William M. Gutowitz
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

Bill Gutowitz is a partner in the Corporate department and head of the firm's Financial Services M&A practice. He has practiced with the firm for over 30 years, having spent time in both the New York and London offices.

Mr. Gutowitz has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance, with a particular emphasis on complex joint ventures and financial services M&A. He serves a variety of clients in the financial services industry, including in particular GE, advising on M&A and joint ventures (including with respect to both commercial and consumer businesses), equipment financing, acquisition financing and equity investments.

Mr. Gutowitz graduated, magna cum laude, from Cornell University with an A.B. in 1978. He received his J.D., magna cum laude, from Cornell Law School in 1981. He is a member of the State Bar of New York, and member of the American Bar Association and its Section of Business Law.

Representative Experience, Advising

  • Mubadala Development Company PJSC, a public joint stock company wholly owned by the Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, as a member of the consortium including the Sony Corporation, in the consortium's $2.2 billion agreement to acquire EMI Music Publishing, the music publishing arm of EMI
  • GE Aviation in its joint venture with Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), a Chinese state-owned aircraft manufacturer, to develop and market integrated avionics systems for commercial aircraft customers
  • General Electric Company in the sale of its US and UK Unison Engine Components units to subsidiaries of Precision Castparts Corp.
  • General Electric Company and GE Capital in their global business partnership (including an $8 billion global financial services joint venture headquartered in Abu Dhabi) with Mubadala Development
  • Berkadia III, LLC, a joint venture of Berkshire Hathaway and Leucadia National Corporation, in its $1 billion+ acquisition of the mortgage loan origination and servicing businesses of commercial real estate finance company Capmark Financial Group Inc.
  • GE Commercial Finance in its acquisition of the Healthcare Finance, Private Label Equipment Finance, Material Handling Finance, Franchise Finance, Construction Equipment Finance, Bankers Leasing and CitiCapital Canada businesses comprising CitiCapital, representing over $13 billion in assets
  • GE Commercial Finance in its acquisition of the Corporate Finance, Equipment Finance, Franchise Finance, Energy, Healthcare Finance and Real Estate Finance units comprising Merrill Lynch Capital, representing $15 billion in assets.
  • General Electric Capital Corporation in its Korean joint venture with Hyundai Motor Group for the provision of consumer financial services (automobile, insurance, personal loans) in Korea
  • GE Money in the sale of assets relating to its subprime mortgage origination business
  • GE Equipment Services in the sale of its North American modular space business to Resun Corporation
  • GE Equipment Services in the sale of its European modular space business to TDR Capital
  • GE Commercial Finance in its EUR 1.238 billion exchange of its stake in SES Global for an interest in SES International Holdings (SIH)
  • General Electric Company in the $8.5 billion sale of its insurance business, GE Insurance Solutions, including Employees Reinsurance Corporation, to Swiss Reinsurance Company
  • GE Commercial Finance in its $1.5 billion acquisition of IOS Capital and certain financial services assets of Ikon Office Solutions, Inc., and related program arrangements with Ikon Office Solutions, Inc.
  • GE Insurance in its sale of Financial Guaranty Insurance Company to a consortium consisting of PMI, Blackstone, Cypress and CIVC
  • GE Commercial Finance in its acquisition of CitiCapital's vehicle fleet management business
  • GE Capital in its joint venture with Xerox Corporation for the origination and servicing of Xerox's US equipment loan, lease and trade accounts receivable assets
  • GE Mortgage in the sale of its mortgage origination and servicing operations to Wells Fargo
  • GE Capital in connection with various vendor finance facilities with IKON, Xerox, Sun, Lucent and others

  • Bar Admissions
    New York State
  • Education
    Cornell University (B.A., 1978); Cornell Law School (J.D., 1981)
  • New York
  • +1 212 310 8167 tel
  • +1 212 310 8007 fax

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