ProfessionalsKrishna Veeraraghavan

Tel: +1-212-373-3661
Fax: +1-212-492-0661
emailkveeraraghavan@paulweiss.com
1285 Avenue of the Americas
New York,
NY
10019-6064
Fax: +1-212-492-0661
A partner in the Corporate Department, Krishna Veeraraghavan is a member of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions Group. Krishna focuses his practice on a range of corporate matters and has extensive experience advising public and private companies on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts and other transactions. He also regularly advises boards of directors and special committees on activist defense, proxy contests and the full range of corporate governance matters.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
Krishna has long been recognized as a leading advisor by numerous industry publications and directories, including Chambers USA and
The Legal 500. He has been named a “Dealmaker of the Year” by The American Lawyer (2018, 2022); a “Mergers & Acquisitions MVP” by Law360 (2022); one of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America” (2021, 2022) and one of the “500 Leading Dealmakers in America” by Lawdragon (2021, 2022); “Healthcare Trailblazer” by The National Law Journal (2019); a “Retail & E-Commerce MVP” by Law360 (2017); a “Life Sciences MVP” by Law360 (2015, 2016); a “Transatlantic Rising Star” by The American Lawyer (2016); a “Dealmaker of the Week” by The American Lawyer (2014, 2015); a “Rising Star” by Law360 (2014, 2015) and New York Law Journal (2015); and a “Highly Regarded Lawyer” by IFLR1000. Krishna was listed as one of the “Best Lawyers Under 40” by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (2014), and was named one of four “Rising Stars” by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (2013).
EXPERIENCE
Krishna’s M&A experience spans a broad range of industries. Notable representations have included:
CONSUMER & RETAIL / INDUSTRIALS
- General Electric in its reorganization through spin-offs into separate publicly traded aviation, healthcare and energy companies
- AB InBev in its $123 billion merger with SABMiller and in its $20.1 billion acquisition of the remaining stake it didn't already own in Grupo Modelo
- Praxair in its $80 billion merger with Linde
- Amazon.com in its $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods; $3.9 billion acquisition of One Medical; and $1.7 billion acquisition of iRobot
- General Cable in its $3 billion sale to Prysmian Group
- Standard Industries in its $2.1 billion acquisition of Braas Monier; $1.1 billion acquisition of Icopal; and acquisition of Quest Construction Products
- Lion Capital in its affiliate’s DIP financing for and acquisition of John Varvatos Enterprises in a Section 363 sale process; acquisition of a minority interest in Authentic Brands; acquisition of Spence Diamonds; and proposed $1.5 billion sale of Bumble Bee Foods to Thai Union Frozen Products
TECHNOLOGY
- Special Committee of Solera Holdings in its $6.5 billion sale to Vista Equity Partners
- Qualcomm, alongside SSW Partners, in its $4.5 billion topping bid for Veoneer
- Special Committee of QAD in its $2 billion sale to Thoma Bravo
- Unisys in its $1.2 billion sale of its U.S. Federal business to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
- Amazon.com in its agreement to utilize Plug Power fuel cells and hydrogen technology in its fulfillment network
- Broadcom in its sale of certain assets and manufacturing rights associated with its wireless IoT business to Synaptics
- Genesis Robotics in its sale of a controlling stake to Koch Chemical Technology Group
- SEAKR Engineering in its sale to Raytheon Technologies
HEALTHCARE & LIFE SCIENCES
- Teva in its $40.5 billion acquisition of Allergan Generics and $50.5 billion unsolicited proposal for Mylan, later withdrawn
- PRA Health Sciences in its approximately $12 billion sale to ICON
- Stemcentrx in its $9.8 billion sale to AbbVie
- Amedisys in its $9.7 billion combination with Option Care Health
- Synageva in its $8.4 billion sale to Alexion
- Syneos Health in its $7.4 billion merger of equals with inVentiv Health
- Dyax in its $5.9 billion sale to Shire
- Concordia Healthcare in its $3.5 billion acquisition of Amdipharm Mercury and $1.2 billion acquisition of all commercial assets of Covis
- Translate Bio in its $3.2 billion sale to Sanofi
- Apple Tree Partners as the majority shareholder in Syntimmune, in Syntimmune’s up to $1.2 billion sale to Alexion Pharmaceuticals
- Seattle Genetics in its $614 million acquisition of Cascadian Therapeutics
- Aurobindo Pharma USA in its $550 million sale of Natrol to an affiliate of New Mountain Capital to combine with Jarrow Formulas
- Casdin Capital, alongside Viking Global Investors, in the $250 million investment in Fluidigm Corporation
- Blackstone in connection with Precision Medicine Group’s major investment and recapitalization
ENERGY
- Concho Resources in its $13 billion acquisition by ConocoPhillips and $9.5 billion acquisition of RSP Permian
- John Wood Group in its $1.9 billion sale of its Built Environment consulting business to WSP Global
- Andeavor in the merger of Andeavor Logistics and Western Refining Logistics for $1.8 billion and the repositioning of Andeavor Logistics through an IDR buy-in valued at $4 billion
- Cheniere Energy in its acquisition of the publicly-held shares of Cheniere Energy Partners LP Holdings not already owned by Cheniere
- Peabody Energy in its agreement with Elliott Management providing for the addition of four new directors to Peabody’s board
REAL ESTATE
- Forest City Realty Trust in its $11.4 billion sale to Brookfield Asset Management and agreement with Starboard Value to reconstitute its board of directors, in connection with the company's agreement to declassify its common stock and its settlement with Scopia Capital
- American Casino & Entertainment Properties in its $850 million sale to Golden Entertainment
Krishna is involved in numerous professional, academic and community organizations. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Dean’s Advisory Council of Princeton University, the Board of Trustees at Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Board of Directors of South Asian Youth Action, and the Steering Committee of the Board of Visitors at Columbia Law School, where he is also an adjunct professor. In 2014, the New York State Bar Association named him an Empire State Counsel Honoree for Pro bono Service.
Krishna is a frequent speaker and writer on developments in M&A and shareholder activism, as well as on law firm diversity strategies. He has been quoted in numerous articles in business and legal publications.