Mid-market law firm McGuireWoods has expanded its transactional practice in Tysons Corner, Virginia, with the hiring of a senior counsel.
David Dargatis, who previously practiced law at global firm Arnold & Porter, advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, investments, and restructurings. His clients are active in numerous industries and sectors including financial services, life sciences, defense, intelligence, and cybersecurity.
In a discussion with IFLR1000, Dargatis reflected on the changing pace of M&A on the heels of a 2015 associated with massive deals, such as the announced mergers of Pfizer and Allergan, and Comcast Communications and Time Warner Cable.
“I think perceptions are fairly uniform, nobody’s expecting M&A to run at quite the blistering pace it has been for the past few years. We started to see a bit of cooling off last year. There will still be an active M&A and transactional market in general, just not at the record pace we’ve seen in recent years,” Dargatis said. “A number of areas are active such as technology, broadly defined, government contracting, cybersecurity, and healthcare. The middle market, across sectors, offers many opportunities.”
“Some firms will be looking to divest non-strategic, non-core assets. We will see asset deals or subsidiary deals in next year or two. Valuations are very high right now, the presidential election is looming, and there’s always energy in the background. There will still be a lot of activity, just not the blockbuster deals at the pace and volume we have seen in recent years,” Dargatis added.
Dargatis earned his law degree at the University of Iowa and holds an MBA from Fordham University and a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University.