Throughout his career, John has been involved in complex transactions that require comprehensive diligence, careful structuring and nuanced purchase agreement negotiation, where he draws heavily on his foundation as a transactional attorney. He has advised clients on several hundred transactions involving CFIUS and DCSA issues, including more than one hundred that have been formally filed with CFIUS.
In addition, he has negotiated national security agreements, security control agreements, special security agreements and proxy agreements with the U.S. government in some of the largest and most complex transactions in the technology, telecommunications, defense, energy and financial sectors.
John was the only solo or small firm practitioner included in Chambers International’s 2021 list of top CFIUS experts.
Recent engagements of Kabealo PLLC include:
- Fortress Investment Group, a leading, highly diversified global investment manager with approximately $41.4 billion of assets under management regarding a variety of CFIUS issues
- A venture-stage investor in a startup technology company that is now publicly traded and valued at more than $2 billion. The investor engaged Kabealo Law after being ordered to divest its holdings by CFIUS. Kabealo Law guided the investor through a new CFIUS process, which resulted in full CFIUS approval with no conditions.
- Multiple third-party advisors as outside CFIUS counsel
- An educational technology company in connection with its USD $875 million sale to a European acquirer
- A video game development studio in connection with its $250 million sale to a Chinese acquirer
- An advanced chemical engineering firm in connection with multiple CFIUS filings
- An early round investor in a space technology firm undergoing a CFIUS enforcement action
- Avast Software, a London Stock Exchange-traded company that provides digital security, privacy and performance tools to more than 435 million users globally, in connection with cross-border investment analysis
- Redwood Technologies, a UK communications technology and cloud services company, in connection with CFIUS and Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency issues
- An AI-powered cybersecurity company, in connection with a CFIUS enforcement action
- A VC investor in a consumer SaaS company, in connection with a CFIUS enforcement action
- A fabless semiconductor designer, in connection with a CFIUS enforcement action
- A telecommunications network equipment company, in connection with a CFIUS enforcement action
- A publicly-traded European company in connection with an acquisition of technologies with nuclear and munitions applications
- EnergySource, LLC, in connection with cross-border investment analysis regarding the sale of assets
- Jankel, in connection with Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency issues
- A large U.S. precision machining company in connection with cross-border investment analysis, CFIUS filing and national security agreement negotiation and implementation
- Thermochem, Inc., in connection with cross-border investment analysis
- An online marketing and data-collection firm in connection with cross-border investment analysis
- Sonic.net, LLC, a leading provider of internet and telecommunications services in Northern California, in connection with cross-border investment analysis
- Biolinq, a wearable medical device technology company, in connection with cross-border/venture investment analysis
- Sharestates, Inc., a real estate crowdfunding platform, in connection with cross-border/venture investment analysis
- Phosphorex, Inc., a drug delivery technology company, in connection with cross-border/venture investment analysis
- A next-gen battery R&D firm, in connection with cross-border/venture investment analysis
- A printed circuit board R&D/manufacturing company, in connection with cross-border investment analysis
- An advanced brain protein detection and diagnostic company, in connection with cross-border/venture investment analysis
- A wearable technology / AI company, in connection with cross-border/venture investment analysis
- A global semiconductor research, design and engineering firm in connection with cross-border investment analysis
- An advanced technology research, design and engineering firm in connection with CFIUS compliance obligations
- A trust established to divest technology assets from an acquirer pursuant to CFIUS order
- An official designated to oversee the divestiture of a software business pursuant to CFIUS order
Representations by John while at Skadden include:
- Fortress Investment Group LLC in its $3.3 billion acquisition by SoftBank Group Corp.;
- Nokia, in its $16.6 billion acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent;
- Intel Corporation in its $4.2 billion joint venture with TPG Capital, L.P. to form an in dependent cybersecurity company called McAfee;
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company in its $8.8 billion sale of its software business to Micro Focus International plc;
- Apex Technology Co., Ltd. as a member of a buyer consortium in its $4 billion acquisition of Lexmark International Inc. This was the second-largest outbound acquisition in the technology sector ever completed by a Chinese investor and the third-largest U.S. public takeover ever completed by a Chinese investor. This transaction was named one of China Business Law Journal’s 2016 Deals of the Year;
- Sprint Nextel Corporation in its:
- $21.6 billion sale to SoftBank Corporation (recognized as the “Global M&A Deal of the Year: Grand Prize” by The American Lawyer and in the Corporate & Commercial category in the Financial Times’ 2013 U.S. “Innovative Lawyers” report); and
- $2.2 billion acquisition of the 50 percent stake in Clearwire Corporation.
- Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital as co-lead investors in their $7 billion take-private of BMC Software, Inc;
- China Three Gorges Corporation in its acquisition of a 21.35 percent stake in Energias de Portugal S.A. for €2.69 billion;
- An affiliate of Veritas Capital in its $690 million acquisition of the government IT services business of Harris Corporation;
- The AES Corporation and Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCO) in their $853 million acquisition of FTP Power LLC (sPower);
- A123 Systems, Inc., a maker of advanced lithium ion batteries, in its sale to Wanxiang Group Companies;
- L-1 Identity Solutions, a manufacturer and provider of biometrics capture hardware and software, in its sale to Safran SA;
- EMC Corporation in the contribution of its Iomega Network Attached Storage Device division to a joint venture with Lenovo;
- Emcore Corporation in the divestiture of its Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser division to Sumitomo.