Romain Dambre
Image of Romain Dambre

Romain Dambre

Partner

Email

romain.dambre@aoshearman.com

Phone

+1 212 610 6308

Offices

New York

V-CARD

Romain advises public and private companies, as well as financial sponsors and their portfolio companies, on a wide range of domestic and cross-border transactions, including acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, take-privates, divestitures, carve-outs, joint ventures, equity financings and corporate restructurings.

Romain has advised clients on numerous significant matters, totaling over USD250 billion in value. He has been recommended by Legal 500 for U.S. M&A: large deals (USD1bn+), and for U.S. private equity buyouts: middle-market (up to USD500m), with clients noting that Romain “impresses with his ’out of the box solutions’ in leveraged buyouts and carve-outs”. Romain has also been referenced as a ‘Distinguished Adviser’ for Private Equity by Financier Worldwide, ranked as a ‘Rising Star’ for M&A by Super Lawyers, and selected to Bloomberg Law’s “They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40”, which acknowledges the next generation of legal leaders.

He is a frequent contributor to thought leadership pieces on corporate law and M&A and private equity trends, and has been featured in publications such as the Financial Times and Financier Worldwide.

Expertise

Industries

Experience

Representative matters

Private M&A
  • Celanese Corporation in its USD11 billion acquisition of DuPont’s Mobility & Materials business and in its USD1.15 billion acquisition of ExxonMobil’s Santoprene business.
  • OCI N.V. in its USD2.05 billion sale of its global methanol business to Methanex, and in its USD2.35 billion sale of its Clean Ammonia plant in Beaumont, Texas to Woodside.
  • Carvana in its USD2.2 billion acquisition of KAR Global’s U.S. physical auction business.
  • Fortive Corporation in its USD2 billion acquisition of Accruent.
  • Campari Group in its USD1.2 billion acquisition of premium cognac Courvoisier from Beam Suntory.
  • Eli Lilly in its acquisition of Protomer Technologies for a potential transaction value of over USD1.0 billion.
  • Vericast in its USD420 million sale of RetailMeNot to J2 Global, and in its sale of RxSaver to GoodRx.
  • Sia Partners in a minority investment of up to EUR250 million from Blackstone.
  • SHV on its USD122.5 million sale of Makro Argentina and Basualdo Argentina to Cencosud.
  • Imperial Brands in multiple product acquisitions in the U.S., including the US nicotine pouches range from TJP Labs for an initial consideration of GBP65 million, with an additional deferred sum based on sales volumes over five years.
  • Find.co in its acquisition of Salon.com.
  • Nestwave in its sale to NextNav.
Financial Sponsors
  • Blackstone in its USD6.1 billion take-private acquisition of TeamHealth.
  • EQT Infrastructure in its USD5.3 billion take-private acquisition of Covanta, and its acquisition of Seven Seas Water Group from Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners.
  • Bridgepoint in its reinvestment in Kyriba at a value of over USD3 billion.
  • BlackRock and Grain in their strategic investment in Phoenix Tower International alongside Blackstone at a multi-billion dollar valuation.
  • Altaris in its USD316 million take-private acquisition of Trean Insurance Group.
  • Advent International in its acquisition of CCC Information Services.
  • Apax Partners in its acquisition of Dominion Marine Media and its sale of a majority stake in Boats Group to Permira.
  • GCM Grosvenor in its minority investment in Vesper Energy.
  • Ridgemont Equity Partners in its acquisition of Worldwide Express.
  • Sovereign wealth funds and pension funds in connection with minority investments alongside private equity sponsors.
Joint Ventures and Strategic Partnerships
  •  GlaxoSmithKline in its USD12.7 billion worldwide consumer health joint venture with Pfizer.
  • Charter Communications in its streaming platform joint venture with Comcast Corporation.
  • Disney in connection with ESPN's strategic partnership with the XFL.
  • JDE Peet’s in its strategic transaction with Caribou Coffee.
Public M&A Transactions
  • Tactical Resources in its USD589 million de-SPAC combination with Plum Acquisition Corp III.
  • Atlas Crest Investment Corp in its USD1.7 billion de-SPAC combination with Archer Aviation.
  • The Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Townsquare Media in the repurchase by Townsquare of the entirety of Oaktree Capital Management’s ownership stake in Townsquare.
  • Grubhub in its USD7.3 billion sale to Just Eat Takeaway.com.
  • Infineon Technologies in its USD10.1 billion acquisition of Cypress Semiconductor.
  • WellCare Health Plans in its USD17.3 billion sale to Centene Corporation.
  • Travelport Worldwide Limited in its USD4.4 billion sale to affiliates of Elliott Management Corporation and Siris Capital Group.
  • Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation in its USD4.7 billion acquisition of ILG.
  • Huntsman Corporation in its proposed USD20 billion merger with Clariant.
  • Equity One in its USD15.6 billion merger with Regency Centers Corporation.
  • Micro Focus in its USD8.8 billion “Reverse Morris Trust” acquisition of Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s software business.
Shareholder Activism and Takeover Defense
  • Travelport Worldwide Limited in response to shareholder activism by Elliott Management Corporation.
  • Wynn Resorts in its defense against a “withhold-the-vote” campaign by Elaine Wynn and its agreement with Elaine Wynn regarding the composition of the Wynn Resorts board of directors.
  • Avis Budget Group in its defense against a proxy contest by SRS Investment Management and its agreement with SRS regarding the composition of the Avis Budget Group board of directors.
  • Huntsman Corporation in connection with 40 North and Corvex Management’s campaign against Huntsman’s proposed USD20 billion merger of equals with Clariant.

*Some of these experiences from prior firm

Published Work

  • “The evolution of Delaware Corporate Law: finding certainty in uncertain times”, A&O Shearman (2024) (co-authored)
  • "Market Practice is Not Law": Delaware Court of Chancery invalidates "New Wave" stockholder agreement constraining Board authority”, A&O Shearman (2024) (co-authored)
  • “The SEC adopts amendments to beneficial ownership reporting requirements”, A&O Shearman (2023) (co-authored)
  • “Initial Coin Offerings and U.S. Securities Regulation: Challenges and Perspectives,” 1 Int’l J. Fin. Serv. 9 (2018)
  • Equity Derivatives: French and EU Corporate Law Aspects (Larcier eds., 1st ed. 2016, 527 pp.) (in French)
  • “Hedging by Corporate Executives: Three Regulatory Models,” 1/2 Rev. Trim. Dr. Fin. 59 (2015) (in French)
  • “A Transalpine Look at Equity Derivatives: Convergence and Divergence in Disclosure and Takeover Regulations in the EU,” 3 Rev. Trim. Dr. Fin. 64 (2012) (co-authored)

Recognition

“Romain Dambre is a very savvy M&A lawyer, extremely quick on his toes, and he really quickly grasps the crux of the issues and comes up with clever, out of the box solutions.”
Legal 500, 2025
“Impresses with his ’out of the box solutions’ in leveraged buyouts and carve-outs.”
Legal 500, 2025

Awards

  • They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40 (Bloomberg Law)
  • Legal 500 U.S. M&A (USD1bn+ deals)
  • Legal 500 U.S. private equity buyouts: middle-market (up to USD500m)
  • ‘Rising Star’ for M&A (Super Lawyers)
  • HEC Lawyer of the Year (2023)
  • Pierre Coppens Award (2017)

Qualifications

Admissions

Admitted to the Bar of New York 

Academic

Yale Law School LL.M

Sorbonne Law School Ph.D. summa cum laude

Sorbonne Law School J.D. magna cum laude

HEC Paris M.Sc., List of Excellence

Languages

English, French
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.