McGuireWoods has carried on the expansion of its corporate transactional practice with the addition of an experienced special counsel.
Thomas Zahn, who previously practiced law at Jones Day in Pittsburgh, has crossed over to the McGuireWoods office in the same city. Zahn advises private equity funds, and public and private companies, on M&A, joint ventures, divestitures, investments, recapitalizations, and corporate governance. Zahn’s transactional record includes acting as counsel to RTI International Metals in its $1.5 billion acquisition by Alcoa, and advising ConAgra Foods in its $4 billion joint venture with Cargill and CHS.
“The Pittsburgh market presents a tremendous growth opportunity for our firm. There are a lot of opportunities with strategic players, and there is some private equity presence as well as a lot of portfolio companies. It’s incredibly robust. In the first half of last year and even the first half of this year, deal flow has shown very strong growth, with a large number of strategic acquisitions but also many deals in the private equity space,” Zahn stated in an exclusive interview with IFLR1000.
“Clearly it’s been a seller’s market, with valuations being so high. With sellers conducting exits, it’s been an easy process for them. On the buy side, private equity funds are having to work harder to find value. But the deal flow has been quite robust. In terms of transactions, the first quarter of this year was one of my busiest quarters ever,” Zahn added.
Zahn earned his law degree at Duquesne University and got his bachelor’s degree at Carnegie Mellon University.