Maurice M. Lefkort
Partner, Corporate & Financial Services
Maurice M. Lefkort is a partner in the Corporate & Financial Services Department and Co-Chair of the Firm's Opinion Committee and Conflicts and Ethics Committee. For more than three decades, boards, founders, sponsors, and principals have turned to Maurice on the transactions and situations that define their businesses—public and private mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, contested deals and proxy contests, and complex in-court and out-of-court restructurings, in court and out. He has also been lead corporate counsel on numerous bet-the-company matters. Clients value Maurice for clear judgment under pressure, creative deal architecture, and the ability to mobilize a senior, multi-disciplinary team to resolve the most difficult business and legal challenges. He also serves as long-term strategic counsel to investment funds, operating companies, and family offices. A former Chairman of the Corporation Law Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Maurice writes and speaks frequently on corporate law developments.
Merger & Acquisition Transactions
Maurice represents buyers, sellers, and target companies in public and private M&A transactions, including competitive auctions, negotiated deals, and unsolicited and hostile bids across many different industries. Strategic and financial acquirers rely on him to prevail in complex contests, while sellers engage him to maximize value and certainty in their dispositions.
Private Equity Investments
Private equity transactions demand careful alignment of business, legal, regulatory, and economic interests between sponsors and their portfolio companies. Private equity investors and entrepreneurs regularly engage Maurice to structure investments, build value across portfolio companies, and execute successful exits. Maurice pairs a problem-solving approach with deep transactional experience, marshalling a focused team of specialists to address the full range of issues that arise in achieving his clients’ objectives.
Shareholder Activism
Maurice represents investors in activist campaigns and proxy contests addressing board composition, management and governance changes, capital allocation, corporate strategy, and M&A transactions. His practice focuses on shareholder engagement strategy, the dynamics between shareholders and management, and the development of value-maximizing solutions.
Family Offices
Representing family offices requires both legal proficiency and a sophisticated understanding of organizational design and family dynamics. Maurice advises family offices on governance, investment activity, wealth creation and intergenerational transfer, and the design of governance structures and systems that support family cohesion and long-term stability across generations.
Restructurings
Maurice’s strategic insight and breadth of experience have enabled him to deploy innovative techniques in some of the most complex restructurings on record. He represented Altos Hornos de Mexico, the largest independent steel producer in Mexico, throughout its multi-year restructuring, leading negotiations with creditors that culminated in a “preventive agreement” approved by the Mexican Court and recognized in a U.S. Chapter 15 proceeding. He led the Tranche C Lenders in their successful credit bid for, and acquisition of, Delphi Automotive. He also served as lead outside corporate counsel and architect of the plan of reorganization for Adelphia Communications Corporation—one of the largest corporate bankruptcies of its era—where he was referred to in the federal Bankruptcy Court as the “wizard” of the Adelphia plan.
Experience
Maurice is the former Chairman of the Corporation Law Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He is also a member of the American Bar Association (Section of Business Law, Committee on Negotiated Acquisitions and Committee on Private Equity and Venture Capital).
Maurice frequently lectures and writes on legal developments. He also blogs on legal issues for The Wharton Magazine. His posts can be found at: http://whartonmagazine.com/author/mauricelefkortmagazine/. Recent publications and speaking engagements include:
- “SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance Issues Staff Legal Bulletin 14M, Rescinds Staff Legal Bulletin 14L,” The Investment Lawyer, May 2025;
- Panelist, “The Normative Significance of Shareholder Votes in a World of Common Ownership,” NYU Law Institute for Corporate Governance and Finance: Spring Corporate Roundtable, May 2, 2024;
- "Lies, Half-Truths, And Concealing Information: The Risks Of M&A Due Diligence," The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, October 2013;
- "When Your Non-Binding Term Sheet Creates An Enforceable Contract: Important Decision On the Duty To Negotiate In Good Faith," The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, October 2013;
- "An Ounce of Fund Document Prevention is Worth a Pound of Litigation Cure Later: Waiver of Fiduciary Duties in Fund Documents," The Investment Lawyer, March 2013;
- "Caveat Emptor: The Threat to Value from Target Company Use of Open Source Software" with Gordon Caplan, The M&A Lawyer, June 2008;
- "Pizzazz In Your Diligence, A Structure That Works, And Other Lessons From Recent M&A Cases" (Parts I and II), The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, March 2008 and April 2008;
- "Safeguarding the Deal: The double lie, meaningless liars, anti-sandbagging rules and other reasons why business diligence is not protected in most M&A transactions," Mergers & Acquisitions, February 2008.
Merger & Acquisition Transactions
- Ocho Investments, LLC, one of TruBridge, Inc.'s largest shareholders, in connection with the sale of TruBridge to Inventurus Knowledge Solutions, Inc.
- Irenic Capital Management, the largest shareholder of FD Technologies, on the acquisition of FD Technologies by TA Associates
- Irenic Capital Management in the $5.2 billion take-private acquisition, alongside Apollo Global Management, of Arconic Corporation
- Loral in its agreement with PSP Investments and Telesat Canada to combine Loral and Telesat into a new Canadian public company
- Bloomberg L.P. in acquiring the Barclays Index Business, The Bureau of National Affairs Inc., BusinessWeek and New Energy Finance Limited
- SourceHOV in its $2.8 billion merger agreement with Novitex and Quinpario to form Exela Technologies
- Hallmark Cards in its “take private” of Crown Media
- Loral Space & Communications Inc. in the sale of its satellite manufacturing unit, Space Systems/Loral, to MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
- Bloomberg Inc. in acquiring a 20% minority interest in Bloomberg L.P. from Merrill Lynch
- Building Materials Corporation of America in its successful, hostile acquisition of ElkCorp
- Adelphia Communications Corporation in the sale of its Puerto Rican cable operations
Private Equity Investments
- Family Office 1 in connection with industry-agnostic private equity investing and exits
- Family Office 2 in a roll-up of U.S. auto dealerships
- HandsOn Global Management (HGM), as controlling shareholder, in the merger of SourceHOV and BancTec Group, a deal that created a global leader in transaction processing solutions
- Private equity investors in the successful, underwritten secondary offering in shares of public portfolio company
- HandsOn Ventures in the formation of SourceHOV, a leading business process outsourcing business, and the subsequent change of control transaction
- Private equity investor in the initial acquisition of a middle-market lending portfolio company and the ultimate disposition to a public company buyer
- Private equity investors in over US $2 billion of committed investments in traditional and alternative energy investments
- A private fund client in the approximately $13.9 billion consortium buyout of IndyMac Federal Bank by IMB HoldCo., a thrift holding company controlled by IMB Management Holdings LP
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XBP Europe, Inc., the European business of Exela Technologies Inc., in its merger with CF Acquisition Corp. VIII
Restructurings
- Outside counsel to Altos Hornos de Mexico S.A.B. de C.V. in its successful suspension de pagos proceeding and U.S. Chapter 15 recognition
- The Collective of Tranche C Lenders in the $3.25 billion credit bid for, and restructuring of, Delphi Corporation
- Hallmark Corporation in the successful restructuring of the indebtedness issued by Crown Media Holdings
- Principal corporate attorney representing debtor-in-possession Adelphia Communications Corporation in the restructuring of over $18 billion of claims, formulation of a plan of reorganization and sales of businesses
- The first successful, large scale (over $800 million) exchange offer by a Chapter 9 debtor (County of Orange, California)
- The largest (at the time) prepackaged bankruptcy case (Trump Taj Mahal Associates)
Special Situation, Public Company and Other
- Irenic Capital Management on its cooperation agreement with Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE: ITGR), a leading global medical device contract development and manufacturing organization
- Irenic Capital Management on its cooperation agreement with Atkore Inc. (NYSE: ATKR), a leading manufacturer of electrical products for commercial, industrial, data center, telecommunications, and solar applications
- Henry Crown & Company in the $3.5 billion refinancing of Rockefeller Center
- Exela Technologies, Inc. on its exchange of its Common Stock for 6.00% Series B Cumulative Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock and in ongoing public company matters
- The Special Committee of Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives, Inc. in connection with negotiating related party investments
- Elliott Investment Management in connection with contested proxy solicitation of Arconic Inc.
Credentials
Education
Harvard Law School, J.D., 1989 The University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School, B.S., 1985