Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP’s M&A fields a deep bench of experienced transactional experts who ‘are strong from their junior associates through to its senior partners’ and are capable of advising on all aspects of domestic and cross-border deals, including on corporate, tax, IP, and executive compensation matters. The team, which maintains offices across the US, has extensive expertise in the energy field, as evidenced by its role in advising Pioneer Natural Resources on its $64.5bn merger with ExxonMobil. Robert Little co-heads the group from Dallas, specializing in complex joint ventures, while Houston-based partner Tull Florey is an expert in the oil and gas sectors. Operating out of New York, practice co-head Saee Muzumdar has extensive experience handling transactions the media and tech industries, Barbara Becker frequently handles all-cash acquisitions, and Andrew Kaplan advises on negotiated and contested takeovers.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘The Gibson Dunn team we used was excellent. The corporate lead, Tull Florey, did an excellent job negotiating the acquisition agreement, helping to structure the agreement in a way that added real shareholder value. I also felt like the right members were added to the team and team members were involved at the appropriate level.'
‘They were always available when needed, even though I knew they were working on other transactions. They always responded like you were the only client they had.'
‘They have the talent to process complicated deals. Have access to expertise across the firm. And they are timely and efficient.’
‘Tremendous in-depth knowledge and experience.’
‘Gibson's large M&A practice is incomparable. They don't miss issues, are very practical and work hard to ensure the deals get done. In addition, they are strong from their junior associates through their senior partners.’

Key clients

Pioneer Natural Resources
VMware, Inc.
Special Committee of the Board of Atlas Corporation
Xylem
South Jersey Industries
Elliott Investment Management
Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc.
AT&T
CenterOak Partners
Accenture
Heska
Conflicts Committee of the Board of Directors of Holly Logistic Service
Vista Outdoor Inc.
Ahern Rentals, Inc.
KKR, Knowledge Investors LP
Platinum Equity Advisors LLC
Intrepid Partners
Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co
CTI BioPharma
Marriott International
Quad-C Management, Inc.
Jersey Legends

Work highlights

Advised Pioneer Natural Resources on its $64.5bn merger with ExxonMobil.
Advised VMware on its acquisition by Broadcom Inc.
Advised the Special Committee of the Board of Atlas Corporation on the $10.9bn acquisition of Atlas by Poseidon Acquisition Corp.

Lawyers

Leading partners

The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Barbara Becker

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Barbara L. Becker is Chair and Managing Partner of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Prior to her election to this role, Barbara served as Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Group for over a decade, and also created and led the firmwide Diversity Committee. Barbara Becker advises public companies, boards of directors and special committees on M&A, corporate governance and strategic matters. Her clients include Accenture, General Electric Company, Kraft Heinz, Merck, News Corp., PepsiCo, VMware, Xylem, and investment banks, including Centerview, Guggenheim and Lazard.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Robert Little, Saee Muzumdar

Other key lawyers

Barbara Becker, Tull Florey, Andrew Kaplan