Jeannine McSweeney is a Partner in the Firm’s Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Practice. Jeannine counsels private equity investors and their portfolio companies, public companies and other clients on all aspects of executive compensation and other employee benefits matters arising in a variety of complex transactions, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings. Jeannine’s clients include Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, TD Bank, TPG, EQT, KKR, Garda and Patricia Industries, among others.
Jeannine also has extensive experience advising on equity compensation and employment arrangements, including equity- and cash-based incentives, deferred compensation, and employment, change in control, retention and severance arrangements for both employers and executives.
Work Highlights
Jeannine has extensive experience advising private equity investors on compensation and benefits matters in connection with complex transactions, including:
- Blackstone in its acquisition and subsequent sales of Motel 6 and Strategic Hotels & Resorts, acquisition of Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust, its recapitalization of SERVPRO, its acquisition of Stearns Holdings, as well as its investments in Spanx and Supergoop!
- Hellman & Friedman in numerous transactions, including in its acquisition of The NPD Group and in the merger of NPD with Information Resources, and its investments in Curriculum Associates, PointClickCare Technologies and Sprinklr
- Silver Lake in the announced acquisition of Endeavor Group Holdings
- Blackstone, Carlyle and Hellman & Friedman in their majority investment in Medline Industries, Inc.
- EQT in its $4.6 billion acquisition of First Student and First Transit and their $3.3 billion financings in connection with the acquisition and its subsequent sale of First Transit and its acquisitions and subsequent sales of Clinical Innovations and Press Ganey
- TPG Rise Climate in its acquisitions of AmSpec Group and MIRATECH Corp.
- KKR in multiple transactions, including in its significant minority investment in Quick Quack Car Wash, its financing of Freeman’s acquisition of Sparks, and its acquisition of Covenant Surgical Partners
- Providence Equity Partners in its equity investment in Brandt Information Services
- Patricia Industries and its companies in multiple acquisitions, including Patricia’s acquisitions of Advanced Instruments and Laborie Medical Technologies
- GI Partners in its acquisitions of DQE Communications and ORBCOMM
Jeannine has also advised corporate clients on compensation and benefits matters in connection with complex transactions, including:
- Numerous IPOs (all as issuer’s counsel) and subsequent offerings including Apria (including its sale to Owens & Minor), TaskUs, Cetara and Gates Global
- PPD in its IPO and subsequent $17.4 billion sale to Thermo Fisher Scientific
- Karuna Therapeutics, Inc. in its $14 billion acquisition by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
- Allen & Overy in its merger with Shearman & Sterling
- El Puerto de Liverpool, S.A.B. de C.V. in its proposed acquisition, together with certain members of the Nordstrom family, of all shares of Nordstrom, Inc. not already owned by the buying group in an all-cash transaction
- Spindrift Beverage in its partnership with Gryphon Investors
- People’s United Financial in numerous transactions, including its $7.6 billion merger with M&T Bank Corporation and its acquisition of United Financial Bancorp, Inc., among many others
- U.S. Bancorp in its acquisition of MUFG Union Bank for $8 billion
- TD Bank Group in its $1.3 billion acquisition of Cowen Inc.
- Independent Bank Corp. in its proposed acquisition of Enterprise Bancorp
- EverBank in the proposed acquisition of Life Premium Finance division from Primis Bank
- Garda World Security Corporation, Founder, Chairman and CEO Stephan Crétier, and GardaWorld management in a C$13.5 billion recapitalization through its sale of BC Partners’ majority equity interest in GardaWorld, in a C$5.2 billion recapitalization through its sale of Rhône Group’s equity interest in Garda World, and GardaWorld’s acquisitions of Stealth Monitoring, OnSolve, Tidel and Gunnebo, and ARCA, as well as numerous offerings
- BTG Pactual in its proposed acquisition of M.Y. Safra Bank
Jeannine is ranked as a leading lawyer for Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation (New York) by Chambers USA, citing clients who say “she is an excellent negotiator, who is thoughtful and practical.” Sources also rave that “she can make highly complex concepts easily understandable for the lay person.” She has also been recognized by The Legal 500 United States as a “Next Generation Partner” for Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation. Jeannine is Co-Chair of the Firm’s Women’s Committee and the Firm’s Investment & Pension Committee.
Jeannine received her LL.M. from New York University School of Law in 2008, her M.B.A., magna cum laude, from Syracuse University Whitman School of Management and her J.D., magna cum laude, from Syracuse University College of Law, both in 2006, and her B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Rochester in 2003. Jeannine is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey.