A team of Manatt attorneys won Cross Border Deal of the Year (for the $100 million to $250 million deal size category) in the 11th Annual International M&A Awards.
The group won for its representation of Stamps.com in the company’s $220 million acquisition of MetaPack Ltd. This is the sixth acquisition Manatt has handled for the U.S. Internet-based mailing and shipping company in recent years.
The team was led by Ben Orlanski, a partner in the financial services mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and finance group, and included partner Matthew O’Loughlin; associate Eugene Choi; Brian Kelly, a partner in the venture capital and emerging companies group; Jeff Mannisto and David Herbst, leader and partner in the tax and estates practice; Jonathan Weiss, an associate in the tax and estates practice; and former Manatt partner Lisl Dunlop.
Aydin Caginalp, a partner in the cross-industry legal services group, provided general cross-border strategy and advice on how to understand U.K./European legal practices.
Acquiring the U.K.-based global e-commerce shipping company added a significant international dimension to Stamps.com’s operations, including new product and service lines outside its core U.S. business. The acquisition puts Stamps.com in a position to expand its European presence and offerings to large customers, in addition to its services for small and midsize businesses based in the U.S.
Manatt’s work with Stamps.com included helping the company achieve its business and legal objectives through appropriate risk mitigation in the purchase agreement; creating due diligence strategies designed to accelerate the warranty and indemnity insurance (or representations and warranties insurance in the U.S.) underwriting process; and facilitating creative structuring of the W&I policy itself, combining U.S. protections into a European-issued policy. Manatt also assisted Stamps.com in developing a strategy for the international auction process.
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