Profile
Robert White provides comprehensive counseling on M&A and other corporate law matters across a variety of industries. With clients ranging from individual investors and executives to private equity funds and publicly-traded companies, Robert takes the time to understand his clients’ goals and takes a practical and responsive approach to achieving them.
Robert’s extensive M&A experience includes complex cross-border transactions, sophisticated for-profit/non-profit joint venture arrangements, leveraged buyouts, minority investments and sales to both strategic and financial acquirers. He also counsels numerous companies on day-to-day corporate matters, including formation matters, SEC compliance, commercial contracts, debt financing, and the negotiation and drafting of employment agreements and incentive awards.
A 2014 cum laude graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, Robert previously had a distinguished 11-year career as a police officer and was an adjunct professor of criminal justice, as well as an invited speaker and trainer on both the legal and practical aspects of policing.
Robert began his legal career in the Chicago and Dallas offices of Sidley Austin, LLP and Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP. Prior to joining Conner & Winters, Robert practiced with a boutique corporate law firm in Dallas.
Experience
Mergers & Acquisitions
Significant experience drafting and negotiating all key M&A documents from LOI stage to post-closing integration and management, including shareholder/LLC agreements and other equity documents, as well as board- and investor-facing communications.
Deals have ranged from $500K-$300M in size, with significant experience representing both buyers and sellers. Client representations include public companies, middle-market PE funds, family offices, small businesses and HNWIs.
General Corporate Counseling
Counsel on general corporate matters, including drafting/negotiating agreements with investors, loan/credit facility documents, key commercial agreements, employment/separation and incentive equity documents, commercial leases and settlements of outstanding disputes and litigation.
Client industries include healthcare, manufacturing, construction and a variety of service industries.
Significant experience representing both franchisors and franchisees (including in their negotiations with landlords and exits from the franchise model).
Early- and Growth-Stage Corporate Counseling
Significant experience counseling both investors and entrepreneurs on early- and growth-stage legal matters, including securities law compliance and negotiating favorable exit/liquidation options.
Joint venture arrangements have included debt financing, sophisticated preferred equity waterfalls and convertible securities (including SAFEs), among others.
Representative Clients/Transactions
Numerous roll-up acquisitions for a Fortune 500 building products supplier, including coordination with the client’s C-suite on integration matters.
A Fortune 20 company in its divestiture of a nuclear power facility to a foreign buyer.
Private equity buyer in its ~$90M acquisition of a California-based ophthalmology practice.
Custom boat manufacturer in its ~$50M sale to a publicly-traded acquirer.
Food packaging manufacturer in its ~$30M sale to a strategic buyer.
Dental practice management software company in its ~$50M sale to private equity.
Solar panel company in its ~$25M sale to a foreign investment fund.
Specialty steel manufacturer in its ~$55M merger with a strategic acquirer.
Selling fund in its ~$300M fund-to-fund sale of a warehouse financing asset.
PE-backed healthcare services provider in its ~$50M for-profit/nonprofit joint venture with a statewide hospital system.
Insurance provider in its $35M sale to a strategic buyer.
Large privately-held medical products company in multiple acquisitions of and investments in medical intellectual property.
Selling fund in its ~$100M fund-to-fund sale of a paper products company with significant overseas operations.
News
News
Practices
Industries
Education
University of Michigan Law School, J.D. cum laude
Boston University, M.Sc. Criminal Justice
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, B.S. Psychology