Biography
Robert Rizzo is a partner in Weil’s Private Equity practice and is based in New York. Robert focuses on structuring and negotiating complex business transactions for private equity sponsor and corporate clients, including leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations, domestic and international mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, corporate carve-outs, growth equity investments, spinoffs and debt and equity financings. Robert also regularly represents portfolio companies of private equity clients with respect to all their corporate needs, including acquisitions and financings.
Experience*
- Permira in its acquisition of a majority interest in Reorg.
- EQT Partners in its strategic investment in United Talent Agency.
- PAI Partners in its $3.3 billion carve-out of Tropicana, Naked and other select juice brands from PepsiCo, Inc.
- The Apax Digital Fund, as co-lead investor, in a $170 million investment in Guesty, Inc.
- Insight Partners in connection with a number of transactions and related matters, including its growth equity investment in Saks’ digital business and acquisitions of and/or by Ministry Brands, CM Group (f/k/a Campaign Monitor), Lightricks, Tenable Network Security, E2open, Spothero, Cloudbolt Software, Drilling Info, Illuminate Education, Splitwise and others.
- Insight Partners' partnership with HBC to launch Saks as a standalone ecommerce business and its $500 million minority equity investment in Saks.
- CM Group (f/k/a Campaign Monitor) in connection with various matters.
- E2open in connection with various matters, including its $2.57 billion combination with SPAC, CC Neuberger Principal Holdings I.
- Episerver in its acquisition of experience optimization platform Optimizely.
- Nexa Equity in connection with a number of transactions and related matters, including its acquisitions of Leap LLC, AutoReturn and a majority stake in Choice Inc.; its investment in, and secondary purchase of shares of, HomeTown Ticketing, Inc.; and Leap LLC in its acquisition of JobProgress LLC.
- Pine Island Capital Partners in connection with a number of transactions and related matters.
- Bain Capital Credit Partners in its acquisition of Precinmac.
- Compass Partners in connection with a number of transactions and related matters.
- Precinmac in its acquisitions of Major Tool & Machine, Petersen Inc., Viper Northwest, Inc. and Shields Manufacturing, Inc.
- Highbridge Capital Management in connection with a number of transactions and related matters.
- Cartesian Capital Group LLC in connection with a number of transactions and related matters.
- Second Alpha Partners in connection with a number of transactions and related matters.
- Farmers Gate in connection with a number of transactions and related matters.
- Court Square Capital in connection with a number of transactions and related matters.
- Global Emerging Markets Group in connection with a number of transactions and related matters.
- First Manhattan Co. in connection with a number of private equity transactions and related matters.
- The Sterling Group in connection with a number of transactions, including Safe Fleet and numerous add-on acquisitions.
- Aquiline Capital Partners in connection with a number of transactions and related matters, including Togetherwork (f/k/a Omega Financial), Wellington Insurance Group and LenderLive Network.
- CapStreet Group in connection with a number of transactions and related matters, including the combination of T.F. Hudgins Inc. and Allied Reliability, Inc. and Creative Resource Group.
- Reorg Research, Inc. (a portfolio company of Permira Advisers) in its acquisition of FinDox, Inc.
- DigitalBridge (f/k/a Colony Capital) in connection with several matters, including its $17 billion merger of equals with NorthStar Asset Management Group Inc. and NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. to create Colony NorthStar, Inc., with $58 billion of assets under management.
- Relief Therapeutics Holding SA in the negotiation of a collaboration agreement with NeuroRx, Inc. for the global commercialization of RLF-100™ (Aviptadil), a pharmaceutical treatment with potential applications for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
- NuView Life Sciences Inc. in securing a $90 million capital commitment from GEM Global Yield LLC SCS.
- Covius (a portfolio company of Aquiline Capital Partners) in its acquisition of Chronos Solutions' credit, verification, REO and auction businesses.
- Blackstone Credit (f/k/a GSO Capital) in providing equity financing in connection with the acquisition of Belk, Inc. by Sycamore Partners.
- Vatera Healthcare Partners in the consortium acquisition of a controlling stake in Alvogen.
- Riverstone Holdings LLC in its combination Legend Production Holdings business with KKR portfolio company, Premier Natural Resources, to create Trinity River Energy.
- Rockefeller Financial Services in the formation of Rockefeller Capital Management, an independent financial services firm backed by Viking Global Investors.
- Special Committee of the Board of Directors of National Interstate Corporation in its $660 million merger with Great American Insurance Company (a subsidiary of American Financial Group, Inc.).
- Pangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd. in connection with a number of transactions.
- Montreux Equity Partners in its investment in moksha8.
- General Atlantic in its $1.2 billion divestiture of a controlling interest in Grupo Qualicorp.
- Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe in connection with a number of transactions, including acquisitions and acquisition financings.
- Tailwind Capital Partners in connection with a number of transactions.
- KPS Capital Partners in its acquisition of Waterford Wedgwood Royal Doulton.
- Catterton Partners in connection with multiple transactions, including acquisitions, restructurings (including Catterton's repurchase of a portfolio company's assets in connection with a pre-packaged Chapter 11 filing through a credit-bid alongside Sun Capital Partners in a 363 sale) and various portfolio company debt refinancings.
- FdG Associates in connection with several transactions, including acquisitions, recapitalizations and acquisition financings and portfolio company debt refinancings.
- Saw Mill Capital in the acquisition of a full service packaging solutions company.
- DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, as sponsor of Frontier Drilling ASA, in the $2.6 billion acquisition by Noble Corporation.
- Allianz Capital Partners, in a consortium with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, in the privatization of the City of Chicago's metered parking system.
- GSI Commerce, Inc. in its $2.4 billion merger with eBay Inc.
- Ruby Tuesday, Inc. in connection with defense from and negotiations with activist shareholder, Becker Drapkin Management.
- Pacific Life Insurance Company in its acquisition of J.P. Morgan's Pension Advisory Group.
- Digicel Group in connection with various transactions, including its acquisition of Voilà.
- Citigroup Inc. in connection with a number of transactions, including acquisitions, various matters for Citi Global Enterprise Payments and Dodd-Frank related regulatory matters.
- The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. in the 363 sale of CompassLearning, Inc.
Prior to joining Weil, Robert was a corporate partner at another international law firm.
Robert received his J.D. from Cornell Law School and his B.A. from Georgetown University.
*Includes matters handled prior to joining Weil.