Benjamin M. Smith

“Ben is knowledgeable, hard-working and very organized. He is a true role model to the profession.” – Chambers USA 2024

Benjamin Smith is a partner in the corporate practice group of Bartlit Beck, where his practice is focused on mergers and acquisition transactions, including the representation of private equity funds and their portfolio companies in leveraged transactions, finance and securities related transactional matters, and representation of hedge funds, private equity funds, portfolio companies, and other businesses in a variety of fund and general corporate matters. Prior to joining Bartlit Beck, Benjamin practiced in the corporate department of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York City, where he advised financial institutions and private equity funds in a wide range of transactional matters, including lenders in connection with origination, amendment, refinance and termination of various credit facilities, debtor in possession financing, and distressed borrower and borrower restructuring matters.

Prior to beginning his legal career, Benjamin provided consulting and strategic services to a variety of software and Internet development companies for nearly a decade. He served as Vice President of Avalon, Inc., a NASDAQ listed Internet software and marketing services provider, and founded and managed Smith Martin Group LLC, an information technology consulting and implementation services firm.

Notable Experience

M&A Counsel to Platte River Equity. Serves as outside counsel to Platte River Equity in numerous M&A transactions, including—

• Acquisition of Womack Machine Supply Company, a premier solution provider representing global manufacturers and related components used in the fluid power and automation industry
• Acquisition of Belt Power, a distributor and fabricator of conveyor system components, including conveyor belts, equipment and accessories
• Sale of In-Place Machining Company to Levine Leichtman Capital Partners
• Acquisition of Turf Care Supply, a leading formulator and blender of coated nitrogen and other fertilizer products
• Acquisition of Sherrill, Inc., the largest distributor of arborist tools and equipment in North America, from Generation Equity Capital
• Sale of Profile Products, a leading erosion control, vegetative establishment, mulch and soil amendment products manufacturer, to Incline Equity Partners
• Sale of ACT Independent Turbo Services, a gas and steam turbine repair company, to Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction (KRX:000150)
• Sale of Wildcat Minerals, a provider of oilfield consumables transloading and distribution services, to Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE: EXP)

Corporate and M&A Counsel to Profile Products. Serves as outside corporate counsel to Profile Products, a leading erosion control, vegetative establishment, mulch and soil amendment products manufacturer, and represents Profile in a variety of strategic acquisition transactions, including Central Fiber, Southern Athletic Fields Sunterra Horticulture, HydroStraw, Nivetha Exporters and Quick Plug Group.

Sale of Cloud Elements. Represented Cloud Elements, Inc., a pioneering API integration platform, in its sale to UiPath (NYSE:PATH)

Sale of Mortara Instrument. Represented Mortara Instrument, Inc., a Wisconsin-based medical diagnostic and monitoring device company, in its $330 million sale to Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HRC)

Sale of Permian Basin Sand Company. Represented Permian Basin Sand Company, a Texas-based frac sand supplier, in its $275 million sale to Hi-Crush Partners LP (NYSE: HCLP)

Acquisition of Offshore Cleaning Systems. Represented Lariat Partners in its acquisition of Offshore Cleaning Systems, LLC, a provider of cleaning and maintenance solutions to the oil and gas industry.

Acquisition of Borders Intellectual Property. Represented Barnes & Noble, Inc. in its acquisition of the intellectual property assets of Borders Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, including litigation over privacy concerns raised by the Consumer Privacy Ombudsman and state attorneys general in connection with the acquisition.

Corporate Counsel to DarkOwl Cybersecurity. Serves as outside corporate counsel to DarkOwl Cybersecurity, a leading provider of cybersecurity software and consulting services.

Corporate and M&A Counsel to Spartaco. Serves as outside corporate counsel to Spartaco, a leading provider of industrial-grade tools, and represented Spartaco in its strategic acquisitions of Huskie Tools, Jameson, Tiiger Tools and Bulldog Bender.

Madoff Claim Private Placement Auction. Represented the selling agent in private placement auctions and sales of equity securities in an offshore special purpose vehicle representing nearly $1.4 billion in claims against the estate of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.

FGIC Chapter 11 Plan Sponsorship. Represented Financial Guaranty Insurance Company in connection with its plan sponsorship of its parent's Chapter 11 plan of reorganization.

Acknowledgements, Presentations, and Publications

Co-author, The Antitrust Boundaries of Nonsolicitation Agreements, Business Law Today, 2018

Co-author, Chambers USA Private Equity Guide (2019 - 2021)