by Erik P. Belt, James H. Donoian, Anne E. Shannon and Alexander L. Ried of McCarter & English LLP, and by Patrick G. Spaugh and B. Chad Ewing of Womble Bond Dickinson. Blueworks is represented by Matthew L. Tomsic, Natalie E. Kutcher and Ashley B. Oldfield of Rayburn Cooper & Durham PA. The case is Hayward Industries Inc. v. Blueworks Corp. et al., case number 3:20-cv-00710, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. –Additional reporting by Hayley Fowler and Ryan Harroff. Editing by Karin Roberts. For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.

Oct 30

2 min