Bernadette Coppola

Kirkland & Ellis advised iconic apparel brands leader HanesBrands (NYSE: HBI) on the sale of the company’s global Champion business to Authentic Brands Group. The transaction value is $1.2 billion with the potential to reach up to $1.5 billion through an additional contingent cash consideration based on achievement of performance thresholds. The definitive agreement was announced June 5, 2024. The agreement has been unanimously approved by the HanesBrands board of directors and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2024 subject to customary closing conditions. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team was led by corporate partners Allie Wein, Daniel Wolf and William Lay; and associates Alan Heisman, Nick LaPietra and Natalie George; antitrust & competition partners Jack Coles, Andrea Murino and Alasdair Balfour and associate Mariana del Carmen Fernandez; executive compensation partners Rob Fowler and Jared Whalen and associate Matt Mutino; tax partners Sara Zablotney and Vivek Ratnam; technology and IP transactions partners Seth Traxler and Bernadette Coppola and associates Mike James and Justin Garfinkle; employee benefits partner Matt Antinossi; and employment & labor partner Christie Alcala.

Jun 5

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis is advising private equity firm GTCR on the proposed $180 million acquisition of Cloudbreak Health, LLC, a leading provider of tech-enabled, healthcare-focused language interpretation services. The definitive agreement was announced on November 16, 2023. Cloudbreak is being carved out of UpHealth Inc (NYSE: UPH). The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024 following customary regulatory and stockholder approvals and closing conditions. Cloudbreak’s core offering is Martti™ (My Accessible Real-Time Trusted Interpreter), a HIPAA-compliant Video Remote Interpretation solution that connects patients with interpreters in over 250 languages across its network of more than 1,000 interpreters. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team is being led by corporate partners Dan Guerin and Neil Vohra and restructuring partners Ross Kwasteniet and Chris Koenig and includes corporate associates Ben Vizvary, Jack Silverman and Dan O’Dea, with support from corporate partners Rachael Coffey, Sanford Perl and Michael Weed; restructuring associate Aaron Metviner; technology & IP transactions partners Aaron Lorber and Bernadette Coppola; capital markets partners Bob Goedert and Kevin Frank; debt finance partner Tom Dobleman and associate Tasha Serafin; and tax partners Michael Carew and Polina Liberman.

Nov 17

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised private investment firm Forward Consumer Partners on the acquisition of artisan baking business Firehook Bakery. The transaction was announced April 17, 2024. Pierre Abushacra, Firehook’s founder, will retain a significant minority ownership stake in the company. Firehook marks the first acquisition from Forward’s $425 million Fund I, which was oversubscribed and closed at its hard cap in December 2023. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team was led by corporate partner Amanda Border and associates Kendahl Mordini, Sydney Hood and Ross Taylor; tax partner Liam Murphy; debt finance partners Kathryn Leonard and Grant Bowen; and technology & IP transactions partner Bernadette Coppola.

Apr 17

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis represents global consumer-focused investment firm L Catterton in its definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in [solidcore] from VMG Partners, Kohlberg & Company, and Peterson Partners. The company is a national network of fitness studios providing targeted strength training on custom-built reformers. The investment solidifies [solidcore] as the nation's authority in its category and will continue to position the business for growth in the years to come. The transaction was announced September 25, 2024. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team was led by corporate partner Joshua Kogan and associates Sumer Marquette, Aida Kimiagar and Linda Yang; debt finance partner Jason Kanner and associate Ashley Martin; tax partner Vincent Thorn and associate Leon Peschel; technology & IP transactions partners Seth Traxler and Bernadette Coppola; real estate partners John Thomas Goldman and Jacob Clark; and executive compensation partners Scott Price and Matthew Wood.

Sep 26

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Cosm, a leading immersive technology, media and entertainment company, on its multi-year agreement that will see ESPN bring live events across college and professional sports to Cosm's forthcoming immersive venues in "Shared Reality" – an experience which bridges the virtual and physical worlds through Cosm's pioneered technology and 87-foot diameter, 8K+ LED domes. The transaction was announced March 27, 2024. Read Cosm’s press release The Kirkland team was led by technology & IP transactions partners Bernadette Coppola and Seth Traxler and associate Maggie King and corporate partner Ryan Harris.

Mar 28

1 min