Chris Ahn is a partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity Group. Chris advises private equity sponsors, other investors, private and public companies and investment banks on merger & acquisition transactions, including leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, restructurings, minority investments, growth equity investments and other strategic transactions.
Chris also serves as day-to-day legal advisor to numerous operating companies, including many of the portfolio companies owned or controlled by his sponsor clients, and is actively involved in many aspects of their businesses, including add-on acquisitions and commercial arrangements. He also has deep experience with non-traditional equity transactions, including debt-like preferred equity as third party financing, equity kickers and co-investments for private credit investors and debt for equity swaps involving troubled companies.
From 2018 until 2021, Chris served as General Counsel of James Perse, a global apparel, furniture, furnishings and lifestyle brand based in Los Angeles.
Chris is an active participant in firm administration and recruiting, and currently serves as co-chair of the Hiring Committee for the Los Angeles office.
Education
- University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, J.D.
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University of California, Los Angeles, B.A.
magna cum laude
Phi Beta Kappa
Admissions & Qualifications
- California
Memberships
Co- Director, Community Legal Outreach, Berkeley, Ca, May 2006 -
Member, Community Legal Outreach, Berkeley, Ca, August 2005 -
Awards & Recognition
The Legal 500 US M&A/Corporate and Commercial: M&A: Large Deals ($1bn+) 2023
Matters
Key representative transactions include:
- Doodles, a Web3, media and entertainment brand, in connection with its Series A financing round and various other corporate matters
- Funds affiliated with The Firmament Group in various M&A transactions, including the sale of logistics software provider Envase to affiliates of WiseTech Global (ASX: WTC)
- SlamBall in its Series A financing round
- Doodles in connection with its acquisition of UK-based animation studio Golden Wolf
- Resonant Inc. (NASDAQ: RESN), a designer of radio frequency filters, in its acquisition by affiliates of Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
- Multiple sponsors in their respective acquisitions of numerous physician practice groups and other health care service providers
- Funds affiliated with Ares Management in their acquisitions of and exits from Smart & Final, Ob Hospitalist Group and Unified Physician Management
- Funds affiliated with Grey Mountain Partners in various equity investments
- Madrid-based Amadeus S.A. in its $500 million acquisition of Newmarket International
- Neiman Marcus Group in its acquisition of mytheresa.com and the THERESA luxury store in Munich
- Smart & Final as a stalking horse bidder and successful purchaser of assets formerly owned by affiliates of Haggen Holdings, LLC
- Insight Global in an investment by Leonard Green
- A strategic acquisition of VentiRx Pharmaceuticals
- Smart & Final in its $185 million initial public offering and subsequent follow-on offering
- General Nutrition Centers (GNC) in its $414 million initial public offering and three subsequent follow-on offerings
- Selling stockholders in public equity offerings for Douglas Dynamics, Spark Networks and Air Lease Corporation