David advises public and closely held companies and private equity sponsors across the full range of public and private M&A, financing transactions, consortium deals and other complex corporate transactions, including transactions involving distressed companies and contests for corporate control.

David brings nearly 30 years of experience representing clients across a range of industries. He has particular expertise advising in the consumer finance, banking, financial technology and private equity sectors. He is recognized by Chambers USA as a leading M&A attorney in the financial services industry. He is ranked by IFLR1000 as a ‘Notable Practitioner’ in Corporate and M&A in the Financial Services industry sector.

Experience

Representative matters

  • Support.com in its acquisition by Greenidge Generation Holdings Inc., a bitcoin mining company, in a merger through which Greenidge became a publicly traded company.
  • Worldpay Inc. in its merger with Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.
  • Vantiv, Inc. in its acquisition of Worldpay Group plc.
  • Oriental Bank in its acquisition of the Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands banking operations of The Bank of Nova Scotia.
  • Lendmark Financial Services, a former portfolio company of The Blackstone Group, in its sale to Lightyear Capital and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
  • Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in its acquisition of American Railcar Leasing from Icahn Enterprises L.P., which was named a 2017 Deal of the Year by Asia Business Law Journal.
  • A global financial institution on the sale of its consumer banking business in Brazil to Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.
  • A global financial institution on its sales of:
    - the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, a hotel and casino, to The Blackstone Group; and Maher Terminals USA, a marine container terminal business, to Macquarie Infrastructure Partners.
  •  A global financial institution on the sale of its oil and gas reserve-based lending business in the U.S. and Canada to Wells Fargo.
  • Springleaf Holdings in its acquisition of OneMain Financial.
  • OceanFirst Financial Corp., a New Jersey-based bank holding company, in six separate acquisitions of publicly traded and privately held community banking organizations.
  • The Blackstone Group in its acquisitions of:
    - a controlling equity stake in Stearns Lending, a mortgage lending business;
    - Lendmark Financial Services, a consumer lending business; and a controlling equity stake in Exeter Finance, an auto leasing business.
  •  American Express Company in the sale of its global private banking and correspondent banking businesses to Standard Chartered PLC.
  • WL Ross & Co. in connection with numerous transactions, including:
    - as co-lead investor in an equity recapitalization of Amalgamated Bank;
    - as co-lead investor in an equity recapitalization of Cascade Bancorp;
    - as lead investor in an equity capital offering by Sun Bancorp; and
    - as lead investor in a common equity private placement by First Michigan Bancorp Inc. in connection with its acquisition of the banking operations of CF Bancorp from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, as receiver. 
  • A consortium consisting of WL Ross & Co., The Blackstone Group, The Carlyle Group, Centerbridge Capital Partners, other investors and a management team led by John Kanas in the acquisition of the banking operations of BankUnited, FSB in an auction by the FDIC, as receiver. This deal was named Private Equity Deal of the Year 2009 by International Financial Law Review.
  • Bear Stearns in its merger with JPMorgan Chase.
  • The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited in: 
    - its equity recapitalization by The Carlyle Group, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and other institutional investors; and 
    - its exempt offering of noncumulative perpetual limited voting preference shares, guaranteed by the government of Bermuda.
  • Refco Inc. and its subsidiaries in the sale of Refco’s global regulated futures brokerage business to Man Financial Inc. in a bankruptcy auction.

Published Work

  • Panelist, ‘How Do I Buy a Fintech?’, FinXTech: Transactions conference, January 2022.
  • Panelist, ‘Trends & Developments in Acquisition Finance for M&A’, webinar co-sponsored by The Deal, December 2021.
  • Co-host, Private Equity Virtual Roundtable, “Value Creation in the New Order”, with the Financial Times, April 2021.

Qualifications

Admissions

Registered Foreign Lawyer, England and Wales, 2024

Admitted to the New York Bar

Academic

J.D., New York University School of Law, 1993

B.A., Loyola University, New Orleans, 1988 cum laude

Disclaimer
A&O Shearman was formed on May 1, 2024 by the combination of Shearman & Sterling LLP and Allen & Overy LLP and their respective affiliates (the legacy firms). Any matters referred to above may include matters undertaken by one or more of the legacy firms rather than A&O Shearman.