Ian Nussbaum advises companies and their boards of directors on business-defining transactions that drive growth and shape global markets.

Mr. Nussbaum combines commercial pragmatism with technical precision to advise leading public and private companies, private equity firms, special committees, and investors across multiple industries on:

  • Mergers, acquisitions, sales, and divestitures
  • Joint ventures
  • Conflict transactions
  • Takeover defense 
  • Complex corporate governance
  • Shareholder activism

A recognized thought leader, Mr. Nussbaum regularly presents on emerging issues under Delaware law, including relating to controlling stockholder transactions.

Mr. Nussbaum serves on the board of advisors at Penn Law’s Institute for Law & Economics. He is active in various nonprofit organizations and serves on the 92Y’s Emerging Leadership Counsel.

Before joining Latham, Mr. Nussbaum was a partner at another international law firm and served as a practitioner participant in a negotiations intensive course at Cardozo Law School.

Mr. Nussbaum served as a law clerk for Chancellor Leo E. Strine Jr. of the Delaware Court of Chancery.

Mr. Nussbaum’s experience includes representing:

Recent Transactions

  • Manchester United in selling a minority stake in the Premier League football club to INEOS Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe
  • Endeavor in the:
    • US$21 billion merger of its mixed martial arts franchise UFC with WWE to create TKO, an Endeavor-controlled public company
    • US$13 billion take private by Silver Lake
  • Cadence Design Systems in acquiring the Rambus SerDes and memory interface PHY IP business
  • Revolution Medicines, a clinical-stage oncology company, in its US$1 billion acquisition of EQRx
  • Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, a GI-focused healthcare company, in its US$1 billion acquisition of VectivBio Holding
  • Mind Medicine, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, in:
    • Entering a senior secured credit facility with K2 HealthVentures
    • A successful proxy contest, resulting in the election of all six company nominees at its annual meeting
  • Smith Douglas Homes, one of the fastest growing private homebuilders in the US by number of closings, in its IPO
  • Centerview Partners, as financial advisor to Rover, on Rover’s US$2.3 billion sale to Blackstone

Technology

  • Tableau in its US$15.7 billion sale to Salesforce*
  • Snap in multiple acquisitions worth over US$500 million in the aggregate*
  • Instacart in multiple transactions, including acquiring:
    • Rosie*
    • Eversight*
  • Sunrun in acquiring Vivint Solar in a stock deal valued at US$3.2 billion*
  • TiVo in its combination with Xperi in a US$3 billion all-stock transaction*
  • Zipwhip in its US$850 million sale to Twilio*
  • Humio in its US$400 million sale to CrowdStrike*
  • Datadog in acquiring Sqreen*
  • Snyk in multiple transactions, including in acquiring:
    • TopCoat Data*
    • Fugue*
  • Instructure in its US$2 billion acquisition by Thoma Bravo*
  • Telaria in its merger of equals transaction with Rubicon Project*
  • Automattic in acquiring Tumblr from Verizon Communications*
  • Thomson Reuters in its strategic partnership with Blackstone for Thomson Reuters’ Financial and Risk business, valued at US$20 billion*
  • Expedia in its US$1.6 billion acquisition of Orbitz Worldwide*
  • Siris Capital Group in its US$4.4 billion all-cash acquisition of Travelport Worldwide*
  • Siris Capital Group in multiple transactions, including:
    • Its acquisition of Intralinks and the subsequent US$1.5 billion sale of the company to SS&C Technologies*
    • Its preferred investment in Synchronoss Technologies*
  • Fairchild Semiconductor International in its US$2.4 billion acquisition by ON Semiconductor*
  • MSD Capital in Dell Technologies’ US$22 billion recapitalization transaction*
  • Umpqua Holdings in selling a technology business to Kony*

Healthcare and Life Sciences

  • Five Prime Therapeutics in its US$1.9 billion sale to Amgen*
  • Portola Pharmaceuticals in its US$1.41 billion sale to Alexion Pharmaceuticals*
  • Accolade in multiple transactions, including its:
    • US$450 million acquisition of PlushCare*
    • US$460 million acquisition of 2nd MD*
  • Oyster Point Pharma in its US$415 million sale to Viatris*
  • Chimerix in divesting TEMBEXA to Emergent BioSolutions for US$238 million plus potential milestone payments*
  • Adamas Pharmaceuticals in its US$450 million sale to Supernus Pharmaceuticals*
  • Thirty Madison in its agreement to merge with Nurx*
  • Dova Pharmaceuticals in its US$915 million acquisition by Swedish Orphan Biovitrum*
  • Medivation in its defense of a hostile takeover attempt by Sanofi and subsequent US$14 billion acquisition by Pfizer*

Gaming and Leisure, Retail, Consumer Goods, Industrials, Utilities, and Automotive

  • IAA in its definitive merger agreement, under which Ritchie Bros. will acquire IAA in transaction valued at approximately US$7.3 billion*
  • Levi Strauss & Co. in acquiring Beyond Yoga*
  • Penn National Gaming in its US$575 million divestiture of four casinos to Boyd Gaming and US$2.8 billion acquisition of Pinnacle Entertainment*
  • Gaming and Leisure Properties in its US$5.1 billion acquisition of Pinnacle Entertainment’s real estate assets in a Morris Trust transaction*
  • PetSmart in its US$8.7 billion leveraged buyout by a private equity consortium led by BC Partners*
  • Dufry in multiple transactions, including its:
    • US$4 billion acquisition of World Duty Free*
    • US$1.5 billion acquisition of The Nuance Group*
  • PPG Industries in its US$29 billion offer to acquire AkzoNobel*
  • NextEra Energy in acquiring Gulf Power Company, Florida City Gas, and the Stanton and Oleander power plants from the Southern Company*
  • Johnson Controls in selling its automotive business to Visteon*

Financial Institutions

  • Chubb in its US$28.3 billion acquisition by ACE Limited*
  • The Carlyle Group in multiple transactions, including in acquiring:
    • Interests in Duff & Phelps*
    • A controlling equity stake in Edgewood Partners Insurance Center*
  • CIT Group in its US$3.4 billion acquisition of OneWest Bank*
  • Wells Fargo in selling a division to Equiniti*
  • The Bank of America in multiple transactions, including in:
    • 13 branch sales, with deposits worth about US$5.8 billion*
    • Selling its cash management business to BlackRock*
  • PetSmart in its US$8.7 billion leveraged buyout by a private equity consortium led by BC Partners*
  • Astoria Financial in its US$2.2 billion acquisition by Sterling Bancorp*
  • Square 1 Financial in its US$849 million acquisition by PacWest Bancorp*
  • FBR & Co. in its US$160 million acquisition by B. Riley Financial*
  • B. Riley Financial in its US$67 million acquisition of Wunderlich Securities*

*Matter handled prior to joining Latham

Bar Qualification

  • California
  • New York

Education

  • JD, University of Pennsylvania, 2012
    magna cum laude
  • BA, Columbia University, 2007
    magna cum laude
February 16, 2024 Recognition

Mergers & Acquisitions Group of the Year: Latham

Latham & Watkins has been named a 2023 Mergers & Acquisitions Group of the Year by Law360 in recognition of the firm’s innovative work on several of the most complex and transformative deals across industry sectors.