Bob Profusek, who chairs the Firm's global M&A Practice, is one of the world's leading M&A and corporate governance lawyers. He has worked on hundreds of mergers, acquisitions, and buyouts and has advised many boards and director committees on sensitive governance matters, including hostile takeover bids, proxy contests, shareholder activism, financial restructurings, and executive compensation.
Recent M&A transactions include the $1.7 billion sale of the Baltimore Orioles; the $8 billion sale of HD Supply to Home Depot; Huntington Ingalls' $1.7 billion purchase of Alion Science & Technology; Bally's $3 billion acquisition of Gamesys; Patrón's $5 billion sale to Bacardi; the $38 billion Nutrien merger of equals and $4 billion sale of its SQM stake; Newell Rubbermaid's $16 billion acquisition of Jarden; P&G's sales of its beauty ($13 billion), Duracell ($3 billion), Pringles ($3 billion), and Folgers ($3 billion) businesses; Southern's $12 billion acquisition of AGL; Sherwin-Williams' $11 billion acquisition of Valspar; ITC Holdings' $11 billion sale to Fortis; and Wabtec's $11 billion merger with GE Transportation. Restructurings in which he played a lead role include Garrett Motion, Harry & David, Hostess Brands, Macy's, Nextel, Pacific Gas & Electric, RadioShack, and U.S. Gypsum.
Ranked in "Band 1" in both the Chambers Global and Chambers USA guides, Bob is described as "a very strategic thinker" who "is able to cut through the noise" and provides "a lot of gravitas in negotiations."
Bob serves as lead independent director of three separate NYSE-listed companies. He also is a frequent speaker regarding corporate takeovers and corporate governance, has authored numerous articles, has testified before Congress and the SEC about takeover and compensation-related matters, and is a regular guest commentator on Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN, and Fox.
Video
Experience
Additional Publications
- June 4, 2015
Jones Day discusses DuPont's Proxy Contest Victory: A Turning Point for Companies' Responses to Activism?, The CLS Blue Sky Blog - June 3, 2015
Lessons From DuPont's Proxy Contest Victory, Law 360 - 2013
Confidence, Risk, and Reason for Optimism: A Look Ahead at M&A in 2013, coauthor, Mergers and Acquisitions Law 2013 - 2012
Revisiting the Legal Due Diligence Paradigm, coauthor, Inside the Minds: Business Due Diligence Strategies, 2012 ed. - July 2010
Reform brings a renewed focus on short-term results, Fortune Online - August 1, 2007
Strine Rules on Option Dating Case, TheDeal.com - December 2006
'News Corp.': Aberration or Another Avenue for Plaintiffs?, coauthor, New York Law Journal - April 2006
A Question of Class, coauthor, The Deal - October 2005
Align in the Sand, coauthor, The Deal - 2005
Successful Partnering Between Inside and Outside Counsel, Chapter Author - March 2004
Truth and Confidentiality, coauthor, The Daily Deal, Corporate Dealmakers Section - May 2003
Omnicare, coauthor, New York Law Journal - December 2002
New MD&A Disclosure Requirements Under Sarbanes-Oxley, New York Law Journal - November 2002
Rules to Shake Boards and Balance Alike, The Daily Deal
Additional Speaking Engagements
- November 14-15
2011 General Counsel Forum - August 18, 2011
Fine-tuning Your Due Diligence Playbook - December 7, 2010
Preparing for the 2011 Proxy Season: The Perspective of Institutional Shareholders and Their Advisors - September 30, 2010
2010 Transaction Update - April 15-16, 2010
Managing Antitrust Risk in M&A Transactions, Tulane University Law School Corporate Law Institute - February 2, 2010
Doing Distressed Deals: Outlook for 2010 and Welcome Reception for New West Coast Restructuring Members - January 28, 2010
2010 Speaker Series: Executive Compensation - October 28, 2008
Building a Great Board: Critical Issues for Nominating/Governance Committees, Corporate Board Member - Thought Leadership, - June 10 - 11, 2008
Uncovering the Future of Wall StreetJones Day to Sponsor Wall Street Journal Deals & DealMakers ConferenceBob Profusek, Leader of Jones Day's Worldwide M&A Practice, to Make Opening Remarks - September 18-20, 2007
Automotive Industry Restructuring Finance Summit - June 27, 2007
Private Markets, Public Markets, and the Future of Finance, Wall Street Journal Deals & Deal Makers Conference - September 25-26, 2006
Fourth Annual Directors' Institute on Corporate Governance - June 2004
Trends in M&A Transactions, University Club, sponsored by CSFB, Jones Day, Marsh, KPMG and Merrill Corporation - May 2003, 2004, 2005
M&A Developments, panelist, New York City Bar Association's Annual Securities Institute - May 2003
Corporate Governance, panel with Pat McCartan and Rich Koppes, NYC Conference Board
- New York University (J.D. summa cum laude 1975; Order of the Coif; Note and Comment Editor, Law Review); Cornell University (B.A. magna cum laude 1972)
- New York
The American Lawyer "Dealmaker of the Week" (four times) and "Dealmaker of the Year"
Chambers Global and Chambers USA (Band 1), Legal 500 US, Best Lawyers in America, and New York Super Lawyers
BTI Consulting Group "Client Service All-Star"
M&A Advisor Hall of Fame Award
United States Lawyer Rankings "Top 10 M&A Lawyers"