Blake Bitter

Blake has spoken on related subjects for groups including the Tax Executives Institute, the American Bar Association, and the Tulane Tax Institute. He has also been a guest lecturer on tax at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University and has been published on a number of topics relating to both domestic and cross-border tax planning.

Blake has been part of the teams advising:

• AK Steel Corporation in its approximately $3 billion sale to Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc.
• Allego Holding B.V. (n/k/a Allego N.V.) (a portfolio company of Meridiam Infrastructure Partners) in its $3.14 billion business combination with Spartan Acquisition Corp. III, a SPAC sponsored by Spartan Acquisition Sponsor III LLC (an affiliate of Apollo Global Management)
• Apergy Corporation (n/k/a ChampionX Corporation) in a Reverse Morris Trust acquisition of ChampionX (f/k/a Nalco Champion) from Ecolab Inc. creating an entity with a combined $7.4 billion enterprise value
• Aterian Investment Partners and its portfolio company Vander-Bend Manufacturing, Inc. in the acquisition of Swiss Precision Machining, LLC
• Avista Public Acquisition Corp. II, a SPAC sponsored by Avista Acquisition LP II (an affiliate of Avista Capital Holdings), in its pending $850 million business combination with OmniAb, Inc.
• Basic Energy Services, Inc. in its acquisition of C&J Well Services and in connection with its chapter 11 cases and sale of substantially all of its assets
• BroadStreet Partners, Inc. (a portfolio company of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan) in a $1.4 billion incremental senior secured term and revolving facility to finance its acquisition of Westland Insurance Group Ltd. and, with Westland Insurance Group Ltd. in a $1.28 billion senior secured term loan facility
• BroadStreet Partners, Inc. (a portfolio company of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan) in recapitalization transactions involving a new equity investment by affiliates of Century Equity Partners and a $100 million second lien debt and equity investment by affiliates of Penfund Partners
• Cardtronics plc in its $2.5 billion sale to NCR Corporation
• Chisholm Oil and Gas Operating LLC in the $480 million exchange of debt for equity, as part of a plan of reorganization under chapter 11
• Healogics, Inc. in its debt for equity exchange and $240 million common and preferred equity investments by an investor consortium led by Clayton Dubilier & Rice, Partners Group and Northwestern Mutual, and Marathon Asset Management
• Kantar Group (a portfolio company of Bain Capital Private Equity) in its acquisition of Numerator
• Kantar Health, LLC in its $375 million sale by The Kantar Group Limited (a portfolio company of Bain Capital)
• The Kroger Company in its pending $24.6 billion merger with Albertsons Companies, Inc.
• The Kroger Company, along with The Albertsons Companies, Inc., in the approximately $1.9 billion sale of 413 stores, as well as select banners, distribution centers, offices and private label brands, to C&S Wholesale Grocers, LLC in connection with Kroger’s proposed merger with Albertsons Companies Inc.
• The Kroger Company in a $5 billion senior unsecured revolving facility and in a $4.75 billion senior unsecured term loan facility
• The Kroger Company in its pending sale of Kroger Specialty Pharmacy to CarelonRx Inc.
• Legg Mason, Inc. in its $6.5 billion sale to Franklin Templeton Investments
• Main Event Entertainment, Inc., a subsidiary of Ardent Leisure Group Limited, in Ardent's sale of a 24.2% stake in Main Event to RedBird Capital Partners together with an option for Redbird to acquire a controlling stake within a defined period and its $835 million sale to Dave & Buster’s, Inc.
• Mobileum (a portfolio company of H.I.G. Capital) in its $160 million senior secured term loan facility
• Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and its portfolio company BroadStreet Partners, Inc. in a $3.5 billion syndicated debt refinancing of its existing term loan facilities
• Providence Equity Partners and its portfolio company Grupo TorreSur in its $315 million sale of São Paulo Cinco Locação de Torres Ltda.
• PSG in its acquisition of Pixel Labs, LLC (n/k/a Assembly)
• Sanofi in its up to $1.225 billion acquisition of Amunix Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
• Speedcast International Limited and its subsidiaries in the negotiation and implementation of a $500 million equity investment by affiliates of Centerbridge Partners L.P. in connection with Speedcast’s ongoing chapter 11 proceeding
• TPG Pace Solutions Corp., a SPAC sponsored by TPG Pace Group, in its $4.5 billion business combination with Vacasa LLC

Prior to joining Weil, Blake was a Senior Manager at KPMG LLP in the Washington National Tax International M&A group.

Blake received his LL.M., with distinction, from Georgetown University Law Center, his J.D., magna cum laude, from George Mason University School of Law, where he was managing editor of the George Mason Civil Rights Law Journal, and his B.A., magna cum laude, from Brigham Young University.