Arnie Fridhandler

Partner New York

Biography

Arnold Fridhandler
Arnie Fridhandler is a partner in Weil's market-leading Private Equity practice and is based in New York. Arnie has substantial experience advising sponsors, sovereign wealth, pension and other institutional investors and their portfolio companies in connection with global-scale acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, investments and general corporate matters.

He has extensive experience with buyouts, minority and structured investments, joint ventures and mergers & acquisitions, and counsels clients on corporate governance and strategic matters across numerous sectors, from consumer, to financial & business services, industrials, energy, private equity infrastructure, private equity real estate, and technology.

Prior to rejoining Weil, Arnie served as Assistant General Counsel of GIC Private Limited, a sovereign wealth fund of the Government of Singapore and one of the largest and most active private equity and credit investors globally, and uniquely, has experience navigating transactions for all of GIC’s private markets divisions -- GIC Real Estate, GIC Private Equity and GIC Infrastructure. While Assistant General Counsel, he focused on real assets, logistics, hospitality and digital infrastructure investments and platforms throughout North and South America.

His years of experience as external and internal counsel to some of the world’s most respected, active and creative investors provide an unmatched and practical perspective in deal execution. Arnie’s experience includes the following:*

Sovereign/Pension Investors

  • GIC as external counsel and Assistant General Counsel in respect of more than 150 investments, spanning funds, co-investments, programmatic joint ventures, and take-private transactions throughout North and South America, including among others, GIC Real Estate’s $15 billion take-private of STORE Capital, GIC Private Equity’s investment in Leslie’s Holdings, Inc., the world’s largest retailer and online marketer of swimming pool and spa supplies and services, and GIC Infrastructure’s $1.2 billion infrastructure partnership with Fortis Inc., the $11.3 billion acquisition of ITC Holdings Corp., and its investment in Howard Midstream Energy Partners.
  • OMERS Private Equity and Berkshire Partners in their $3.85 billion sale of Husky IMS International Ltd. to Platinum Equity
  • Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in respect of its platform investment with PSP and Stone Canyon to form Stone Canyon Industries Holdings, recapitalization of SCI Packaging and the purchase of A. Stucki rail freight car business
  • Public Sector Pension Investment Board, as co-investor, in an Onex-led $1.8 billion investment in Convex Group Ltd.

Private Equity Sponsors

  • Clayton Dubilier & Rice in connection with various matters, including the merger of its portfolio company Cynosure with Lutronic Corporation
  • PAI Partners in its acquisition of Alphia, one of the largest pet food co-manufacturers in North America, and other transactions involving PAI’s portfolio companies
  • Cornell Capital in multiple matters, including its acquisition of Knowlton Development Corporation Inc. (KDC/ONE), the business combination of KDC/ONE and HCT Group Holdings Limited
  • CVC Capital Partners in multiple matters, including the sale of Cunningham Lindsey U.S. Inc. to KKR’s Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc.
  • Lee Equity Partners and General Atlantic in the acquisition by Aimbridge Hospitality Holdings, LLC of ONE Lodging Management, Inc.
  • American Securities in multiple matters, including its acquisition of CPM Holdings, Inc.
  • TA Associates in the acquisition by Global Software, Inc. of insightsoftware.com Inc. 
  • Goldman Sachs in multiple matters, including in its sale of Drayer Physical Therapy Institute, LLC
  • Providence Strategic Growth in the sale of TheraNest to Lightyear Capital and Oak HC/FT Partners
  • Centerbridge Partners in multiple matters, including in respect of P.F. Chang’s and the receipt by True Food Kitchen of a minority investment by Ms. Oprah Winfrey
  • Fortress Investment Group in connection with its acquisition of Colony American Finance LLC
  • Numerous others sponsors in respect of significant preferred equity structured investments

Strategic

  • Campbell Soup Company in its $2.2 billion sale of Campbell International, Inc. and in its $300 million sale of Kelsen Group A/S
  • BW Group Limited in its very large crude carrier (VLCC) fleet combination with DHT Holdings, Inc. in a transaction valued over $500 million, creating one of the world’s largest operators of crude oil supertankers
  • General Electric Company in connection with the European tender offer and acquisition by GE Aviation of Arcam AB (NASDAQ Nordic: ARCM), a Swedish-based additive manufacturing (3D printing) business, for approximately $650 million
  • General Electric Canada in connection with the sale by GE and Hitachi, Ltd. of GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Canada Inc., a leading supplier of nuclear fuel, nuclear fuel handling systems, delivery systems and replacement components for CANDU® nuclear reactors, to BWX Technologies, Inc.
  • Repsol S.A., in its acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding common and preferred shares of Talisman Energy Inc. in a transaction valued at approximately $15.1 billion
  • Numerous other founders and institutional sellers in respect of sale processes to strategic and private equity buyers.

Mr. Fridhandler received his J.D. (dean’s list), from Osgoode Hall Law School, his M.B.A., with distinction, from the Schulich School of Business and his Bachelor of Engineering, with distinction, from McGill University.

* Matters noted above include those handled prior to joining Weil.