CHRIS ABBINANTE is a co-chair of the firm’s Private Equity practice. Chris regularly represents private equity sponsors and corporate clients on complex transactions, including leveraged acquisitions, mergers and divestitures, as well as a wide variety of other corporate matters. He also has significant experience representing emerging companies, entrepreneurs and growth capital investors in connection with their investment activities. Prior to co-chairing the firm’s private equity practice, Chris was a co-chair of Sidley’s Emerging Company practice.
Chris represents private equity and corporate clients in a variety of industries, including healthcare, medical products and devices, financial institutions and services, technology and media/entertainment. His recent experience includes the following transactions:
Multiple transactions by RoundTable Healthcare Partners and their portfolio companies, including the acquisitions of Santa Cruz Nutrionals, Beaver-Visitec International and DPT Laboratories, add-on acquisitions for Argon Medical Devices and Aspen Surgical Products and the sale of Aspen.
Coyote Logistics, a portfolio company of Warburg Pincus, in its acquisition of Access
America Transport.
Multiple transactions by Fortress Investment Group and their portfolio companies, including the acquisitions of Nationstar Mortgage and mortgage servicing assets from Bank of America, Aurora Bank and ResCap (terminated), and the buy-out of Container Leasing International.
Worksite health company partnership between Walgreens and Water Street Healthcare Partners; the sale of Walgreens pharmacy benefits management business; and multiple acquisitions by Walgreens, including USA Drug, drugstore.com, Happy Harry’s Discount Drug Stores, Medmark, Take Care Health Systems and Whole Health Management.
Music festival joint venture between Red Frog Events and AEG / Goldenvoice
PEAK6 Investment’s formation of Apex Clearing Corporation and the associated acquisition of assets from Penson Worldwide.
Additional clients and transactions are detailed below under “Experience.”
Strong leadership in advising private equity clients has earned Chris acknowledgement in numerous industry publications, including Law360, which, in 2010, recognized him as a “rising star” and one of the publication’s 10 corporate finance lawyers under 40 to watch. PLC Which Lawyer has recommended Chris in the area of Private Equity/Venture Capital. He was also selected by his peers to be included in the 2013-2015 editions of The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law. Chris is recommended in mergers, acquisitions and buyouts in the Legal 500 US 2014.
Chris received his J.D., cum laude, in 1997 from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and was Comments Editor and Associate Editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. Prior to attending law school, he received his B.B.A., magna cum laude, from University of Notre Dame in 1994.
