Kaitlin Descovich

Kaitlin frequently writes on legal developments affecting public companies and is a regular contributor to Weil’s Governance & Securities Watch (blog). Kaitlin is recognized for Corporate Governance and Compliance Law by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch 2023. Kaitlin is also experienced in not-for-profit corporate governance. She was a recipient of the Lawyers Alliance for New York’s 2021 Individual Cornerstone Award in recognition of her exceptional pro bono legal services to the nonprofit sector. Kaitlin is also co-head of Weil’s Washington DC Women@Weil affinity group and is a member of the Professional Development Committee.

Kaitlin was previously a member of Weil’s Private Equity and Mergers & Acquisitions practice and worked on a variety of public and private transactions, as well as with private equity funds, in connection with acquisitions and divestitures. Prior to joining Weil, Kaitlin was a corporate public and media relations manager at Weber Shandwick where she managed media relations strategies for a broad range of companies and special situations, including leadership transitions and general media visibility for CEOs and other senior leaders.

Kaitlin advised on the corporate governance and securities regulation issues in connection with the following recent transactions:

• Advent International in the $2.7 billion sale of Sovos Brands, Inc. to Campbell Soup Company
• American Securities LLC in its $860 million sale of General Chemical Corporation to Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund
• Avista Healthcare Public Acquisition Corp. in its acquisition of Organogenesis Inc. and its proposed merger with Envigo International Holdings, Inc.
• Cardtronics plc in its $2.5 billion sale to NCR Corporation
• Dow Inc. in its approximately $40 billion spin-off from DowDuPont Inc. as part of DowDuPont's separation into three independent, publicly traded companies, one each for its agriculture, materials science and specialty products businesses
• Eli Lilly and Company in its $5.4 billion acquisition of the animal health business of Novartis AG
• Eli Lilly and Company in its $8.2 billion exchange of its approximately 82% remaining interest in Elanco Animal Health Incorporated for Lilly common shares held by its shareholders
• EO Charging in its proposed $675 million business combination with First Reserve Sustainable Growth Corp., a SPAC sponsored by First Reserve Corporation
• Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp., a SPAC sponsored by Bilcar FT, LP and Trasimene Capital FT, LP., in its $7.3 billion combination with Alight Solutions LLC
• Fortress Value Acquisition Corp., a SPAC sponsored by Fortress Investment Group, in its $1.5 billion business combination with Secure Natural Resources and MP Materials
• Healthcare Merger Corp., a SPAC sponsored principally by Shulman Ventures and MTS Health Partners, in its merger with SOC Telemed in a transaction that implies an initial enterprise value of $720 million
• Irving Place Capital Management and Agiliti Holdco, Inc. (f/k/a Universal Hospital Services, Inc.) in Agliti’s combination with Federal Street Acquisition Corp. (FSAC), a SPAC sponsored by Thomas H. Lee Partners, in a new holding company formed by FSAC named Agiliti Health, Inc. (n/k/a Agiliti, Inc.), having an implied enterprise value of approximately $1.74 billion
• L’Oréal USA in its acquisition of NYX Cosmetics
• Levine Leichtman Capital Partners in its sale of Luminator Technology Group to Audax Group
• Magellan Health, Inc. in its $2.2 billion merger with Centene Corporation
• MSP Recovery, LLC in its $32.6 billion business combination with Lionheart Acquisition Corp. II, a SPAC sponsored by Lionheart Equities
• Sears Holdings Corporation in the $5.2 billion sale of its core assets to ESL Investments Inc., in connection with its chapter 11 proceedings
• TPG Inc. in its approximately $2.7 billion acquisition of Angelo, Gordon & Co., L.P.
• Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (n/k/a Bausch Health Companies) in its $495 million acquisition of the worldwide rights to the cancer vaccine, Provenge, and certain other assets from Dendreon Corporation
• Victor Technologies Group, Inc. (at the time a portfolio company of Irving Place Capital) in its approximately $947 million sale to Colfax Corporation
• York Capital Management, Valinor Management and Halcyon Capital Management, principal equity owners of NextDecade, LLC, in the $1 billion reverse merger of NextDecade with SPAC Harmony Merger Corp.

Kaitlin has played a key role advising on the following recent IPOs:

• Austerlitz Acquisition Corporation I, a SPAC sponsored by Trasimene Capital Management, LLC, in its $629 million initial public offering
• Austerlitz Acquisition Corporation II, a SPAC sponsored by Trasimene Capital Management, LLC, in its $1.3 billion initial public offering
• Elanco Animal Health Incorporated, the animal health division of Eli Lilly and Company, in its $1.7 billion initial public offering to finance, primarily, its purchase of the portion of Lilly's animal health businesses Elanco is acquiring in connection with its spin-off from Lilly
• Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp. II, a SPAC sponsored by Trasimene Capital FT, LP II, in its $1.5 billion initial public offering
• Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp., a SPAC sponsored by Bilcar FT, LP and Trasimene Capital FT, LP., in its $1 billion initial public offering
• Fortistar Sustainable Solutions Corp., a SPAC sponsored by an affiliate of Fortistar LLC, in its $259 million initial public offering
• Goldman Sachs, as selling stockholder, in the $125 million initial public offering of ProSight Global, Inc.
• INC Research, LLC (a portfolio company of Avista Capital Partners and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan) in its $173 million initial public offering
• Lantheus Holdings, Inc. (a portfolio company of Avista Capital Partners) in its initial public offering
• Marquee Raine Acquisition Corp., a SPAC sponsored by an affiliate of The Raine Group LLC and Marquee Sports Holdings SPAC I, LLC, in its $374 million initial public offering
• Portillo’s, Inc. (a portfolio company of Berkshire Partners) in its $466 million initial public offering
• Sovos Brands (a portfolio company of Advent International) in its $322 million initial public offering
• TPG Inc. in its $1.1 billion initial public offering
• TPG Pace Beneficial II Corp., a SPAC sponsored by TPG Pace Group, in its $400 million initial public offering
• TPG Pace Solutions Corp., a SPAC sponsored by TPG Pace Group, in its $285 million initial public offering
• Trebia Acquisition Corp., a SPAC sponsored by affiliates of Trasimene Capital Management and Bridgeport Partners organized to acquire target businesses in the financial services, technology, software, data, analytics, services and related industries, in its $518 million initial public offering, together with a $75 million forward purchase agreement with an affiliate of Cannae Holdings, Inc. 

Kaitlin received her J.D. from New York Law School, cum laude, where she served as the Editor in Chief of the New York Law School Law Review, and her B.A. from Dartmouth College.