Biography
Marilyn French Shaw is Co-Managing Partner of the Boston office and a partner in Weil’s Private Equity practice, where she advises clients on private equity transactions, including leveraged buyouts, minority investments and public-to-private transactions, and mergers & acquisitions. She is a leading member of the Women@Weil affinity group. Ms. Shaw regularly represents some of the country's leading private equity firms, including Advent International Corporation, American Capital, Ltd. and Thomas H. Lee Partners.
Ms. French Shaw is consistently recognized by Chambers USA as a leading lawyer in Private Equity in Massachusetts, where she is noted as “a creative problem solver,” “effective negotiator,” and an “extremely strong and capable” corporate counselor. She is also recommended for Private Equity Buyouts by Legal 500 US. Ms. French Shaw was named among the 2015 “Dealmakers of the Year” by The American Lawyer and 2015 “Top Women of Law” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. She has also been listed as a “highly regarded” private equity lawyer in IFLR1000 and recognized by Expert Guides’ 2014 “Women in Business Law” as an expert in Private Equity. Ms. Shaw was also named a Private Equity “MVP” by Law360 and named “Dealmaker of the Week” by The Am Law Daily in connection with her lead role advising Advent International in its acquisition of a majority stake in AOT Bedding Super Holdings, the parent company of Serta and Simmons Bedding.
Selected Experience
- Advent International Corporation and its portfolio companies in several transactions, including its:
- $1.44 billion sale of MORSCO, Inc. to Reece Limited
- majority investment in First Watch Restaurants, Inc.
- acquisition of Culligan International Company
- acquisitions of Michael Angelo's Gourmet Foods Inc. and Rao's Specialty Foods Inc.
- acquisition of QW Holding Corp. (Quala)
- acquisition of a majority stake in ATI Physical Therapy Holdings, LLC
- acquisition of Noosa Yoghurt, LLC
- and its portfolio company P2 Energy Solutions Inc. in its acquisition of Merrick Systems, Inc.
- acquisition of a majority stake in Distribution International, Inc.
- acquisition of a 13.85% stake in lululemon athletica, inc.
- acquisition Dudalina S.A. (with Warburg Pincus)
- $1.1 billion acquisition of a minority interest in Oleoducto Central S.A. (as leader of an investment group)
- acquisition of International Coffee & Tea, LLC (with CDIB Capital International and Mirae Asset Global Investment Co.)
- acquisition of a majority stake in Serta Simmons
- acquisition of a majority stake in Connolly, Inc. and Connolly Consulting Worldwide, Inc., and in Connolly’s merger with a strategic healthcare auditor
- acquisition of TransUnion (with Goldman)
- acquisition of Vantiv and Vantiv’s subsequent IPO
- going-private acquisition of retailer Charlotte Russe
- Thomas H. Lee Partners and its portfolio companies in several transactions, including its:
- acquisition of CTI Foods Holdings, LLC (with Broad Street Principal Investments, an affiliate of Goldman Sachs), and in CTI’s acquisition of Liguria Foods, Inc.
- sale of Michael Foods
- acquisition and subsequent multi-billion sale of Acosta, Inc. to The Carlyle Group, and in Acosta’s acquisitions of Mosaic and Anderson Dayman Worldwide
- Oaktree Capital Management and its France-based portfolio company Ileos, SA in its joint venture with Visant Corporation
- PWP Growth Equity in its minority investment in Premier Food Concepts, LLC (d/b/a Luna Grill)
- American Capital, Ltd. in its:
- sale of American Driveline Systems, Inc. to Transom Capital Group
- sale of eLynx to Black Knight Financial Services, Inc. (n/k/a Black Knight, Inc.)
- sale of Pacific Handy Cutter, Inc. to Levine Leichtman Capital Partners
- sale of Dynojet Research, Inc. to Irving Place Capital and New Value Capital
- sale of Specialty Brands of America, Inc.
- sale of Aptara, Inc.
- acquisition of Residential Credit Solutions