Biography

Jackie Cohen is a partner in Weil’s Mergers & Acquisitions practice and is based in New York. Ms. Cohen regularly represents public and private companies in connection with complex cross-border transactions.
Additionally, Ms. Cohen advises on a broad range of corporate and securities matters, including corporate governance, disclosure issues and integration matters as well as defensive measures and takeover tactics.
Recent Experience
- Magellan Health, Inc. in its $2.2 billion merger with Centene Corporation
- Cardtronics plc in its pending $2.5 billion sale to NCR Corporation
- Software Luxembourg Holding S.A. in its $1.3 billion merger with and into Churchill Capital Corp II, a SPAC sponsored by the Churchill Capital Group
- Fortress Value Acquisition Corp., a SPAC sponsored by Fortress Investment Group, in its acquisition of Secure Natural Resources and MP Materials in a stock-for-stock transaction that valued the combined company at $1.5 billion
- Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation, a SPAC sponsored by Mudrick Capital, in its acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Hycroft Mining Corporation, with an initial enterprise value of approximately $537 million
- QuickChek Corporation in its $645 million sale to Murphy USA
- Brooks Brothers Group, Inc. in its $325 million sale to SPARC Group LLC
- Total S.A. in its $4 billion acquisition of all of the oil and natural gas assets, liabilities, businesses and operations of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation in Mozambique and South Africa
- Campbell Soup Company in its $2.2 billion sale of Campbell International, Inc. and in its $300 million sale of Kelsen Group A/S
- GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. in its up to $740 million sale of Avera Semiconductor LLC and its $430 million sale of a semiconductor fabrication plant to ON Semiconductor Corporation
- Willis Towers Watson PLC in its $1.3 billion acquisition of TRANZACT
- Atos S.E. in its $3.57 billion acquisition of Syntel, Inc.
- Avista Healthcare Public Acquisition Corp. in its acquisition of Organogenesis Inc. and its proposed merger with Envigo International Holdings, Inc.
- Doncasters Group Limited in its $440 million sale of Nelson Fasteners Systems
- General Electric Company in its $2.6 billion sale of GE Industrial Solutions
- Discovery, Inc. in its joint venture with Magnolia, the home and lifestyle brand led by Chip and Joanna Gaines
- Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board in, together with Apollo Global Management, the acquisition of a controlling interest in CareerBuilder, LLC
- 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.
- HNA Group Co. Ltd. in its $6.5 billion acquisition of a 25% stake in Hilton Inc., Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. and Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. (collectively, f/k/a Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.) from affiliates of The Blackstone Group
- The Kroger Company in its strategic partnership with, and investment in, Lucky’s Market
- IHS Inc. in its $13 billion merger of equals with Markit Limited
- General Electric Company and Synchrony Financial in connection with the separation and initial public offering of Synchrony Financial (GE Capital’s North American retail finance business) and in GE’s $20.4 billion offer to exchange Synchrony common stock for GE common stock, completing the separation of Synchrony from GE
- Brookfield Asset Management Inc. in its approximately $855 million acquisition of GrafTech International Ltd.
- Atos S.E. in its $1.1 billion acquisition of the information technology outsourcing business of Xerox Corporation
- Sanofi in connection with its $20.1 billion acquisition of U.S. biotechnology firm Genzyme Corp.
- NBC Universal and parent General Electric in GE’s $37.25 billion joint venture with Comcast for ownership of NBC Universal and Comcast’s cable channels and regional sports networks and, thereafter, GE in the $18.1 billion sale of its remaining 49 percent stake in NBCUniversal and related real estate to Comcast
- DIRECTV in its $28.5 billion stock-for-stock merger with Liberty Entertainment
Ms. Cohen is recognized as an expert in Corporate/M&A by Expert Guides’ 2020 “Women in Business Law” and was shortlisted in the “Best in Mergers & Acquisitions” category for Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas Women in Business Law Awards for 2020. She is recognized as a “Highly Regarded” lawyer for M&A in the U.S. by IFLR1000 and is also recommended for M&A by Legal 500 US, where clients note she is “‘the deal maker’ ‘calm and discreet but energetic and pragmatic.’” She is also recommended for Media and Entertainment: Transactional by Legal 500 US. She was selected as one of The M&A Advisor’s 2012 “40 Under 40” honorees, an award that recognizes attorneys under the age of 40 for their accomplishments and expertise in the M&A field. Ms. Cohen is a member of the Board of Directors of the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Metro New York.
Awards and Recognition, Speaking Engagements, Firm News & Announcements
Awards and Recognition
- Jackie Cohen Wins 2019 Women, Influence & Power in Law Award Award Brief — Corporate Counsel
- Jackie Cohen Named a “Highly Regarded” Lawyer for M&A in the U.S. Award Brief — IFLR1000
- Jackie Cohen Recommended for M&A: Large Deals ($1BN+) Award Brief — Legal 500 US
- Jackie Cohen Recommended for Media and Entertainment: Transactional Award Brief — Legal 500 US
- Jackie Cohen Recognized as a Corporate/M&A “Expert” Award Brief — Expert Guides’ 2020 “Women in Business Law”
- Jackie Cohen Shortlisted for 2020 “Best in Mergers & Acquisitions” Award Award Brief — Euromoney Legal Media Group Americas Women in Business Law Awards
Speaking Engagements
-
SPAC Opportunity Summit
Speaker(s):
Jackie Cohen and
Heather L. Emmel
October 19, 2020 — Philadelphia, PA — Weil Mergers & Acquisitions partner Jackie Cohen and Capital Markets partner Heather Emmel spoke on a panel titled “SPAC Legal Implications” as part of Penn SPAC Club’s SPAC Opportunity Summit. The session discussed specific details about SPACs and their creation; review of the deal structure of a SPAC; legal backdrop for a SPAC transaction; possible hurdles in the legal process of a SPAC (proxy statement, S-1, warrants); and differences between IPO and SPAC from a legal perspective.
Firm News & Announcements
- Weil Advises Cardtronics in its Pending $2.5 Billion Sale to NCR Corporation Deal Brief — January 25, 2021
- Weil Advised QuickChek in $645 Million Sale to Murphy USA Deal Brief — January 21, 2021
- Weil Advises Magellan Health in its $2.2B Merger with Centene Corporation Deal Brief — January 04, 2021
- Weil Advised Fortress Value Acquisition Corp in its Acquisition of Secure Natural Resources and MP Materials Firm Announcement — November 16, 2020
- Weil Advises Software Luxembourg Holding S.A. in its $1.3 Billion Sale to Churchill Capital Corp II Firm Announcement — October 13, 2020
- Twenty-Two Partners Named 2020 Top Women in Business Law by Expert Guides Firm Announcement — September 11, 2020
- 22 Weil Partners Shortlisted for Euromoney's 2020 Americas Women in Business Law Awards Firm Announcement — July 23, 2020