Mr. Sobel was recently named the 2011 MVP for Private Equity.Law360 2011

Howard A. Sobel

New York
  • 885 Third Avenue
  • New York, NY 10022-4834
  • USA
 
 

Howard Sobel is a partner in the New York office of Latham & Watkins. Mr. Sobel is former Co-chair of the US Private Equity Practice and a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions and Public Company Representation Practices.

Mr. Sobel’s practice focuses primarily on the representation of private equity firms in leveraged acquisitions of privately held and public companies, including going private transactions, co-investment opportunities and acquisitions and reorganizations in bankruptcy proceedings. He has represented Leonard Green & Partners, L.P., Centerbridge Partners, L.P., Odyssey Investment Partners, Inc., Irving Place Capital, Wayzata Investment Partners and Aquiline Capital Partners, LLC in a wide variety of private-equity investments. Mr. Sobel has also represented major public corporations and investment banking firms in a spectrum of transactions that includes numerous mergers and acquisitions (including highly structured leveraged buyouts), international joint ventures, equity offerings, 144A offerings of high-yield securities and general corporate matters. He also advises officers and directors with respect to fiduciary matters.

Mr. Sobel has served as general outside counsel to numerous public and large private companies, including FTD, Inc.; Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation; Liberty Group Publishing, Inc.; MAXXAM Inc.; Rand McNally & Company; Tourneau, Inc.; and Varsity Brands Inc.

Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Sobel was a law clerk to the Honorable Edwin D. Steel, Jr., of the US District, District Court of Delaware from 1978-1979.

Mr. Sobel's recent experience includes representation of:
  • Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. in connection with the acquisitions of BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc., Jo-Ann Stores, J. Crew Group Inc., Tourneau, Inc., Scitor Corporation,  HITS, Inc.,  David’s Bridal Corporation, The Container Store, Brckman Corporation, Varsity Brands, Inc., FTD, Inc., US Renal Care, Tank Holdings; the acquisition of a minority interest in Whole Foods Market, Inc.; its investment in Savers, Inc., a privately-held thrift store chain; a majority debt and equity interest in Rand McNally & Company, and the leveraged buyout of IMS Health Inc., one of the largest leveraged buyouts in the US in 2010
  • Odyssey Investment Partners, Inc. in connection with the sales of Pro Mach, Inc., Neff Corporation and Aviation Technologies, Inc., and in connection with the acquisitions of Safway Services, Ranpak Inc., Gulf Tanks Acquisition, Inc. and Big Dumpster Holdings, Inc.
  • Irving Place Capital, in connection with the acquisition of Alpha Packaging Holdings, Inc. and Mold-Rite Plastics, LLC
  • Centerbridge Partners, L.P. in connection with the acquisition of Greatwide Logistics Services, Inc., Kenan Advantage Holdings Corp. and Penn National Gaming
  • Conning Holdings Corporation in connection with a joint venture with Cathay Financial Holdings Co. Ltd.
  • Wayzata Investment Partners LLC as debtor-in-possession lender and senior pre-petition lender in connection with the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of Key Plastics, LLC
  • Southern Container Corp., in connection with its acquisition by Rock-Tenn Company
  • Goldman Sachs Credit Partners L.P., as second lien administrative agent in connection with the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of J.L. French Automotive Castings, Inc.