Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP announced that David C. Hepp and Matthew B. Collin, two of the nation’s leading asset management M&A lawyers, are joining the firm in New York as partners in the Asset Management M&A practice within the Corporate Department. Hepp and Collin advise public and private acquirers and target companies, investment funds, management teams and investment banks on complex transactions involving asset management, broker-dealer, wealth management and other financial services firms. Hepp will lead the Asset Management M&A practice within the Corporate Department, resident in New York.
“David and Matthew are exceptional lawyers with deep experience and relationships across the asset management and financial services industries, and we are thrilled they are joining Paul, Weiss,” said Paul, Weiss Chairman Brad S. Karp. “Our clients have long relied on us for our market-leading capabilities and innovative solutions in the asset management M&A space, and the arrival of David and Matthew will further strengthen our ability to serve them on their most important and complex transactions.”
“David and Matthew are preeminent leaders in the asset management M&A space, and we are delighted to welcome them to our team,” said Scott A. Barshay, chair of the Paul, Weiss Corporate Department.
“David and Matthew have been at the forefront of many of the most significant and innovative transactions in these industries, including GP stakes and other minority investment transactions, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in today’s market,” said Marco V. Masotti, deputy chair of the Corporate Department and global co-head of the Investment Funds Group. “They will be a tremendous asset to our private equity clients.”
Hepp, who led the asset management M&A group at his previous firm, has been involved in many of the largest and most significant transactions in the public and private asset management, broker-dealer, wealth management and other financial services industries over the past two decades. His representative transactions include BlackRock in its acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), Neuberger Berman Group in its combination of its Dyal Capital Partners division and Owl Rock Capital Group, Janus Capital Group in its merger-of-equals with Henderson Group, and Affiliated Managers Group in numerous transactions, including its acquisition of Parnassus Investments and its minority investments in Ara Partners and Peppertree Capital. He also advised Wells Fargo on the sale of its asset management business to GTCR and Reverence Capital, E*TRADE in its acquisition by Morgan Stanley, Sun Life Financial on its acquisitions of InfraRed Capital Partners and Crescent Capital Group, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in its minority investment in Marathon Capital.
Collin also specializes in asset management M&A transactions. In addition to BlackRock in its acquisition of GIP, Affiliated Managers Group in numerous transactions and several other deals he advised on alongside Hepp, his representative transactions include BlackRock’s acquisition of Kreos Capital, its acquisition of Citigroup’s Mexican asset management business, its formation of a joint venture with China Construction Bank and Temasek Holdings, and its acquisition of a minority investment in Circle Internet Financial; Rithm Capital in its acquisition of Sculptor Capital Management; Dai-ichi in its acquisition of a strategic minority interest in Canyon Partners; Lincoln Financial Group in the sale of its wealth management business to Osaic; Benefit Street Partners in its sale to Franklin Templeton; and Foresters Financial in the sale of its U.S. asset management and broker-dealer/advisory business to Macquarie Investment Management and Cetera Financial Group, respectively.
Hepp earned a B.S., summa cum laude, from Le Moyne College and a J.D., cum laude, from Albany Law School. Collin earned a B.A. from Cornell University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
“We are excited to join Paul, Weiss and work with its exceptional lawyers and clients on the most dynamic and innovative transactions in the investment management space,” Hepp said. “Paul, Weiss has a premier platform in both the investment funds and M&A space, and we look forward to collaborating with our new colleagues and bringing the firm’s unparalleled capabilities and service to our clients.”
Collin added, “We are impressed by Paul, Weiss’s culture of excellence, collaboration and innovation, and are eager to contribute to the firm’s growth and success.”
Paul, Weiss’s Asset Management M&A practice advises the world’s largest and most sophisticated alternative asset management firms on their most complex asset management M&A transactions, including majority and minority investments, sales and spin-outs, seed capital investments, strategic partnerships and secondaries transactions, as well as financing and capital markets solutions and fund formation matters. Leveraging vast experience across sectors, geographies and investment strategies, the firm provides counsel on every facet of our clients’ business, and across the full investment lifecycle.
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is a premier firm of more than 1,000 lawyers with diverse backgrounds, personalities, ideas and interests who provide innovative and effective solutions to our clients’ most complex legal and business challenges. The firm represents many of the world’s largest and most important public and private corporations, asset managers and financial institutions, as well as clients in need of pro bono assistance.
