Ray LaSoya is a partner in the Corporate & Financial Services Department. He has diverse experience guiding private equity investors and their portfolio companies, as well as public and private companies, in complex transactions and in their day-to-day legal affairs. He is sought out to advise on an array of major corporate transactions, including acquisitions and divestitures, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, minority growth investments, strategic alliances and joint ventures. He has decades of experience representing top private equity sponsors across a vast range of industries, including communications, media, entertainment, technology, retail, legal services, financial services, manufacturing and more.
Experience
- Legal 500 U.S., Recommended Lawyer
- M&A / Corporate and Commercial - Private Equity Buyouts: Large Deals, 2023-2024
- Media, Technology and Telecoms - Media and Entertainment: Transactional, 2024
- Los Angeles Business Journal, Leaders of Influence: Private Equity, Investors & Advisors, 2023-2025
Ray advised on the following significant matters*:
- Shamrock Capital Advisors in connection with numerous private equity matters, including investments in Neocol, DE-YAN, Nth Degree, Carnegie, Boardwalk Pictures, AnswerLab, Highwire PR, VidMob, Religion of Sports, EDO, Inc., Mobilitie Investments III, Learn on Demand Systems, Bayard Advertising, Pixellot, Wpromote, RBmedia, Guam Telephone Authority, Modern Luxury Media, Netgear, PortalPlayer, PRN, Latin Communications Group and Triad Broadcasting Company.
- Eden Capital in various private equity transactions, including its investments in Phlebotomy Training Specialists, Edcetera (formerly PDH Academy), and Wall Street Prep.
- Platinum Equity in connection with the acquisitions of Tarter Farm and Ranch Equipment, MetoKote Corporation, San Diego Union-Tribune and Aquilex.
- Monogram Capital Partners on its acquisition of a majority stake in Tru Fragrance & Beauty, and on Tru Fragrance & Beauty’s subsequent acquisition of Lake & Skye.
- Intelvio, a healthcare education provider and portfolio company of Eden Capital, on its acquisitions of Classward and Professional Crisis Management Association.
- Eden Capital on the sale of its portfolio company Wall Street Prep, a leading provider of training programs for the financial services industry, to The Riverside Company.
- Shamrock Capital Advisors in connection with the sale of Bayard Advertising to Appcast.
- Shamrock Capital Advisors in connection with the sale of Mobilitie Investments III to BAI Communications.
- The Chernin Group (TCG) in its growth equity investment in Cars & Bids, an online auction house for the modern car enthusiast.
- Edcetera, a platform of Eden Capital in the educational sector, in its acquisition of Pulse Radiology.
- Phlebotomy Training Specialists, a platform company of Eden Capital, in is acquisition of Positive Psychology.
- Edcetera, a portfolio company of Eden Capital, in its acquisition of PrepFE.
- The Chernin Group (TCG) as lead investor in the Series D funding round for the Premier Lacrosse League.
- Truelink Capital in its acquisition of Trulite Glass & Aluminum Solutions, one of North America's largest architectural glass and aluminum fabricators.
- RBmedia, a leading provider of unabridged audiobooks and digital content to the library, school and retail markets, in connection with its sale to KKR from Shamrock Capital, as well as RBmedia's previous acquisitions of Audiobooks.com, Gildan Media and Christian Audio.
- Consilio, a portfolio company of Shamrock Capital and a global leader in eDiscovery, document review and legal consulting services, in connection with the acquisition of EQD, a Houston-based eDiscovery, document review and litigation support services provider.
- OpenGate Capital in connection with various private equity matters, including the acquisitions of InRule Technology, a decision management platform and business rules management system, and Mersive Technologies, a leading provider of wireless collaboration software.
- Mitsui & Co. in connection with numerous M&A and investment matters, including Proterra, FirstElement Fuel Element Analytics, Hannibal Industries, J.I.T. Steel, AFC and Smart Signal.
- Pan Pacific International Holdings, the largest Japanese general-merchandise discount and offprice retailer, in its acquisition of Gelson's.
- Saybrook Corporate Opportunity Funds in connection with various investments, including Bankruptcy Management Solutions, iPayment, Rotech, AGY Holding Corp, Sleep Innovations and Total Transportation Services.
- H Code Media, the largest multicultural digital media company in the US, in connection with its investment from Falfurrias Capital Partners, a Charlotte-based private equity firm focused on growth oriented, middle-market businesses.
- Bento Box, a digital marketing and commerce platform provider that delivers a frictionless diner experience, in its agreement to sell to Fiserv, a leading global provider or payments and financial services technology solutions.
- Absolute Software, a public leader in Endpoint Resilience™ solutions, in its agreement to acquire NetMotion Software from the Carlyle Group.
- BookheadEd, developer of the English language arts program StudySync, in its agreement to sell to Weld North Education.
- HG Insights, a developer of a competitive intelligence database designed to analyze markets and target prospects, in their sale to Riverwood Capital Partners, a Palo Alto-based private equity firm.
- Carl Zeiss Meditec in connection with its acquisition of Veracity Innovations, a medical software company creating cloud solutions for eye doctors, and in connection with its acquisition of Aaren Scientific.
- Platinum Performance, maker of nutritional product formulas for horses plus a smaller range of pet care brands and human supplements, in its sale to Zoetis.
- Gourmet Foods, a family-owned manufacturer and distributor of specialty prepared foods, in its sale to Gourmet Culinary Holdings, a portfolio company of AUA Private Equity.
- Chatmeter, a developer of a local brand management platform designed to provide reputation and SEO analytics, in its investment from Providence Strategic Growth.
- Prescribe Wellness, a provider of medical and health related software, in its sale to Tabula Rasa.
- Impakt Holdings, a vertically integrated manufacturer providing manufacturing solutions for OEMs in the semiconductor and Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display industries, in its sale to Celestica.
- Concord Technologies, a leading provider of secure, cloud-based interoperability and automation technology, in its growth investment from Excellere Partners.
- DBJJDM LLC in the acquisition of WyoTech, an automotive technical training school in Laramie, Wyoming.
- Nogales Investors in connection with numerous private equity investments, including Naartjie.
- The Marcus Buckingham Company, a talent development company, in its sale to ADP, a comprehensive global provider of cloudbased human capital management solutions that unite HR, payroll, talent, time, tax and benefits administration.
- Whalen Furniture Manufacturing in connection with its sale to Li & Fung.
*Ray advised on some of these matters prior to joining Willkie in 2022.
Credentials
Education
Yale Law School, J.D., 1991 Whittier College, B.A., 1985