Raymond O. Gietz

Ray’s representation involves a range of industries, including healthcare, financial services and steel.

Recent M&A transactions include advising:

• A major financial institution, as financial advisor to Gentiva Health Services, Inc., in Gentiva's $1.8 billion sale to Kindred Healthcare, Inc.
• AK Steel Corporation in its $700 million acquisition of integrated steelmaking assets in Dearborn, Michigan from Severstal North America; its $360 million acquisition of Precision Partners Holding Company; its $298 million joint venture with Magnetation; and its approximately $3 billion sale to Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc.
• AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. in its $600 million issuance of senior unsecured convertible notes to Silver Lake to finance AMC's repurchase of a portion of its stock held by Dalian Wanda Group Co., AMC's majority owner, and to pay a special dividend
• Avista Public Acquisition Corp. II, a SPAC sponsored by Avista Acquisition LP II (an affiliate of Avista Capital Holdings), in its $850 million business combination with OmniAb, Inc.
• Blackstone Energy Partners, as 70% stakeholder in Vine Energy Inc., in Vine's $2.2 billion sale to Chesapeake Energy Corporation
• The independent directors of Bungie, Inc. in Bungie's $3.6 billion sale to Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
• Centennial Resource Development, Inc. (f/k/a Silver Run Acquisition Corp., a SPAC) in its $1.7 billion acquisition of a controlling stake in Centennial Resource Production, LLC and its subsequent $855 million acquisition of all of the leasehold interests and related upstream assets in Reeves County, Texas from Silverback Exploration, LLC and Silverback Operating, LLC
• Citadel Broadcasting in its $2.4 billion cash-and-stock sale to Cumulus Media
• Costa Inc. in its $270 million sale to Essilor International SA
• Dermira, Inc. (a subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company) in its sale of QBREXZA
• Elementis Global LLC in its $360 million acquisition of SummitReheis (f/k/a Summit Research Labs) and its acquisition of Hi-Mar Specialty Chemicals, LLC
• Eli Lilly and Company in its $8 billion acquisition of Loxo Oncology, Inc.; its $5.4 billion acquisition of the animal health business of Novartis AG; its $1.1 billion acquisition of Dermira, Inc.; its $1 billion acquisition of Prevail Therapeutics Inc.; its $960 million acquisition of CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; its $800 million acquisition of Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc.; its acquisitions of opt-in rights to certain of Verve Therapeutics’ gene therapy programs, the North American rights to the oncology product Erbitux®, Locemia Solutions ULC, Glycostasis, Lohmann Animal Health, ChemGen, Agri Stats, Alzheimer’s imaging agents from Siemens Medical Solutions and a manufacturing facility located in Pleasant Prairie, WI; its $410 million sale of veterinary assets to Virbac SA; its strategic review of Elanco, its animal health division, concluding with the $1.7 billion initial public offering of a minority stake in Elanco and its $8.2 billion exchange of its approximately 82% remaining interest in Elanco for Lilly common shares held by its shareholders; and its global licensing and research collaborations with, and equity investments in, Verve, Foghorn Therapeutics Inc., Merus NV, Precision BioSciences, Inc. and Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
• Equiniti Group plc in its $227 million acquisition of Wells Fargo Shareowner Services
• Australian biopharmaceutical company Fibrotech Therapeutics Pty Ltd. in its sale to Shire plc
• Franklin Templeton Investments in its acquisitions of the investment advisor team from AlphaParity LLC, K2 Advisors, Darby Holdings and Fiduciary Trust
• GE Aviation Systems in its $300 million acquisition of Airfoil Technologies International Singapore Pte. Ltd. and its acquisition of Naverus, Inc.
• GECC in the sale of its North American tank car rail assets and railcar repair business to Marmon Holdings, Inc.; the sale of its remaining North American railcar leasing business to Wells Fargo & Co.; its $300 million investment in and restructuring of the EBX Group; and the sale of its Mexican consumer mortgage loan business to Santander Bank
• General Motors in its $48.7 billion sale to a United States Government-sponsored entity
• Genesis Lease Limited in its $1.75 billion sale to AerCap Holdings
• Genworth Financial, Inc. as corporate counsel in its proposed $2.7 billion sale to China Oceanwide Holdings Group Company Ltd.
• H&R Block, Inc. in its $405 million acquisition of Wave Financial Inc.
• Harbinger in its approximately $1.8 billion take-private acquisition of Sky Terra
• Irving Place Capital Management and Agiliti Holdco, Inc. (f/k/a Universal Hospital Services, Inc.) in Agliti’s combination with Federal Street Acquisition Corp. (FSAC), a SPAC sponsored by Thomas H. Lee Partners, in a new holding company formed by FSAC named Agiliti Health, Inc. (n/k/a Agiliti, Inc.), having an implied enterprise value of approximately $1.74 billion
• Lehman Brothers in its $13.5 billion acquisition and subsequent sale of its entire stake in Archstone Enterprise LP to Equity Residential and AvalonBay Communities
• Lendmark Financial Services, LLC in the amendment and extension of its ABS warehouse facility for Lendmark Funding Trust 2021-E and in the issuance of 144A asset-backed notes collateralized by personal loans and sales finance contracts
• Magellan Health, Inc. in its $400 million acquisition of Senior Whole Health, LLC; its $205 million acquisition of CDMI, LLC; its $118 million-plus-earn-out acquisition of Armed Forces Services Corporation; its $100 million acquisition of Partners Rx Management, LLC; its acquisitions of Veridicus Holdings, LLC, The Management Group, LLC and 4D Pharmacy Management Systems, Inc.; its $850 million sale of Magellan Complete Care to Molina Healthcare, Inc.; and its $2.2 billion merger with Centene Corporation
• QLT Inc. (n/k/a Novelion Therapeutics Inc.) in its acquisition of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its minority investment in Aralez Pharmaceuticals Plc
• Ripple Brand Collective, LLC in its sale to The Hershey Company
• Safran in its $1.2 billion acquisition of a majority stake in L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc.
• Sculptor Capital Management Inc. in its sale to Rithm Capital Corp.
• SoftBank Group Corp. (SBG) in its agreement to provide $6.5 billion in debt and equity financing to WeWork, to make a $3 billion tender offer to holders of WeWork shares, other than SBG and its affiliates, and in connection with revisions to the WeWork governance structure
• TPG Pace Solutions Corp., a SPAC sponsored by TPG Pace Group, in its $4.5 billion business combination with Vacasa LLC

Ray has been recognized in Chambers USA, Legal 500 US, IFLR1000 and New York Super Lawyers and has been featured as a “Dealmaker” by The American Lawyer. He is also recognized as a “Life Sciences Star” by LMG Life Sciences Guide. Ray was recognized for client service excellence by BTI Consulting Group in its 2012 BTI Client Service All-Stars survey.

Ray received his B.A. from Columbia College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and his J.D. from the Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.