Matt Hafter advises founders, boards of directors, startup/venture-backed and mature companies, and investors in a broad set of transactions. These include mergers and acquisitions, technology transactions, entity formation and governance, equity financings, and strategic collaborations, joint ventures, outsourcing, and procurement matters.
Matt employs a diverse skill set and practical approach honed over numerous transactions and other client engagements to provide practical and thoughtful advice to help solve business and legal issues and assist in structuring, negotiating, and closing business transactions quickly and effectively.
Matt’s clients range from early and seed-stage emerging growth companies to mature global companies in diverse industries. He helps clients establish a legal foundation for ongoing success, including selecting and implementing an optimal entity structure, motivating performance through equity and other incentive compensation, guiding them through rounds of financing, and advising on how to proactively manage other legal aspects of their business based on a thorough understanding of their businesses and objectives.
Decades of experience have allowed Matt to develop a “multi-tool” approach. For example, his work in mergers and acquisitions gives him the perspective to more effectively negotiate and structure technology development or commercialization transactions, and his plain-English drafting of consumer-facing terms and conditions informs his approach to documenting complex transactions. His clients operate in such industries as manufacturing, services, logistics, distribution and health care. Technology companies, in particular, depend on Matt’s counsel to successfully navigate the complex process of bringing their ideas and inventions to the market.
experience
Mergers and Acquisitions
- Represented several software services and support clients making private equity-backed rollup acquisitions and in sales to private equity buyers
- Represented consumer packaged food and beverage client in acquisitions and financings
- Represented food product and processing client in sale to private equity buyer
- Represented consulting firm in two acquisitions of software development companies
- Represented media company in divestiture of newspaper operations
- Represented public company (molecular diagnostics) in tender offer/merger
- Represented bank holding company in acquisition by public company
- Represented petroleum distributor in acquisition by public company
- Represented three specialty food distributors in separate acquisitions and divestitures
- Represented consulting firm in strategic acquisition by major consulting firm
Securities
- Represented numerous early stage companies in Series A, B and C financing rounds
- Represented public health care company in SEC registration of several employee stock incentive plans
- Represented public cancer diagnostic company in all SEC registration, reporting and compliance matters
- Represented private companies in proxy solicitations
- Represented private entities merging with public shell companies
Technology and Outsourcing
- Represented major financial services firms in acquiring large technology portfolios, and information technology and business process outsourcing transactions
- Represented health care services and device firms in technology development, procurement, licensing, and distribution
- Represented health care technology firm in strategic technology development and commercialization collaboration
- Represented ag tech firms in developing and commercialization of technology products
- Represented major sports apparel firm in information technology outsourcing transactions
- Represented logistics firm in technology development and acquisition
- Represented numerous clients in negotiating and drafting master services agreements for the acquisition or sale of goods or services
- Represented numerous clients in SaaS and other license, hosting, service and support agreements, terms and conditions, and software and other technology development agreements
- Represented numerous clients in technology transfer and sponsored research arrangements with universities
Governance
- Represented numerous special committees of public and private companies in connection with shareholder derivative claims, internal investigations, and audit committee matters
- Represented real estate board in governance and control disputes related to regional multiple listing service
- Represented directors of private companies in shareholder disputes and contests for control
- American Bar Association