James R. Griffin

Jim’s recent experience includes representing:

• The Dow Chemical Company in its $130 billion all-stock merger of equals with E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
• Applied Materials, Inc. in its proposed $29 billion combination with Tokyo Electron Limited and its $4.9 billion acquisition of Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates
• Gores Guggenheim, Inc., a SPAC sponsored by affiliates of The Gores Group and Guggenheim Capital, in its $20 billion business combination with Polestar Performance AB
• Gores Holdings IV, Inc., a SPAC sponsored by an affiliate of The Gores Group, in its $16.1 billion business combination with United Wholesale Mortgage, LLC (UWM)
• Oracle Corporation in its $9.3 billion acquisition of NetSuite, $5.3 billion acquisition of MICROS Systems, $663 million acquisition of Textura Corporation and $532 million acquisition of Opower, Inc.
• Gores Holdings V, Inc., a SPAC sponsored by The Gores Group, in its $8.5 billion business combination with Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A.
• Advent International in its $6.4 billion acquisition of Maxar Technologies
• Getty Images Inc. in its approximately $4.8 billion business combination with CC Neuberger Principal Holdings II, a SPAC formed by a partnership of CC Capital and Neuberger Berman
• A consortium led by Mubadala Investment Company in the sale of its approximately 60% equity interest in EMI Music Publishing to Sony Corporation of America, in a transaction valued at approximately $4.75 billion
• Gores Metropoulos, Inc., a SPAC sponsored by affiliates of The Gores Group and Metropoulos & Co., in its $3.4 billion merger with Luminar Technologies, Inc.
• Leafly Holdings, Inc. in its business combination with Merida Merger Corp. I, a SPAC sponsored by Merida Capital Holdings
• SoftBank Group Corp. in its $3.3 billion acquisition of Fortress Investment Group LLC
• Gores Holdings VI, Inc., a SPAC sponsored by The Gores Group, in its $2.9 billion business combination with Matterport, Inc.
• Advent International in the $2.7 billion sale of Sovos Brands, Inc. to Campbell Soup Company
• ATI Physical Therapy Holdings, LLC (a portfolio company of Advent International) in its $2.5 billion business combination with Fortress Value Acquisition Corp. II, a SPAC sponsored by Fortress Investment Group
• Core-Mark Holding Company, Inc. in its $2.5 billion sale to Performance Food Group
• SoftBank Vision Fund in its $2.25 billion minority investment in GM Cruise Holdings LLC (Cruise), alongside a $1.1 billion investment in Cruise by GM
• WPX Energy, Inc. in its $2.75 billion acquisition of RKI Exploration & Production, LLC and in its $2.5 billion acquisition of Felix Energy
• LIN Media in its combination with Media General Inc. in a transaction valued at $2.6 billion
• Gores Holdings II, a SPAC sponsored by an affiliate of The Gores Group, in its transaction with Verra Mobility Corporation, with an initial enterprise value of approximately $2.4 billion
• zulily, inc. in its $2.4 billion sale to Liberty Interactive (n/k/a Quarte Retail Group)
• Gores Holdings, Inc. in its acquisition of Hostess Brands, LLC, in a transaction valued at approximately $2.3 billion
• Gores Metropoulos II, Inc., a SPAC sponsored by Gores Metropoulos Sponsor II LLC (an affiliate of The Gores Group and Dean Metropoulos), in its $1.925 billion business combination with Sonder Holdings
• Topgolf International, Inc. (a portfolio company of Providence Equity Partners, Dundon Capital Partners and WestRiver Group) in its $2.5 billion merger of equals with Callaway Golf Company
• Pace Holdings Corp. in its business combination with Playa Hotels & Resorts B.V., in a transaction valued at approximately $1.75 billion
• Gores Holdings VIII, Inc., a SPAC sponsored by The Gores Group, in its pending approximately $1.6 billion business combination with Footprint International Holdco, Inc.
• Gores Holdings III, Inc., a SPAC sponsored by an affiliate of The Gores Group, in its $1.55 billion business combination with Pacific Architects and Engineers, Inc. (PAE) (a portfolio company of Platinum Equity)
• Tidewater Inc. in its $1.25 billion combination with GulfMark Offshore, Inc.
• Jazz Pharmaceuticals in its $1 billion acquisition of Gentium S.p.A.
• RealPage, Inc. in its $580 million acquisition of Buildium LLC and in its acquisition of Investor Management Services, LLC
• Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. in its sale of AT&T SportsNet Southwest to Houston Astros and Houston Rockets
• Basic Energy Services, Inc. in its acquisition of C&J Well Services
• Merz Pharma Group in its topping bid to acquire Obagi Medical Products
• Reid Hoffman, a co-founder and the executive chairman of LinkedIn Corporation, in his capacity as a shareholder of LinkedIn, in LinkedIn’s $26.2 billion sale to Microsoft Corporation
• Riverbed Technology in its $1 billion acquisition of OPNET Technologies
• TPG Global in the acquisition by TPG Pace Holdings Corp., a SPAC sponsored by TPG Pace Group, of the stock of Accel Entertainment, Inc., with the resulting entity having an initial enterprise value of approximately $884 million
• Synopsys, Inc. in its $500 million acquisition of Magma Design Automation and acquisitions of the assets of Red Lizard Software and the low power Bluetooth wireless IP and related assets from Silicon Vision Technologies Ltd and Silicon Vision LLC Egypt
• Advent International in its $700 million sale of Bojangles’ Restaurants, Inc.
• Culligan International Company (a portfolio company of Advent International) in its $1.1 billion take-private acquisition of AquaVenture Holdings Limited and in its sale of Seven Seas Water Corporation
• Blackboard Inc. in its $1.8 billion sale to Providence Equity Partners
• Brink’s Home Security in its $2 billion sale to Tyco International
• Main Event Entertainment, Inc., a subsidiary of Ardent Leisure Group Limited, in Ardent's sale of a 24.2% stake in Main Event to RedBird Capital Partners together with an option for Redbird to acquire a controlling stake within a defined period and its $835 million sale to Dave & Buster’s, Inc.
• ORIX USA Corporation (a subsidiary of ORIX Corporation) in its acquisition of Lancaster Pollard Holdings, LLC
• Primoris Services Corporation in its acquisition of Willbros Group, Inc.
• Koshidaka Holdings Co., Ltd. in the U.S. aspects of its acquisition of Curves and of Curves for Women II, L.C.
• The management team of U.S. Renal Care, Inc., together Bain Capital and other investors in the acquisition of U.S. Renal Care from Leonard Green & Partners and other institutional investors

Jim has been recognized as a leading lawyer for Corporate/M&A in Texas by Chambers USA 2018-2023, where he is described as having “great judgement, deep experience, and is a problem solver”… “a very dynamic and intelligent" lawyer who is "very good on public M&A”. He has also been recognized as a “Best Lawyer” for Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Governance Law in Dallas by Best Lawyers in America* 2008-2024; as a “Highly Regarded” lawyer for M&A in Texas by IFLR1000 2019-2023; and for M&A: Large Deals ($1bn+) by Legal 500 US 2019. Jim has been recognized as a Dallas 500 Business Leader for M&A by D CEO Magazine 2018-2020 and named among a select list of 100 attorneys and executives who have had an impact on business and legal matters in communities across the U.S. by the Business Journals in 2018. He is also recognized for M&A 2020-2023 and Corporate Governance 2021-2023 by Who’s Who Legal and included in Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Dealmakers in America” list.

Jim is a frequent speaker on merger and acquisition topics, and has appeared at a number of national level programs, including the International Bar Association's Mergers and Acquisitions Conference, the University of Texas Mergers and Acquisitions Institute, and numerous programs sponsored by the Mergers and Acquisitions Committee of the ABA. He has also participated in M&A-related presentations at Pepperdine University School of Law, as well as the Stanford and University of Pennsylvania Law Schools.

Jim is a past Vice Chair of the American Bar Association's Mergers and Acquisitions Committee, which comprises more than 4,000 M&A professionals from all over the world. Jim previously served as Chair of the Committee’s Subcommittee on Public Company Acquisitions and M&A Market Trends Subcommittee.

* Best Lawyers (in America) is by Levine Leichtman Capital Partners