Joseph A. Coco has served as lead lawyer for more than 25 years on high-profile acquisition and disposition transactions, private equity matters and financings for both public and private companies. Mr. Coco has worked on numerous negotiated and hostile acquisitions (ranging in size from $100 million to $20 billion), initial public offerings and complex REIT transactions. He counsels companies on a wide range of corporate, securities law and corporate governance matters. Mr. Coco also has represented a number of investment banking clients.
Mr. Coco repeatedly has been selected for inclusion in Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business and Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a leading corporate, mergers and acquisitions and private equity buyout lawyer. Additionally, he has been recognized as a leading mergers and acquisitions lawyer in The Best Lawyers in America.
Mr. Coco has represented a diverse range of clients in transactions involving a variety of industries. For example, he represented:
- HCP, Inc. (an S&P 500 REIT) in its $6.1 billion acquisition of the real estate assets of HCR ManorCare, Inc. (2011), honored as one of the “Top Ten Deals” of the year by Institutional Investor; in its $350 million senior notes offering (2014); in its $800 million senior notes offering (2013); in its $1 billion equity offering and $360 million equity offering; in its $1.5 billion equity offering (2010) and $1.2 billion equity offering (2011); in its $2.4 billion senior notes offering (2011); and in various other present acquisition and corporate matters;
- Vanguard Health Systems, Inc. in its $4.3 billion acquisition by Tenet Healthcare Corporation (2013);
- Penn National Gaming, Inc. in its $4 billion separation into two publicly traded companies, a REIT and a gaming operator (2013);
- Brookdale Senior Living Inc. in its $2.8 billion acquisition of Emeritus Corporation (2014); in its $1.3 billion acquisition of American Retirement Corporation (2006); in its $825 million add-on and secondary offering (2006); in various notes offerings; in its $204 million acquisition of senior housing assets from Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. (2009); and in its initial public offering (2005);
- SeaCube Containers, Ltd. in its $1.7 billion acquisition by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (2013) and in its initial public offering (2010);
- Fortress Investment Group LLC in its 80 percent acquisition of American General Finance Inc., a company with $20 billion in assets, from American International Group, Inc. (2010) and subsequent initial public offering of Springleaf Holdings, Inc. (2013); in its initial public offering (2007), honored as one of the “Equity Deals of the Year” by International Financial Law Review (the first public listing of an alternative asset investment manager in the United States); in its $220 million add-on offering (2009); in connection with agreements to become the investment manager of $2 billion funds managed by D.B. Zwirn & Co. (2009) and $11 billion funds managed by Logan Circle Partners LP (2010); in the purchase by Nomura Holdings, Inc. of a 15 percent interest for $888 million (2007) and in its $350 million repurchase from Nomura (2014); in its $1.1 billion acquisition of RailAmerica, Inc. (2007); in its $6.8 billion acquisition of Holiday Retirement Corp. (2007); in its $3.5 billion acquisition of Florida East Coast Industries, Inc. (2007); in its $1.01 billion sale of Holiday Retirement Properties to Newcastle (2013); in its $2.4 billion acquisition of Interpool, Inc. (2007); in its $2.8 billion acquisition of Intrawest Corporation (2006) and subsequent initial public offering of Intrawest Corporation (2013); and various other present acquisition and corporate matters;
- RailAmerica, Inc. in its $2.8 billion acquisition by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (2012) and in its initial public offering (2009);
- Emeritus Corporation in its $1.8 billion sale of joint venture senior living assets with Blackstone Real Estate Partners to HCP, Inc. (2012);
- TPG Capital, L.P. in its $475 million acquisition of Assisted Living Concepts, Inc. (2013);
- Akzo Nobel NV in its $1.3 billion sale of National Starch and Chemical Ltd. to Corn Products International, Inc. (2010);
- Calpine Corporation in the unsolicited $11 billion stock offer by NRG Energy, Inc. (2008);
- Danaher Corporation (an S&P 500 company) in its $300 million acquisition of NYSE company Keithley Instruments, Inc. (2010); and its acquisition of Implant Direct Int’l Inc. and combination with Sybron Dental Specialties, Inc. (2010);
- Aircastle Limited in its initial public offering (2006), honored as the “Most Innovative Deal of the Year” by AirFinance Journal; in its $1.6 billion acquisition with Guggenheim Aviation Investment Fund LP (2007); with its $512 million add-on offering (2007); in its $635 million add-on and secondary offering (2007); in various notes offerings; and in the $200 million investment by Marubeni Corporation (2013);
- Global Signal Inc. (a REIT) in its $5.8 billion acquisition by Crown Castle International (2007) and its $1.2 billion cellular tower transaction with Sprint Corporation (2005);
- Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC in its $700 million refinancing, including its $250 million add-on equity offering (2011);
- Apartment Investment and Management Company Inc. (a REIT) in its $1.5 billion acquisition of Casden Properties, Inc. (2002); and in numerous public offerings and limited partnership mergers (2012);
- Seacastle Inc. in its $4 billion combination of Carlisle Leasing International LLC, Interpool, Inc. and Seacastle Holdings LLC (2007);
- Hexcel Corporation in connection with the contested board proxy solicitation by Oscar S. Schafer & Partners II LP (2008); its $450 million secondary offering (2006); and in its $500 million acquisition of Clark-Schwebel, Inc. (1998);
- Morgan Stanley in the $1.3 billion secondary offering of Crown Castle International (2007);
- UDR, Inc. (a REIT), an S&P 400 company, in its $200 million add-on offering (2008);
- Champion International Corporation in its proposed $17 billion merger of equals agreement with UPM-Kymmene Corporation and subsequent $10 billion merger with International Paper Company (2000);
- Uniroyal Chemical Corporation in its $1.4 billion merger with Crompton and Knowles Corporation in 1996 and its initial public offering in 1995; and
- Hospital Corporation of America in its $7.6 billion merger with Columbia-HCA Healthcare Corporation (1995) and the leveraged buyout by its management (1989).