Christopher Forrester
Partner, Corporate & Financial Services
Christopher Forrester is a partner in Willkie’s Corporate & Financial Services Department and Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions Practice Groups. He serves as Co-Managing Partner of the Palo Alto office.
Chris has a broad corporate finance practice, with an emphasis on capital markets and private securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions transactions and corporate governance.
Chris has advised issuers, underwriters and arrangers on numerous public and private securities offerings in the US and globally, including initial public offerings, follow-on offerings, secondary offerings, confidentially marketed offerings, PIPEs, ATMs (at the market offerings), private offerings of seed and preferred stock and convertible and bridge note offerings.
His M&A and strategic transactions practice includes advising strategic and financial buyers and sellers in transactional matters, including public and private company mergers, acquisitions and dispositions, carve-out and other asset transactions, and joint ventures. He has worked on transactions involving buyers and sellers in numerous transactions in North America, Europe, and Asia, and also represents boards in complex related party transactions.
Additionally, he advises public and private companies on best practices in corporate governance, including Delaware corporate and fiduciary matters, ongoing compliance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and stock exchange requirements.
Experience
- Recommended lawyer, The Best Lawyers in America, 2016
- Recommended lawyer, The Best Lawyers in America for National, Corporate Law, Tier 1, 2014
- Recommended lawyer, The Best Lawyers in America, 2013
- 2013 Deal of the Year, China Business Law Journal
- One of the best 10 business lawyers, San Diego’s The Daily Transcript
- Top 40 Under 40 persons in the Finance Industry, Investment Dealers’ Digest, 2007
- Leading lawyer in capital markets-equity Hong Kong, IFLR
- “Fiduciary Duties and Other Responsibilities of Corporate Directors and Officers”, R.R. Donnelley (Foreword by Professor John Buley Duke’s Fuqua School of Business), 6th Edition
- “Annual Review of Federal Securities Regulation,” The Business Lawyer, 2006
- “Annual Review of Federal Securities Regulation,” The Business Lawyer, 2005
- “Annual Review of Federal Securities Regulation,” The Business Lawyer, 2004
- Regularly speaks on securities and governance matters at Practicing Law Institute
- Regularly speaks on securities and governance matters at Financial Executives International
Public Securities Offerings and Related Transactions
- A group of global financial institutions as joint book-running managers and representatives of the underwriters in connection with Amgen’s registered $24 billion notes offering.
- Lotlinx, Inc. in connection with its self tender offer.
- Cowen and Company, SVB Securities LLC and Evercore Group L.L.C in connection with Nkarta Inc.’s $280 million initial public offering, its $230 million follow-on public offering and the commencement of its at-the-market equity offering program to offer and sell common stock, having an aggregate offering price of up to $150 million.
- A group of global financial institutions with respect to multiple liability management transactions for Amgen, Inc. with a value in excess of $20 billion.
- A multinational investment banking division and other underwriters in connection with FLIR System Inc.’s $500 million note offering.
ALJ Regional Holdings in connection with its self tender offer.
- Cowen in connection with Adesto, Inc.’s sale of $75 million in convertible notes and in connection with its offering of $40 million of common stock.
- A syndicate of multinational investment banks in connection with the de-SPAC IPO of Advantage Solutions.
- Mubadala Development Co in connection with multiple sell-down transactions of Advanced Micro Devices stock from 2017 to 2019 with a value in excess of $2 billion.
- Several leading investment banks with respect to multiple liability management transactions for eBay, Inc. with a value in excess of $5 billion.
- Multi-Fineline Electronix, Inc. in its initial public offering.
- GlobalFoundries in connection with its proposed R144A offering.
- BuildGroup in connection with $80 million PIPEs in BenefitFocus (Nasdaq: BNFT) and in connection with the initial public offering of Build Acquisition Group.
- Various investment banks in connection with more than two dozen de-SPAC PIPE transactions.
- BuildGroup in connection with the initial public offering of BuildGroup Acquisition Company.
- Waha Capital in connection with $50 million PIPEs in Despegar, Inc. (NYSE: DESP).
- Multiple issuers and placement agents in connection with ATM transactions.
- ContraFect Corporation in connection with its IPO as well as its $20 million PIPE offering.
- Arsenal Holdco I, S.a.r.l. and Arsenal Holdco II, S.a.r.l. (affiliates of Francisco Partners), Kanata Research Park Corporation and Shen Capital Corporation in connection with a secondary public offering of C$91 million of common stock of Mitel Networks Corporation (Nasdaq: MITL).
- GXS Group, Inc. (a Francisco Partners portfolio company) in connection with demand and piggyback registration requests by OpenText Corporation, a total proposed maximum aggregate offering price of approximately $124 million.
- Robert W. Baird & Co. in connection with the underwritten offering of $36 million of common stock of PowerSecure International, Inc. (Nasdaq: PWR).
- First Albany in the initial public offering of Axesstel, Inc. (Nasdaq: AXST).
- Idec Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in its $657 million follow-on offering and in its $1.2 billion offering of Liquid Yield Option Notes (LYONS).
- Thomas Weisel Partners in its $115 million follow-on offering of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARNA).
M&A, Strategic Transactions and Special Committee Engagements
- Coherent in its sale of its aerospace and defense business to Advent International, Inc. (price undisclosed).
- Coherent in its sale of certain European manufacturing assets (price undisclosed).
- Sanmina in $3 billion acquisition from AMD of ZT Systems’ data center infrastructure manufacturing business.
- A syndicate of investors led by Dialectic Capital in connection with the acquisition of the controlling interests of Quantum Corp.
- The consortium in connection with the acquisition proposal of Forian, Inc.
- ALJ Regional Holdings and its affiliated companies in a series of acquisitions and dispositions of various operating companies.
- Amelia AI, Inc. in connection with its sale to SoundHound AI.
- Measurabl, Inc. in its acquisition of Hatch Data Inc.
- Leyard Optoelectronic Co., Ltd. in connection with its $156.8 million acquisition of Planar Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLNR).
- Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd., a subsidiary of Tsinghua University, in the following matters: $1.8 billion acquisition of Shanghai-based fabless IC developer Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPRD); and $910 million acquisition of China-based fabless semiconductor company RDA Microelectronics, Inc. (Nasdaq: RDA).
- Far East Global Group Limited in connection with its HK$643 million acquisition by China State Construction International Holdings Limited via mandatory unconditional cash offer.
- Xcel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in its $280 million sale to a publicly traded pharmaceutical company.
- MusicMatch, Inc. in its $160 million sale to Yahoo!.
- Idec Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDEC) in its $14 billion merger with Biogen, Inc. (Nasdaq: BGN).
- Multi-Fineline Electronix, Inc. in connection with its proposed acquisition offer of Singapore-based MFS Technology Ltd., its acquisition of Applied Optics, Inc., its joint venture with Mobility, Inc. and its joint venture by and among Panoche Holdings, LLC and CED Panoche Valley holdings, LLC (ConEdison).
Private Offerings and Other Financing Matters
- Vice Media in connection with its $250 million secured debt financing with a lending syndicate led by Fortress Investment Group LLC and Monroe Capital as well as various debt and equity financings led by various private equity investors.
- Impossible Foods Inc. in connection with multiple financings.
- Next Insurance in connection with its Series D, Series E and Series G financings.
- Advantage Sales & Marketing Inc. on an amendment to its existing $400 million revolving credit facility facilitated by a multinational investment bank and financial services holding company to increase aggregate revolving commitments from $400 million to $500 million.
- Aemetis, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMTX) in connection with its secured term loan and revolver with Third Eye Capital.
- Renewable Energy Trust Capital, Inc. in connection with the following matters: its $125 million stock financing; its project finance and development transactions with Origis I USA Inc. and Origis Holdings USA; its $125 million Series C extension round; its $21 million senior secured construction bridge loan to Panoche Valley Solar, LLC; and its joint venture by and among Panoche Holdings, LLC and CED Panoche Valley holdings, LLC (ConEdison).
- ALJ Regional Holdings, Inc. in connection with its $105 million senior term credit facility and $30 million senior revolver facility.
- City Light Capital in connection with a series of private placements in early stage companies.
- Merrill Lynch (Asia Pacific) Limited as one of several lenders in a senior secured term loan to LDK New Energy Holding Limited, the parent company of LDK Solar Co., Ltd.
- ALJ Regional Holdings, Inc. in its $36 million debt and equity reorganization transaction.
- Roth Capital Partners LLC in connection with Synthesis Energy Systems, Inc. investment by China Equity Dongxin.
- ALJ Regional Holdings, Inc. in its $27 million refinancing transaction.
- Fuji Food Products, Inc. in its corporate restructuring and Series A preferred stock offering.
- ALJ Regional Holdings, Inc. in its $42 million corporate restructuring.
- Xcel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in connection with several rounds of private investment.
* Chris advised on some of these matters prior to joining Willkie.
Credentials
Education
Georgetown University Law Center, LL.M., 2002 McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, J.D., 1996 St. Mary's College of California, B.A., 1993