Independent Sponsors & Capital Providers Dealmakers Meeting

In this role, she oversees an integrated team of transaction, valuation, restructuring, project finance, and dispute resolution professionals serving clients throughout the lifecycles of their businesses. With specific expertise in managing opportunities and roadblocks that can impact a business moving forward, Claudine and her team help clients achieve optimal outcomes in protecting and growing stakeholder value.

With more than 25 years of business experience, Claudine serves as an adviser to public and private companies, both domestically and internationally. Her clients comprise the full gamut of financial sponsors including private equity investors, independent sponsors, family offices, alternative investment funds, lenders, and strategic investors. Her areas of knowledge include strategic advisory, quality of earnings analyses, identifying revenue sources and profitability drivers, examining operating cost structure and sustainability factors, investigating business models including cash flow and financial projections, reviewing quality and realization of assets and liabilities, identifying working capital requirements and negotiating positions, post-close working capital verification, and adjustment mechanisms.  

Claudine is a member of CohnReznick’s Executive Board and co-leads the firm’s Financial Sponsors practice,  She was named to Mergers and Acquisitions 2019 list of the most influential women in mid-market M&A, and Crain’s NY 2018 most notable women in consulting. She has authored several articles focused on buy and sell-side due diligence, working capital, and purchase price allocation.

A former co-chair of the Firm’s Emerging Companies Practice Group, Michael also has advised a variety of early stage technology-oriented businesses on capital formation, where he has an extensive background handling private placements, venture capital transactions and public offerings. He has acted as securities counsel for companies subject to the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Michael often fills the role of an “outside general counsel” for early stage and middle market companies, providing advice on business formation, shareholders, partnership and operating agreements, as well as employment agreements and a wide range of commercial agreements, including licensing, supply and distribution agreements.

Among the transactions in which Michael has participated:

• Multiple strategic acquisitions by a publicly held human resources service provider of complementary businesses
• Multiple strategic acquisitions of brokerage firms and investment advisors by publicly owned insurance industry conglomerate
• Multiple strategic acquisitions by a privately owned highly regulated provider of certification services to the gaming industry as well as outside counsel regarding possible private equity based investment in the company
• Multiple strategic acquisitions by a private equity backed provider of court-reporting and other litigation support services
• Multiple transactions by an international private equity fund, including divestitures and recapitalizations
• Multiple rounds of venture capital financings (both equity and debt), recapitalizations and multiple strategic acquisitions by a developer of network performance monitoring software
• Multiple rounds of venture capital financings (both equity and debt) and multiple strategic acquisitions by, and sale through an auction process to a strategic acquirer of, a provider of recordkeeping and administrative services for retirement plans
• Outside general counsel to a privately owned consumer products company following its emergence from bankruptcy and representation of the company in its sale to a private equity fund through an auction process
• M&A transaction counsel to an animal health clinical research organization in its sale to an international strategic buyer seeking an entrance point to the United States markets
• M&A transaction counsel to a specialty steel products manufacturer in its sale to a strategic buyer through an auction process
• M&A transaction counsel to a specialty chemical manufacturer to a private equity backed strategic buyer
• Counsel to a private equity fund in multiple control investment transactions
• M&A counsel to a private equity fund in a platform acquisition of a commercial door manufacturer
• Counsel to an independent sponsor in its initial investment transaction
• Organization of a commercial real estate joint venture and related refinancing
• M&A transaction counsel to a multinational owner and operator of electrical supply houses in its purchase of a regional chain of electrical supply houses
• M&A transaction counsel to a privately owned Internet-based pharmaceutical market research company in its sale to a publicly held multinational media, advertising and marketing conglomerate
• Formation of a strategic alliance between a multinational pharmaceutical company and a privately owned developer of proprietary drug delivery systems and related licensing and equity investment transactions
• Formation of a joint venture between a regional hospital system and a publicly owned owner and operator of health care facilities for the development of multiple ambulatory surgery facilities and related private placement

His work building, selling and running companies has given him first hand knowledge of finance for the lower middle market. He has taken his own experience as founder and owner and applied this knowledge on a broader base to help lower middle market companies. Some select consultancy clients of his include the Department of Defense and U.S. Military, the YMCA, SAP and many others.