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ProfessionalsRaphael M. Russo

Raphael M. Russo

Raphael M. Russo

Partner

Partner

Tel: +1-212-373-3309
Fax: +1-212-492-0309
rrusso@paulweiss.com

+1-212-373-3309
New York

1285 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019-6064
Fax: +1-212-492-0309

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Education 
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Education 
Bar Admissions 

A partner in the Corporate Department, Raphael M. Russo focuses on capital markets and corporate finance as well as the representation of public companies and investors.

EXPERIENCE

As a member of the Capital Markets Practice Group, Ray has represented issuers and underwriters in connection with initial public offerings, secondary offerings and Rule 144A debt offerings. His transaction experience includes offerings for both domestic and foreign issuers. He also regularly advises issuers and investors in connection with restructurings, recapitalizations and strategic transactions. Ray is recognized by The Legal 500 in Capital Markets.

As part of his domestic and international issuer practice, Ray advises public companies on a range of corporate governance and disclosure issues. He also helps senior management and significant shareholders of public companies implement liquidity and monetization strategies.

He represents financial institutions on transactional and regulatory matters and also provides advice on trading and compliance issues to investment managers.

Ray has represented:

  • Ralph Lauren Corporation in connection with senior note offerings totaling over $1.8 billion, a secondary public offering on behalf of its founder and controlling stockholder, Mr. Ralph Lauren, of $730 million of Class A common stock and on other matters;
  • Churchill Capital Corp. in its initial public offering of $690 million of units and its business combination with Clarivate Analytics plc;
  • Churchill Capital Corp. II in its initial public offering of $600 million of units, Churchill Capital III in its initial public offering of $1.1 billion of units; Churchill Capital Corp. IV in its initial public offering of $2 billion of units and Churchill Capital Corp. V in its pending initial public offering of $300 million of units;
  • Carnival Corporation & plc in its Rule 144A offering of $4 billion principal amount of first-priority senior secured notes, its Rule 144A offering of $2.0125 billion principal amount of convertible senior notes and its registered offering of $575 million of its common stock;
  • J.Jill Inc. in its initial public offering of $152 million of common shares;
  • Mosaic Acquisition Corp. in its initial public offering of $345 million of units and its business combination with Vivint Smart Home, a smart home services provider;
  • David Geffen and The David Geffen Foundation in private equity and private fund investments;
  • Apollo Strategic Growth Capital in its pending initial public offering of $750 million of units;
  • Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. in connection with Rule 144A offerings of senior secured notes totaling over $3 billion and a public offering of 7,469,812 shares of common stock for an aggregate offering amount of $209 million;
  • Signature Bank in connection with its IPO, subsequent equity and subordinated debt offerings and its participation in the U.S. Treasury’s TARP Capital Purchase Program;
  • South Mountain Merger Corp. in its initial public offering of $225 million of units and North Mountain Merger Corp. in its initial public offering of $132 million of units;
  • Intelsat in its IPO and Rule 144A and Regulation S bond offerings of over $8.0 billion on behalf of its subsidiaries;
  • Fortress Investment Group principals in connection with the $3.3 billion sale of Fortress to SoftBank Group;
  • David Geffen, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Steven Spielberg in connection with the IPO of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc.;
  • HRG Group Inc. (formerly Harbinger Group Inc.) in connection with Rule 144A and Regulation S senior note offerings totaling over $1.5 billion;
  • Tekni-Plex, Inc. in connection with a Rule 144A and Regulation S offering of $485 million of senior secured notes;
  • JW Aluminum Company in connection with a Rule 144A and Regulation S offering of $200 million of senior secured notes and out-of-court recapitalization;
  • Checkers Drive-In Restaurant, Inc. in connection with a Rule 144A and Regulation S offering of $185 million of senior secured notes; and
  • Cleaver Brooks Inc. in connection with a Rule 144A offering of $185 million of senior notes.

Ray is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and has served as a member of its Securities Regulation Committee and Financial Reporting Committee. He is also a member of the Practising Law Institute’s Corporate and Securities Law Advisory Committee. He serves as a trustee for the American Red Cross in Greater New York, where he is a member of the Executive Committee.

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