Joseph J. Basile

Representative Experience

Cross-Border Transactions

• Represented Fiera Comox Partners Inc., a Montreal-based independent investment manager providing innovative investment solutions to a wide range of investors through private global investment strategies in private equity and agriculture, in its acquisition of Vermont-based Sweet Tree Holdings 1, LLC (d/b/a The Maple Guild), the world’s largest producer of organic maple syrup and related products.
• Represented the shareholders of the Northern Harvest Sea Farms group, a group of aquaculture companies engaged in the production of farmed Atlantic salmon in eastern Canada, in its sale to Marine Harvest (OSE:MHG), one of the largest seafood companies in the world and the world’s largest producer of Atlantic salmon, for CAD 315 million.
• Represented computer-aided engineering company Exa Corporation (NASDAQ:EXA) in its $400M sale to French software company Dassault Systèmes.
• Advised International Data Group, Inc. ("IDG") and its operating subsidiaries International Data Corporation and IDG Communications, Inc. in connection with the acquisition, in two separate transactions, of IDG and of IDG’s extensive portfolio of venture capital holdings by a consortium of buyers led by China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co., Ltd and IDG Capital Partners.
• Represented Oberthur Technologies S.A., a world leader in embedded digital security, in the sale of the international roaming and recharge business of Oberthur’s subsidiary, More Magic Solutions, Inc., to Prepay Nation LLC.
• Represented Italian health care company SOFAR S.p.A. in the acquisition of its surgical robotics division by medical device company TransEnterix (NYSE MKT: TRXC) in a cash and stock deal valued at up to approximately $100 million.
• Represented Costa Inc. (formerly known as A.T. Cross Company), a NASDAQ-listed designer, manufacturer, and marketer of polarized sunglasses, in its $270 million sale to Essilor International SA, a France-based publicly traded designer, manufacturer, and seller of ophthalmic lenses and ophthalmic optical instruments.
• Represented New Zealand Superannuation Fund in the purchase from Harvard Management Company of an interest in Kaingaroa Timberlands, owner of one of the world’s oldest and largest softwood plantations on New Zealand’s Central North Island.
• Counsel to France-based multinational pharmaceutical firm Sanofi in its acquisition of US-based Pluromed, a maker of polymer inserts for medical procedures.
• Advised Sanofi in its $20.1 billion takeover of U.S. biotechnology firm Genzyme whose products and services are focused on rare inherited disorders, kidney disease, orthopaedics, cancer, transplant and immune disease, and diagnostic testing.
• Represented Harbinger Capital Partners in connection with investments in several telecommunications carriers and satellite operators, including wireless broadband service provider, Augere Holdings (Netherlands) BV, and proposed offer to combine SkyTerra Communications, Inc. with London based global mobile satellite communications provider, Inmarsat plc.
• Advised Marathon Asset Management in connection with investments in several electrical generation and distribution utilities in Argentina and Brazil.

Domestic Transactions

• Advised Crane Co. (NYSE: CR), a diversified manufacturer of highly engineered industrial products, in its recent $800 million acquisition of Crane & Co., Inc. from private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg and other shareholders.
• Represented L2, Inc., a business intelligence firm that benchmarks the digital performance of consumer brands, in its acquisition by Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT), the world’s leading information technology research and advisory company.
• Represented Carolina Container Company, a subsidiary of New-Indy Containerboard LLC (a joint venture by The Kraft Group, LLC, and Schwarz Partners, L.P.) in its acquisition of substantially all the assets of Container Services Corporation, a corrugated box manufacturer based in Ringgold, Georgia.
• Represented Mill Road Capital, a private investment firm focused on investing in publicly traded micro-cap companies in the U.S. and Canada, in the going private acquisition of Skullcandy, Inc. (Nasdaq; SKUL), a creator of world-class audio experiences through its Skullcandy and Astro Gaming brands, after a contested process.
• Represented Staples, Inc. (NYSE: SPLS), a world-class provider of products and services that serve the needs of business customers and consumers, in the sale of its Staples Print Solutions business to Taylor Communications, Inc.
• Advised Fortress Investment Group LLC in its acquisition of MicroFinancial Incorporated (Nasdaq: MFI).
• Represented Interconnect Systems, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of high density silicon packaging with advanced interconnect technologies, in its acquisition by Molex LLC, a leading global manufacturer of electronic solutions.
• Advised SunSetter Products Limited Partnership, the largest manufacturer of awnings and sun control products in the United States, in its sale to Springs Window Fashions, LLC, a leading supplier of blinds, shades, specialty treatments and window hardware and a portfolio company of Golden Gate Capital.
• Represented Conservation Services Group, Inc., the leading provider of residential energy efficiency programs in the United States, in the sale of substantially all its assets to CLEAResult Consulting, Inc., a leader in providing energy efficiency programs and a portfolio company of General Atlantic LLC.
• Advised Hittite Microwave Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed, innovative designer and manufacturer of high performance integrated circuits, modules, subsystems and instrumentation for RF, microwave and millimeter wave applications, in its $2 billion acquisition by Analog Devices, Inc.
• Represented A.T. Cross Company, a publicly traded designer and marketer of branded personal and business accessories, in the sale of its Cross Accessory Division to a newly formed affiliate of Clarion Capital Partners, LLC.
• Represented Harbinger Capital Partners in the take-private of LightSquared (f/k/a SkyTerra Communications), a mobile satellite services provider with an enterprise value of approximately $1.845 billion.

Distressed M&A and Restructurings

• Represented Hopkins Manufacturing (a portfolio company of Canada-based private equity fund ONCAP), a manufacturer of components for the automotive industry, in its acquisition of substantially all the assets of F3 Brands, a manufacturer and marketer of branded automotive maintenance, storage and outdoor products, via a Section 363 sale.
• Represented Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation, a leading publicly traded dermatological and aesthetic pharmaceutical company, in its $455 million acquisition of substantially all the U.S. and Canadian pharmaceutical assets of Graceway Pharmaceuticals, provider of dermatology, respiratory, and women's health products, via a U.S. Section 363 sale and a parallel Canadian receivership proceeding.
• Advised Nortek, Inc., a diversified manufacturer of branded residential and commercial building products, on the corporate and securities law aspects of its Chapter 11 restructuring resulting in the elimination of $1.3 billion in debt.
• Represented Simmons Company, the second-largest mattress producer in the United States, in its $760 million sale to Ares Management and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, effected under a prepackaged Chapter 11 plan of reorganization.
• Advised Deutsche Bank Securities in its investment in a distressed electrical power generation facility in Colombia.
• Advised an ad hoc unsecured bondholders’ committee on the corporate and securities law aspects of the £5.3 billion debt restructuring of Marconi, PLC, a publicly held English telecommunications company under a scheme of arrangement, one of the largest financial restructurings ever effected under English law.