Matt Gabbard is a Partner in our Mergers and Acquisitions and Fund Transactions Practices. Matt’s practice focuses primarily on advising alternative asset managers on a variety of complex transactions, including mergers and acquisitions and other business combinations, secondaries transactions (including GP-led restructurings), co-investments, joint ventures and internal economic and governance matters.
In addition to his fund transactions work, Matt brings extensive experience representing public company corporate clients, leading private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in a variety of complex domestic and cross-border transactions and corporate governance matters, including mergers and acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, equity financings, spin-offs and other corporate matters.
His clients have included asset managers such as KKR, Blackstone, EQT, Baring Private Equity Asia, Macquarie Asset Management, Stonepeak, Bridgepoint, Raven Capital Management, Angelo Gordon, Grosvenor Capital Management and Blackstone Strategic Partners. Matt has also represented corporate clients such as Ingersoll Rand, L3Harris Technologies, Avantor, Hilton Grand Vacations, American Electric Power, Ziff Davis, Microsoft and Sirius XM.
Matt’s representative experience includes advising:
- Alternative asset managers, including private equity and infrastructure fund sponsors in connection with GP-led restructurings, co-investments, secondaries and minority “stakes” investments
- Baring Private Equity Asia in its business combination with EQT AB
- Bridgepoint in its acquisition of Energy Capital Partners (ECP)
- Raven Capital Management in its acquisition by Metlife Investment Management, the institutional asset management business of MetLife
- Gardner Denver in its $15 billion “Reverse Morris Trust” transaction with Ingersoll-Rand plc’s Industrial segment, as well as KKR in its prior $3.9 billion acquisition of Gardner Denver
- KKR in various transactions, including its recent public company reorganization, WMIH’s $3.8 billion merger with Nationstar and PharMerica’s business combination with BrightSpring Health Services
- Blackstone in its spin-off of its financial advisory and Park Hill fund placement businesses and business combination with PJT Partners
- Stonepeak in the sale of a minority stake to Blue Owl GP Stakes as well as in portfolio company acquisitions such as its $6.2 billion acquisition of Teekay LNG Partners
- Blackstone in its preferred equity investment in Cryoport in connection with Cryoport’s acquisition of MVE Biological Solutions
- Hilton Grand Vacations in its $1.4 billion acquisition of Diamond Resorts International
- EQT Infrastructure and Segra in the sale of Segra’s commercial services business to Cox Communications
- Stonecroft Management in its minority investment in Thrive Capital
- Invitation Homes in its $20 billion merger-of-equals with Starwood Waypoint Homes
- Avantor and New Mountain Capital in their $6.4 billion take-private acquisition of VWR Corporation
- Team Health in its $6.1 billion sale to Blackstone funds and co-investors
Matt received his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 2012, where he was a Dean’s Scholar and served as an Executive Articles Editor of the NYU Annual Survey of American Law. Matt received his B.A. from Yale University in 2007, with distinction, where he was the recipient of the Canadian Studies Prize.