Practice Areas

Maslon's Business & Securities Group lawyers have developed an expertise in representing management groups in management and leveraged buyouts. A management buyout typically has three distinct groups, each with separate business and legal interests: the company being acquired, management, and the MBO/LBO fund or other institution financing the acquisition. While the company and the financier historically have had legal representation, management has frequently lacked adequate legal counsel or relied upon conflicted advice.

Our approach to representing management in a buyout is multi-disciplinary. MBOs require a unique range of corporate and tax advice to properly structure senior and junior debt levels, senior equity, common stock, warrants and options. We typically build a team to work with management consisting of lawyers experienced in:

1. corporate and mergers & acquisitions law to help negotiate and navigate the fundamental structural aspects of a MBO/LBO;
2. financial services law to work with the financier and its counsel in negotiating and structuring the debt;
3. benefits, tax and employment law

A securities attorney may also become involved, regardless of whether the target company is publicly traded or private.