William A. Groll is a partner based in the New York office.
Mr. Groll's practice focuses on public and private merger and acquisition transactions with a particular focus on cross-border transactions. He also provides advice regarding governance matters and fiduciary duties of officers and directors to corporations and their boards.
Mr. Groll is internationally distinguished as a leading corporate lawyer by
The Legal 500 and
Legal Business - Legal Experts.
Mr. Groll has frequently represented Henkel KGaA and its affiliates in M&A transactions, including Henkel's share exchange with Clorox, its acquisitions of Dial, Loctite and Sovereign and its transactions with, and significant minority investments in, Ecolab. Mr. Groll has also been counsel to Texas Pacific Group on a number of matters. He recently advised TPG and Apax in connection with their acquisitions, and pending disposition, of TIM Hellas and Q-Telecom, and TPG in connection with its sale of its interest in Ducati. Some of Mr. Groll’s other representative transactions include advising Evraz SA in connection with its acquisition of Oregon Steel Mills through a tender offer followed by a merger; Saipem and Serono in connection with their acquisitions of Bouygues Offshore and Genset, respectively, through dual tender offers in France and the United States; Stora Enso in its acquisition of Consolidated Papers; DSM N.V. in its acquisitions of Catalytica and the vitamins business of Roche; MTG in its minority investment in CTC Media; Deutsche Bank in its acquisition of National Discount Brokers; the Zell/Chilmark Fund in its acquisitions of Carter Hawley Hale and Sealy and in its significant minority investment in Quality Food Centers; Bestfoods in its spin-off of Corn Products International; Jacor Communications in its acquisition by Clear Channel Communications; Broadway Stores in its acquisition by Federated Department Stores; and Sodak Gaming in its acquisition by International Game Technology.
Mr. Groll has also worked extensively representing investment banking firms acting as financial advisors in M&A transactions.
Mr. Groll joined the firm's New York office in 1985 and became a partner in 1992. From 2001 to 2006 he was resident in the London office. He received a J.D. degree from Columbia University in 1983, and an undergraduate degree from Harvard College in 1980. He also served as law clerk to the Honorable Shirley Wohl Kram of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Mr. Groll is a member of the Bar in New York.