Thomas J. Dobleman, P.C.

Kirkland & Ellis is advising consumer brand owner WHP Global on the joint acquisition of New York-based fashion brand rag & bone. WHP is partnering with Guess?, Inc. (NYSE: GES) to purchase the brand and will jointly own rag & bone’s intellectual property. The transaction was announced on February 16, 2024. The brand directly operates 34 stores in the U.S. and two stores in the U.K., and is also sold in retail stores globally. The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of Guess?’ 2025 fiscal year subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team is being led by corporate partners Keri Schick Norton, Michael Chung and Hamed Meshki and associates Kristie Shu, Joseph Grib and Ellen Jeong; intellectual property partner Shellie Freedman and associates Nisha Chandra and Jeremy Korn; tax partners Vivek Ratnam and Mike Beinus; and debt finance partners Andrew Hurley and Thomas Dobleman and associate Andrew Won.

Feb 16

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Bain Capital on a $250 million minority growth investment in Sikich LLC, a global technology-enabled professional services company. This investment positions Sikich to leverage Bain Capital’s deep resources while accelerating continued and aggressive growth, enhancing operational excellence and cementing its professional services leadership position in an industry undergoing rapid consolidation. Sikich maintains majority control of the company and its existing executive and leadership teams, led by Chief Executive Officer, Christopher Geier. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team was led by corporate partner Adam Clifford, debt finance partner Thomas Dobleman and capital markets partner Tommy Felix; and included capital markets associates Sara Šepac and Van Whiting; corporate partner Matthew O’Brien and associates Brandan Matthews and Ben Martin; debt finance associate Matthew Kita; tax partner Mike Carew and associate Natalie Kannan; and executive compensation partners Jackson Phinney and R.D. Kohut.

May 9

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Once Upon a Farm, PBC, a leading baby and toddler food brand co-founded by actress Jennifer Garner, on its IPO of approximately 11 million shares of common stock at a public offering price of $18.00 per share. Once Upon a Farm’s common stock began trading on the NYSE on February 6, 2026. The stock opened at $21 per share, up 16% from its initial public offering price. The shares closed on the first day of trading up 17%. Read Once Upon a Farm’s press release The Kirkland team included capital markets lawyers Bob Hayward, Bob Goedert, Ashley Sinclair, Jackson Fountain, Ana Sempertegui, Katie Conterio, Mollie Goldfarb, Grace O’Connor and Muhammad Musani; corporate lawyers Ted Frankel, Kyle McHugh and Kate Kennedy; investment funds lawyers Nicholas Hemmingsen, Jasmina Resic and Peter Gauss; executive compensation lawyers Stephen Jacobson, Stephanie Jeane and Diana Soriano; tax lawyers Sara Zablotney and Brittany Nguyen; debt finance lawyers Thomas Dobleman and Patrick Loughery; technology & IP transactions lawyers Seth Traxler, Amber Harezlak and Eliza Holland; and sustainability lawyers Abbey Raish and Menaka Nayar.

Feb 9

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis represented Linden Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry, on its acquisition of Alcresta Therapeutics, Inc., a leader in commercializing novel enzyme-based products designed to address challenges faced by patients living with gastrointestinal disorders and rare diseases. Read Linden’s press release The Kirkland team was led by corporate partners Brett Nelson and Robert Wilson; tax partner Chris Worek; and debt finance partners Thomas Dobleman and Daniel Schwimmer.

Mar 18

1 min

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