ProfessionalsJohn C. Kennedy

Tel: +1-212-373-3025
Fax: +1-212-492-0025
jkennedy@paulweiss.com
jkennedy@paulweiss.com
1285 Avenue of the Americas
New York,
NY
10019-6064
Fax: +1-212-492-0025
A partner in the Corporate Department and global co-head of the firm’s Capital Markets Group, John Kennedy focuses primarily on corporate finance and securities transactions. He has represented both issuers and underwriters in a broad range of public and private securities offerings.
EXPERIENCE
John has handled many complex securities and financing transactions, such as initial public offerings, high yield debt offerings, convertible debt offerings, cross border securities offerings, exchange offers, debt tender offers, consent solicitations and debt restructurings. He also regularly counsels his public clients on corporate governance and securities compliance issues.
John has represented:
- Rocket Companies in its $2 billion IPO
- Carnival Corporation & plc in a number of securities offerings, including its recent debt and equity offerings
- Driven Brands in its $700 million IPO
- Latham Group in its $437 million IPO
- HireRight Holdings in its $420 million IPO
- European Wax Center in its $207 million IPO
- IBM in the spin-off of its managed infrastructure services business into a separate publicly traded company
- Honeywell in its spin-off of Garrett Motion Inc., Honeywell's former Transportation Systems business
- Nuance Communications in its spin-off of Cerence, Inc., Nuance's former Automotive Software business
- Ingersoll-Rand in the spin-off and $15 billion merger of its Industrial business with Gardner Denver Holdings
- NCR Corporation in the secondary offering of $548 million of its convertible preferred stock
- Taylor Morrison Home Corporation in its $722 million IPO
- Intelsat in its $400 million IPO and its $172.5 million mandatory convertible preferred stock offering
- Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company in its $252 million IPO
- Virtu Financial in its $336 million IPO
- Las Vegas Sands in securities offerings and financings, including its IPO, its $3 billion secondary offering, its $2.1 billion equity offering and the financing of the Venetian Casino Resort, the Palazzo Casino Resort, its Singapore casino project, the Sands Macau, the Venetian Macau and other casino projects in Macau
- Chubb Corporation in its $1 billion hybrid securities offering and a number of debt offerings
- Ply Gem Holdings in its $381 million IPO and a number of high yield debt offerings
- Wendy’s Restaurants in its high yield debt offering
- The Kraft Heinz Company in its shelf registration statement
- Emdeon Inc. in its IPO
John’s other public company clients include AMN Healthcare, Carrier Corporation, DHI Group (formerly Dice Holdings), Hemisphere Media Group and Vertiv Holdings. He also regularly represents private equity firms such as 3G, General Atlantic, Oak Hill Capital Partners and CI Capital Partners.
John is recognized as a leading capital markets lawyer in Chambers USA, Chambers Global and The Legal 500, was named a Law360 2021 MVP and as one of Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Dealmakers in America.” He is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association – Compliance and Legal Division.