Overview
Connor MacLeod is of counsel in the Private Equity and M&A practices of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s Century City office.
Connor focuses his practice on the representation of private equity funds and their portfolio companies, as well as public and private companies, founders and management groups, in connection with mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, equity financings and securities law matters. He also represents companies in connection with general corporate and business matters. He has represented clients in various industries, including technology, software, healthcare, financial services, data centers and consumer products.
Connor received his law degree from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, where he served as associate editor of the University of Toronto Law Review. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Victoria, with distinction. Connor is admitted to practice law in California.
Education
- University of Toronto Faculty of Law, J.D., 2018
- University of Victoria, B.A. (with distinction), 2015
Representations
Private Equity Representations
- STG Partners in numerous transactions, including its acquisitions of Avid Technology, eProductivity Software, Yodlee, and CaseWorthy, and multiple other acquisitions, dispositions and add-on acquisitions for it and its portfolio companies.
- Francisco Partners in numerous transactions, including its acquisition of OEC and its disposition of Forcepoint’s government and critical infrastructure business, and multiple other acquisitions, dispositions and add-on acquisitions for it and its portfolio companies.
- Vector Capital in several transactions, including its investment in Malwarebytes and multiple add-on acquisitions for its portfolio company WatchGuard, and advised on various internal restructurings and corporate governance matters across its portfolio.
- Invictus Growth Partners in numerous transactions, including its acquisitions of Campfire Interactive, Channelscaler, Novi Labs, ThreatModeler, Structured and Axiad, and multiple other acquisitions, dispositions and add-on acquisitions for it and its portfolio companies.
- Various other private equity sponsors, investment firms, and holding companies, including Oakley Capital, H.I.G. Capital, Vance Street Capital, AllianceBernstein Private Credit Investors, G42 and Sixth Street Partners and their portfolio companies in a variety of M&A transactions.
Corporate Representations
- IEQ Capital in its minority growth investment from Stone Point.
- Hanwha Systems and Hanwha Ocean in their acquisition of Philly Shipyard.
- PartnersAdmin LLC in its sale to TMF Group.
- Chenghe Acquisition II Co. in its de-SPAC transaction with Polibeli Group Ltd.
- CODE Advisors in the sale of a boutique investment bank to the Raine Group.
- Sorrento Therapeutics in its corporate restructuring and related asset sale and subsequent growth equity investments.
- K+S Aktiengesellschaft on the sale of its salt assets to Stone Canyon Industries.*
- Aimia in connection with the merger of its Loyalty Solutions businesses with Kognitiv.*
- Group Mach in connection with the Canderel-led consortium’s acquisition of Cominar REIT.*
- Northview Apartment REIT in sale to Starlight Investments and KingSett Capital.*
- Pan American Silver in its acquisition of Tahoe Resources.*
Investment Banking Representations
- Goldman Sachs, Qatalyst Partners and other leading investment banks in numerous transactions including Skyworks’ acquisition of Qorvo, Rocket Companies’ acquisition of Redfin, IonQ’s acquisition of SkyWater Technology, Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s acquisition of Juniper Networks and SAP’s acquisition of WalkMe Ltd.
Financing Source Representations (M&A Counsel)
- Leading financial institutions (including Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citi, SMBC, J.P. Morgan, Bank of Montreal, Toronto-Dominion Bank, and Wells Fargo) as M&A counsel in connection with committed bridge and acquisition financings for major transactions, including:
- Morgan Stanley in the financing for Fox Corporation’s acquisition of Roku.
- Goldman Sachs and Citi in the financing for BlackRock Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT’s acquisition of AES Corp.
- Bank of America and Morgan Stanley in the financing for Vertex’s acquisition of Crinetics.
- SMBC, Citi, and Goldman Sachs in the financing for Sumisho Air Lease’s acquisition of Air Lease.
- Bank of America and Goldman Sachs in the financing for Lowe’s Companies’ acquisition of Foundation Building Materials.
- Financing sources in the financing for the combination between Waters and BD's Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions.
- Goldman Sachs in the financing for EOG Resources' acquisition of Encino Energy.
- Bank of Montreal in the financing for Brady Corporation’s acquisition of Honeywell’s Productivity Solutions and Services Business.
- Toronto-Dominion Bank and Wells Fargo in the financing for National Fuel’s acquisition of CenterPoint Energy’s Ohio Natural Gas Utility Business.
- J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs in the financing for ONEOK’s acquisitions of Medallion Midstream and Enlink Midstream.