Ray LaSoya

• 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 and/or its portfolio companies in: 
  
  • the acquisition of Mutiny, an industry-leading creative agency helping global publishers and brands connect with gaming audiences;
  • the acquisition of Neocol, a consulting firm focused on streamlining companies’ go-to-market sales functions;
    
  • the acquisition on of Nth Degree, a leading event management and experiential marketing company;
    
  • its investment in DE-YAN, a leading global experiential consultancy;
    
  • the acquisition of Carnegie, a higher education enrollment marketing firm;
    
  • the sale of Bayard Advertising, a full-service recruitment advertising, marketing and employer brand communications agency, to Appcast; 
    
  • its minority growth investment in Boardwalk Pictures, a production company that creates non-fiction entertainment for audiences across the globe;
    
  • its strategic investment in AnswerLab, a leading user experience research firm;
    
  • its strategic investment in Highwire PR, a premier communications partner for leading technology and healthcare companies;
    
  • its Series D investment in VidMob, the leading platform for intelligent Creative;
    
  • a strategic growth investment in EDO, a data measurement and analytics software;
    
  • its investment in Religion of Sports, the Emmy award-winning sports media studio;
    
  • the sale of RB Media, 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 Gildan Media, Audiobooks.com and Christian Audio;
    
  • Consilio, a global leader in eDiscovery, document review and legal consulting services, in the acquisition of EQD
    
  • the sale of Mobilitie Investments III, a provider of wireless infrastructure in the US, to BAI Communications; 
    
  • its investment in Wpromote, a leading full-service digital marketing agency; and
    
  • various other transactions including, Skillable (virtual labs and IT training), Pixellot (AI-automated video and analytics solutions for sports market), Guam Telephone Authority, Modern Luxury Media (luxury lifestyle media company), Netgear (global computer networking company), PortalPlayer (semiconductor company for personal media players), PRN (in-store television network).
    
• Eden Capital in various private equity transactions, including:
  
  • the investment in Intelvio, formerly Phlebotomy Training Specialists, which provides state-of-the-art education in various medical fields;
    
  • the investment in Edcetera , formerly PDH Academy, which provides continuing education, test preparation, and licensing preparation for various professions;
    
  • the investment in Wall Street Prep, a leading provider of training programs for the financial services industry; 
    
  • the sale of Wall Street Prep to The Riverside Company; 
    
  • Intelvio’s acquisition of Classward, an online provider of continuing education for aspiring and current EMS professionals;
    
  • Edcetera’s acquisition of Pulse Radiology and Pulse Radiology Institute;
    
  • Intelvio in is acquisition of Positive Psychology; and
    
  • Edcetera in its acquisition of PrepFE.
    
• Platinum Equity and/or its portfolio companies in the:
  
  • acquisition of the experiential marketing services firm Czarnowski Collective from Mark Nagle and the Nagle family;
    
  • acquisition of Tarter Farm and Ranch Equipment, a leading manufacturer of animal gates and fencing solutions, tractor implements, planters and fire rings, and animal feeding and handling equipment, from affiliates of the Company’s founders;
    
  • acquisition MetoKote Corporation, a protective coating applications company; 
    
  • acquisition of San Diego Union-Tribune, metropolitan daily newspaper; and
    
  • reorganization of Aquilex, a maintenance, repair and industrial cleaning solutions company for the energy industry.
    
• Monogram Capital Partners and/or its portfolio companies in the:
  
  • acquisition of Tru Fragrance & Beauty, a global beauty brand builder whose portfolio includes owned, licensed, and exclusive fragrance and beauty brands sold to national beauty and apparel retailers and direct to consumers; and
    
  • acquisition of Lake & Skye (via Tru Fragrance & Beauty).
    
• Mitsui & Co. in connection with numerous M&A and investment matters, including
  
  • its wholly-owned subsidiary and provider of industrial solutions for global climate change, MyPower, in its sale of Solstice Power Technologies LLC to Perch Energy, a community solar servicer;
  • its investment in Proterra, a manufacturer of electric transit buses; 
    
  • its investment in FirstElement Fuel, a developer in designing hydrogen fueling stations; 
  • the sale of Hannibal Industries, a steel manufacturer;
    
  • the acquisition of J.I.T. Steel, a steel manufacturing company; and 
    
  • the investment in Smart Signal, a provider of predictive and analytic software for equipment
    
• The Chernin Group (TCG) and/or its portfolio companies in: 
  
  • the Series D funding round (as the lead investor) for the Premier Lacrosse League; and 
    
  • its growth equity investment in Cars & Bids, an online auction house for the modern car enthusiast.
    
• Pan Pacific International Holdings, the largest Japanese general-merchandise discount and offprice retailer, in its acquisition of Gelson's.
  
• BookheadEd, developer of the English language arts program StudySync, in its agreement to sell to Weld North Education.
  
• DBJJDM LLC in the acquisition of WyoTech, an automotive technical training school in Laramie, Wyoming.
  
• 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.

*Ray advised on some of these matters prior to joining Willkie in 2022.