BenjaminChouka (Ben)

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Irvine + 1.949.553.7522

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With more than 15 years in practice, Ben Chouka has advised a variety of U.S. and international clients in private and public M&A and private equity transactions as well as venture capital and growth equity financings. Ben's practice in particular focuses on cross-border M&A transactions, where clients benefit from his dual qualification in Germany and California. His practice further includes mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, restructurings, and corporate governance matters. He represents public companies, middle-market private companies, and start-up companies alike and is most active in the technology (including software, semiconductor, and fintech), health care, life sciences, and energy industries. Ben's representative clients include Astellas Pharma, NerdWallet, Five9, SAP, KKR, Western Digital, Skyworks Solutions, Sumitomo Pharma, Hilti Group, Organon & Co., Meridian Bioscience, Minted, TotalEnergies, Dignity Health, Singtel, Sempra Energy, AGIC Capital, Triton Partners, E.ON, and ThyssenKrupp.

Ben also maintains an active pro bono practice, assisting nonprofits in their corporate governance matters.

Prior to joining Jones Day, Ben was a senior M&A associate with an international law firm in Düsseldorf, Germany. During his more than five years with this firm, he advised public companies, private equity funds, and large family-owned businesses on cross-border M&A transactions and strategic alliances in Europe and the United States. Ben complemented his international experience with a client secondment in the M&A department of a major international financial institution in Dubai, where he advised from the in-house perspective on mergers and divestitures in various Middle Eastern jurisdictions.

Experience

  • Five9 acquires AcqueonJones Day advised Five9, Inc. in its acquisition of Acqueon, a pioneering real-time revenue execution platform, realizing Five9's ambition to become the orchestration engine for every interaction across the entire customer journey, including marketing, e-commerce, sales and customer service through AI-driven, omnichannel proactive customer engagement.
  • City of Hope invests in Reimagine CareJones Day represented City of Hope in connection with the $25 million Series A financing of Reimagine Care, a technology-driven, home-based cancer care company.
  • Silicon Mobility sold to IntelJones Day advised Silicon Mobility SAS in the acquisition of the company by Intel Corporation.
  • Five9 acquires Aceyus for $82 millionJones Day represented Five9, Inc. in its acquisition of 100% of the equity of Aceyus, Inc. for $82 million in cash.
  • Sumitomo acquires assets and rights related to lefamulin from NabrivaJones Day advised Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. in the acquisition of assets from Nabriva Therapeutics plc and various wholly-owned subsidiaries. This acquisition includes assets from the U.S., Ireland, and Austria in support of the development, manufacture, marketing and commercialization of lefamulin in the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
  • Astellas acquires Iveric bioJones Day advised Astellas Pharma Inc. in the $5.9 billion cash acquisition of Iveric bio, Inc., a science-driven biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel treatments for retinal diseases with significant unmet medical needs.
  • Meridian Bioscience agrees to be acquired by SD Biosensor and SJL Partners in $1.53 billion all-cash transactionJones Day advised Meridian Bioscience, Inc. in its $1.53 billion all-cash acquisition by SD Biosensor and SJL Partners.
  • VSE Aviation acquires Precision Fuel ComponentsJones Day advised VSE Aviation Services, LLC, a subsidiary of VSE Corporation (NASDAQ: VSEC), in the acquisition of Precision Fuel Components LLC.
  • Organon makes strategic investment in Claria MedicalJones Day advised Organon in the strategic investment in Claria Medical, Inc. a privately-held company developing an investigational medical device being studied for use during minimally invasive laparoscopic hysterectomy.
  • NerdWallet acquires On The Barrelhead for $120 millionJones Day advised NerdWallet, Inc. (Nasdaq: NRDS), a platform that provides financial guidance to consumers and small- and mid-sized businesses, in its acquisition of On the Barrelhead, Inc. for total consideration of $120 million, consisting of approximately $70 million in cash and $50 million in NerdWallet Class A common stock.
  • Hookit sells company to Kore SoftwareJones Day advised Hookit in the sale of 100% of Hookit’s stock to KORE Software, a portfolio company of Serent Capital.
  • Sempra Energy sells PXiSE Energy SolutionsJones Day advised Sempra Energy in the sale of membership interests in PXiSE Energy Solutions to Yokogawa Electric Corporation.
  • Hilti Group acquires Fieldwire for approximately $300 millionJones Day advised the Hilti Group in its acquisition of Fieldwire, a San Francisco, California, based construction technology company specialized in construction project management software, for approximately $300 million.
  • Skyworks Solutions acquires Infrastructure and Automotive business of Silicon Laboratories for $2.75 billionJones Day advised Skyworks Solutions, Inc., an innovator of high-performance analog semiconductors, in connection with its acquisition of the Infrastructure and Automotive business of Silicon Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: SLAB), a leading provider of silicon, software, and solutions, in an all-cash asset transaction valued at $2.75 billion.
  • Astellas returns rights to Eligard® in Europe, Middle East, CIS, and Asia to TolmarJones Day represented Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd. in connection with a series of transactions, including the sale of related assets, in which Astellas returned its in-licensing rights to Eligard® (leuprorelin acetate for injectable suspension), a treatment for advanced prostate cancer, sold by Astellas in Europe, the Middle East, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Asia, to Tolmar International Limited.
  • JTC acquires NES Financial for up to $116 millionJones Day advised JTC PLC in the acquisition of NES Financial, a technology-enabled provider of specialist fund administration and treasury services recognized on the San Francisco Business Times top Bay Area fintech list, for up to $116 million.
  • Western Digital sells ActiveScale™ business to QuantumJones Day advised Western Digital Corporation's subsidiary Western Digital Technologies, Inc. in the sale of its ActiveScale™ business to Quantum Corporation.
  • SHV Energy collaborates with Oberon Fuels, Inc., producer of renewable dimethyl etherJones Day advised SHV Energy N.V. with its collaboration and the entering into of a convertible note purchase agreement with Oberon Fuels, Inc., a producer of renewable DME, to accelerate the use of renewable DME to decarbonize transportation.
  • Western Digital sells IntelliFlash™ business to DataDirect Networks, Inc. (DDN®)Jones Day advised Western Digital Corp. in the sale of its IntelliFlash™ business to DataDirect Networks, Inc. (DDN®), a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and multi-cloud data management.
  • Western Digital acquires Kazan NetworksJones Day advised Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) in its acquisition of Kazan Networks Corp., a provider of industry leading NVMe™-over-Fabric (NVMe-oF) ASIC and adapter products for next-generation data center architectures.

    • The following represents experience acquired prior to joining Jones Day.

    Advised Triton Partners, a pan-European private equity fund, on: the acquisition of global recycling specialist BEFESA from the Spanish-listed energy and environment technology company ABENGOA S.A. with a total transaction value of more than €1 billion; the acquisition of Dywidag Systems International (DSI), the global market leader in post-tensioning control systems, from Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Barclays, and CVC; and the sale of Dunkermotoren, a group of companies engaged in the engineering and manufacturing of precision motion control solutions, to NYSE-listed AMETEK for more than €250 million.

    Advised ThyssenKrupp AG, a German-listed steel and technology company, on various cross-border transactions, including the disposal of their civil shipyard and repair activities to Star Capital Partners, a U.K.-based private equity investor.

    Advised E.ON SE, the leading German utility, on the sale of 5,000 MW generation capacity to various major European utility players, including GDF Suez, Électricité de France, and EnBW.

    Advised Knauf, a privately held global building materials company, on various transactions, including the acquisition of the European ceiling grid and compound business from NYSE-listed USG Corporation.

    Advised Waterland Private Equity on the acquisition of a majority stake in Ranger, a German-based leading provider of direct sales services in Europe, from its founders, and the subsequent add-on acquisition of Omnigroup B.V., a direct sales services provider based in The Netherlands.

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