Michael Chao

Michael Chao is a Partner in Simpson Thacher’s Mergers and Acquisitions Practice, where he focuses his practice on public and private mergers and acquisitions, investments, dispositions, joint ventures and other significant corporate transactions. He regularly counsels private equity sponsors and strategic clients on a broad range of domestic and cross-border transactions and has experience representing clients across a variety of sectors, including technology, healthcare, infrastructure, consumer products and financial services. Michael’s clients have included private equity firms such as Blackstone, KKR and Integrum, and leading public and private companies, including Mars, Johnson Controls, Genesee & Wyoming and Avalara.

Selected representations on which Michael has worked include:

• Blackstone in numerous transactions, including its acquisitions of Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Ancestry, Stearns Holdings, PSAV and Ascend Learning, investments in Buyers Edge Platform, 7 Brew, Advarra, Supergoop!, AZZ and Phoenix Tower International, joint ventures with Digital Realty and the FDIC, and sales of DJO Global and Optiv
• Blackstone, Carlyle and Hellman & Friedman in their majority investment in Medline Industries

• Mars, Incorporated in multiple transactions, including its investment in Vetsource, its strategic partnership with KIND and its subsequent acquisition of KIND North America and its acquisitions of Trü Frü and Kevin's Natural Foods 

• Integrum in multiple transactions, including its sale of MerchantE and its partnerships with Program Productions and Strategic Risk Solutions, Inc.

• Johnson Controls in its $13.2 billion sale of its Power Solutions business

• Avalara in its $8.4 billion sale to Vista Equity Partners
• Genesee & Wyoming in its $8.4 billion sale to affiliates of Brookfield Infrastructure and GIC

• Vivint Smart Home in its $4.2 billion business combination with Mosaic Acquisition Corp., a SPAC, and its subsequent $5.2 billion sale to NRG Energy
• WMIH in its $3.8 billion merger with Nationstar
• BorgWarner in its $3.3 billion acquisition of Delphi Technologies
• Vivint Solar in its $3.2 billion sale to Sunrun
• Finance of America in its $1.9 billion business combination with Replay Acquisition Corp., a SPAC, and its acquisition of assets of American Advisors Group 

Michael received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was elected to Order of the Coif, was a member of the Editorial Board of the Virginia Law Review and was the Executive Editor of the Virginia Tax Review. He received his M.A. and B.A. (cum laude and with distinction) from Yale University. Michael is admitted to practice in New York.