Laurent Alpert is a partner based in the New York office.
Mr. Alpert's practice focuses on mergers, acquisitions and leveraged buyouts, with particular emphasis on cross-border transactions. He also has an extensive practice and experience in bridge financings and permanent financings of acquisition transactions. He represents both major U.S. and foreign industrial and financial companies as well as private equity firms.
Mr. Alpert is distinguished as one of the country's best banking and finance lawyers by
Chambers USA. He is also listed in
Global Counsel 3000, the Handbook for Lawyers in Europe's Leading Companies, as one of few experts in inbound investment into the United States.
Mr. Alpert also has an active practice in advising on various corporate governance matters, including advice as to the obligations of boards of directors and various board committees. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Beazer Homes USA, Inc., a NYSE-listed company in the home-building business, and is chairman of its Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee, as well as a member of its Audit Committee.
Mr. Alpert is currently representing Nortel Networks in the sale of its CVAS business to GENBAND and recently represented Nortel in the sale of its CDMA and LTE businesses to Ericsson, both transactions pursuant to a bankruptcy court auction. He has represented numerous industrial companies in connection with public or private acquisitions and financings, including recently ConocoPhillips Company in the sale of its retail operations, as well as in its sale of Circle K Corporation to Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., Lafarge SA in connection with its unsolicited acquisition of the remaining 46.8% public interest in its NYSE subsidiary Lafarge North America, as well as in its divestiture of assets pursuant to an FTC consent decree in connection with its acquisition of Blue Circle plc, LS Cable Ltd. in its acquisition of Superior Essex Inc., Garmin Ltd. in connection with its unsolicited cash tender offer for Tele Atlas and Deutsche Bank in connection with its acquisition of RREEF.
Mr. Alpert recently represented ING in the sale of three of its broker-dealers to Lightyear Capital LLC. He has represented private equity firms in numerous transactions including Texas Pacific Group in its acquisition, together with Apollo, of Harrah’s Entertainment, as well as in its acquisitions of Aleris International, the surgery division of HealthSouth, Iasis Healthcare and Kraton Polymers, Warburg Pincus and its portfolio company Targa Resources in connection with Targa’s leveraged acquisition of assets from Dynegy Inc., Hellman & Friedman in its proposed agreement to acquire Lehman Brothers’ investment management business including Neuberger Berman, and BC Partners in connection with the sale of Omni Services Inc. to Cintas Corporation.
Mr. Alpert joined the firm in 1972 and became a partner in 1980. He was resident in the Brussels office for eight years. Mr. Alpert received a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School in 1972 and studied at the École Nationale d'Administration and the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris in 1968. He received an undergraduate degree,
magna cum laude, from Harvard College. He is a member of the Bar in New York and is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
Mr. Alpert is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the International Rescue Committee, a non-profit organization providing relief and resettlement services to refugees, and Co-Chair of its Nominating and Governance Committee.