B.A., Georgetown; J.D., Georgetown; M.B.A., New York University
Ann Beth Stebbins is a corporate partner in Skadden’s New York office who concentrates primarily on mergers and acquisitions. Professor Stebbins spent eight years in the firm’s London office and has been involved in a variety of cross-border transactions representing acquirers, targets and financial advisors. Professor Stebbins’ representative transactions include:
• Agere Systems, Inc. in its $4 billion merger with LSI Logic Corporation;
• Alcatel in its $12 billion merger with Lucent Technologies Inc.;
• Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in its $7 billion acquisition by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company;
• Apax Partners LLP in:
• the sale of a majority stake in Advantage Sales & Marketing LLC to affiliates of private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. and funds advised by CVC Capital Partners Limited;
• its acquisition of Advantage Sales & Marketing from J.W. Childs Equity Partners and ML Global Private Equity Fund;
• its acquisition of Tivit, a leading technology service provider in Brazil;
• its acquisition and subsequent disposition of ECi Software Solutions; and
• the formation of Duck Creek Technologies, and its subsequent IPO;
• Bally Technologies, Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of gaming devices, in its $100 million acquisition of Dragonplay Ltd. (Israel), a developer of online games; and its $5.1 billion acquisition by Scientific Games Corporation, a supplier of instantwin lottery tickets and a manufacturer of lottery terminals;
• Basell AF in its $19 billion acquisition of Lyondell Chemical Company;
• Citibank Banking Corporation in its sale of Citi Technology Services, Ltd. to Wipro Limited;
• Colfax Corporation, a manufacturer of fluid handling products, in its $947 million acquisition of Victor Technologies Group Inc., a manufacturer of industrial equipment, from Irving Place Capital, a private equity firm;
• Daimler Chrysler AG in its sale of a majority interest in Chrysler Corporation to a subsidiary of Cerberus Capital Management L.P.;
• Empresas Polar S.A. in connection with the formation of a joint venture with PepsiCo, Inc. and Grupo Embotelladoras Unidas, S.A.B. de C.V. to manufacture and distribute beverages in Mexico;
• Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. in its $370 million acquisition of Indevus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its $168 million acquisition of Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co.;
• FiberMark, Inc., a portfolio company of Silver Point Capital, in the sale of its German and North American subsidiaries;
• Gold Fields Limited in its defense against a hostile $7 billion bid from Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited;
• the special committee of the board of directors of Golden Telecom, Inc. in the sale of Golden Telecom to Vimpel-Communications;
• Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Rothschild as financial advisors to Aventis SA in Sanofi-Synthélabo’s $68 billion acquisition of Aventis;
• Gucci Group N.V.:
• in its successful defense against a hostile takeover attempt by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton S.A.;
• and its independent directors in connection with Pinault-Printemps-Redoute’s acquisition of the publicly held shares of Gucci; and
• in numerous acquisitions of European luxury goods companies, including Sanofi Beauté (which includes the Yves Saint Laurent clothing and perfume businesses), Balenciaga S.A., Stella McCartney Ltd., Alexander McQueen Ltd. and Bedat S.A.;
• J. C. Penney Company, Inc. in its acquisition of the Liz Claiborne and Monet trademarks from Liz Claiborne, Inc.;
• Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc. in its $3.9 billion sale to The Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman;
• SeaCube Containers, Ltd. in its $1.7 billion acquisition by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan;
• the independent members of the board of directors of Time Warner Cable Inc. in its $45 billion acquisition by Comcast Corporation;
• Valeant Pharmaceuticals International in the sale of its European subsidiaries to Meda A.B. and in its collaboration agreement with GlaxoSmithKline for the development of Retigabine;
• Westfield Group in its $5 billion acquisition, together with Simon Property Group and the Rouse Company, of the assets of Rodamco North America, N.V.; and
• WildBlue Communications, Inc. in its acquisition by Viasat Inc.
Professor Stebbins lectures and participates in seminars on topics related to her practice. In 2012, she was recognized as one of five “Outstanding Women Leaders” by Georgetown University Law Center and she was the recipient of the John Carroll Award in 2018. She also has been named as a “Woman Dealmaker of the Year” by The M&A Advisor and a Deal Maker of the year by The American Lawyer.