Serge Benchetrit

Serge is a member of the New York State Bar Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He is also a fellow of the American College of Investment Counsel.

He authored "Le sort des Actionnaires Américains dans les Acquisitions de Sociétés Cotées," Fusions & Acquisitions, Juillet- Août 2002 (also published in the JCP) and served as a commentator to Institut Montaigne’s Mieux gouverner l’entreprise, March 2003 (proposals to improve corporate governance in France).

Serge is fluent in French.

Corporate Finance

• Zurich Financial Services in the recapitalization of Farmers Insurance Company, and as U.S. counsel in connection with its credit facilities and its Euro Medium Term Note program
• Farmers Group, Inc. in its pending acquisition of AIG’s Personal Auto Group (which includes 21st Century Insurance Co.)
• ING
• Pacific Life Insurance
• Met Life
• Prudential Insurance

M&A and Private Equity

• Tenet Healthcare Corporation and its subsidiary United Surgical Partners International in the planned acquisition of SurgCenter Development’s ownership interests in 92 ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) for $1.2 billion
• Tenet Healthcare Corporation and its subsidiary United Surgical Partners International in the acquisition of up to 45 ambulatory surgery centers from SurgCenter Development and its physician partners for approximately $1.1 billion
• Mueller Industries in its acquisition of ATCO Rubber Products
• Soros Fund Management LLC in the investor consortium acquisition of ConAgra Trade Group from ConAgra Foods, Inc., and the subsequent sale by the consortium
• Electronic Data Systems Corp. in its acquisition by Hewlett-Packard Co
• Mueller Industries, Inc. and Atlas Holdings LLC in the acquisition of Tecumseh Products
• Mueller Industries, Inc. in its acquisition of Extruded Metals, Inc.
• Mueller Copper Tube Products, Inc. in the acquisition of Great Lakes Copper Ltd.
• Fingen SPA in the sale of licensed Calvin Klein® businesses in Europe and Asia to Warnaco Group, Inc.
• Cameron Systems in its acquisition by Orc Software
• West Corporation in its acquisition of Intercall
• TotalFina in its second exchange offer for Elf Aquitaine
• RailTex, Inc. in its merger with RailAmerica
• Terry Matthews (principal shareholder of Newbridge Networks) in the sale of Newbridge Networks to Alcatel
• Ryder TRS in its acquisition by Budget Group
• Martin Marietta Materials in its acquisition of Redland Stone Products Company
• John Geiger in the sale of his business to Herman Miller, Inc.
• Spear, Leeds & Kellogg in its acquisition of Equitrade
• Entrelec S.A. in its acquisition of SSAC, Inc.
• Zurich, Securitas, Europ@web and Bassini Playfair & Associates

Securities Offerings

• Zurich Financial Services in its $1.3 billion offering under Rule 144A of ECAPS; a $400 million follow-on offering of ECAPS; a similar offering of $1.5 billion of securities under Rule 144A
• The lead underwriters in a series of innovative securities offerings by Swiss Reinsurance Company that raised $3 billion to partially fund Swiss Re's $6.8 billion acquisition of GE Insurance Solutions
• Zurich Financial Services and the Farmers Group in the offering of $1.125 billion of hybrid securities designed to provide subordinated capital
• Apollo Investment Corporation in its approximately $404 million public offering of Common Stock
• The underwriters in a $1.3 billion public offering of senior notes by Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.
• The underwriters in the initial public offering of WellChoice
• WellChoice in a secondary public offering (with proceeds in excess of $350 million)
• PSP Swiss Property in its public offering of equity securities in Switzerland with a 144A/Reg. S component
• West TeleServices (n/k/a West Corporation) in a secondary offering of its securities (with proceeds in excess of $100 million)