Frank J. Aquila
Encyclopedia
Francis J. Aquila is a corporate lawyer whose practice focuses on mergers & acquisitions and corporate governance
matters. Following graduation from Columbia University
(BA, 1979) and Brooklyn Law School
(JD, 1983), Aquila joined Sullivan & Cromwell
L.L.P. where he became a partner in 1992.
Aquila received the prestigious Burton Award for Legal Achievement twice, first in 2005 for his article "Back to the Future! Recent Hostile Bids Make Takeover Defenses Relevant" (The M&A Lawyer, June 2004), and again in 2010 for his article "Latin American Firms Pursue Global Status" Latin Business Chronicle, May 26, 2009. Frank Aquila is listed in the Lawdragon 500, a guide to the 500 leading lawyers in America. Aquila has been consistently ranked as one of the top m&a lawyers by Chambers and Partners and by The Best Lawyers in America. Frank Aquila has been featured twice in The American Lawyer, "Daddy's Weekend on the Phone" (January 2002) and "Supersonic Lawyers" (May 2004); and once in the Wall Street Journal, "Business Trips Leave Little Time for Luxuries" (May 31, 1996).
Aquila regularly appears as a guest on CNBC, Fox Business,Bloomberg Television and Bloomberg Radio discussing topics relating to mergers, acquisitions and corporate governance. A frequent writer and speaker on these topics, Aquila has chaired a number of Practicing Law Institute programs focused on private equity
and going private transactions. Aquila is also a featured columnist for Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
Frank Aquila generally represents large multinational corporations in significant transactions and has represented British Airways
, Diageo
, Amgen
, Goldman Sachs
, Morgan Stanley
, EchoStar, InBev
, Sainsbury
, Payless ShoeSource
, Pharmacia
, Burger King
, Pillsbury and Medtronic
.
Mr. Aquila served as lead counsel to InBev
in their successful unsolicited bid for Anheuser-Busch
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/07/14/whaaaassuup-skaddens-schnell-greenberg-deliver-a-b-to-inbev/, the largest all-cash acquisition ever according to Dealogic. For his work on the InBev/Anheuser-Busch transaction, Aquila was named "Dealmaker of the Week" by the American Lawyer for "standing out from the rest in his tenacity and creativity in getting the deal done." In 2009, Aquila was ranked # 7 among the "Dealmakers of the Year" by the American Lawyer. Aquila was the 2010 recipient of the Atlas Award as M&A Lawyer of the Year from the M&A Global Network. Aquila is featured in the book Dethroning the King: The Hostile Takeover of Anheuser-Busch, an American Icon by Julie MacIntosh.
Aquila was selected by the American Bar Association in September, 2009 as a "Legal Rebel" as part of its "Legal Rebels" Project. He was profiled in the October, 2009 issue of the ABA Journal.
Aquila is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the NALP Foundation for Law Career Research and Education; he also serves on the Board of Directors of Dress for Success Worldwide, the Board of Trustee of Brooklyn Law School, the Board of Directors of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution and the Advisory Board of the Salvation Army
of Greater of New York. Aquila is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
and the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. He has previously served as a member of the Democratic National Committee and the Education and Training Council of the Democratic Party
.
Corporate governance
Corporate governance is a number of processes, customs, policies, laws, and institutions which have impact on the way a company is controlled...
matters. Following graduation from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
(BA, 1979) and Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School is a law school located in Brooklyn Heights, in Downtown Brooklyn, New York.-History:Founded in 1901 by William Payson Richardson and Norman P. Heffley, Brooklyn Law School was the first law school on Long Island. Using space provided by Heffley’s business school, the law...
(JD, 1983), Aquila joined Sullivan & Cromwell
Sullivan & Cromwell
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is an international law firm headquartered in New York. The firm has approximately 800 lawyers in 12 offices, located in financial centers in the United States, Asia, Australia and Europe. Sullivan & Cromwell was founded by Algernon Sydney Sullivan and William Nelson...
L.L.P. where he became a partner in 1992.
Aquila received the prestigious Burton Award for Legal Achievement twice, first in 2005 for his article "Back to the Future! Recent Hostile Bids Make Takeover Defenses Relevant" (The M&A Lawyer, June 2004), and again in 2010 for his article "Latin American Firms Pursue Global Status" Latin Business Chronicle, May 26, 2009. Frank Aquila is listed in the Lawdragon 500, a guide to the 500 leading lawyers in America. Aquila has been consistently ranked as one of the top m&a lawyers by Chambers and Partners and by The Best Lawyers in America. Frank Aquila has been featured twice in The American Lawyer, "Daddy's Weekend on the Phone" (January 2002) and "Supersonic Lawyers" (May 2004); and once in the Wall Street Journal, "Business Trips Leave Little Time for Luxuries" (May 31, 1996).
Aquila regularly appears as a guest on CNBC, Fox Business,Bloomberg Television and Bloomberg Radio discussing topics relating to mergers, acquisitions and corporate governance. A frequent writer and speaker on these topics, Aquila has chaired a number of Practicing Law Institute programs focused on private equity
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
and going private transactions. Aquila is also a featured columnist for Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
Frank Aquila generally represents large multinational corporations in significant transactions and has represented British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
, Diageo
Diageo
Diageo plc is a global alcoholic beverages company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine....
, Amgen
Amgen
Amgen Inc. is an international biotechnology company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. Located in the Conejo Valley, Amgen is the world's largest independent biotech firm. The company employs approximately 17,000 staff members. Its products include Epogen, Aranesp, Enbrel, Kineret,...
, Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
, Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....
, EchoStar, InBev
InBev
InBev is a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev. The company existed independently for several years - since the merger between Interbrew and AmBev and until the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch. InBev has operations in over 30 countries and sales in over 130 countries...
, Sainsbury
Sainsbury
Sainsbury may refer to:* Sainsbury * Sainsbury family, in British business and philanthropy- See also :* Sainsbury's, British business centered on supermarket chain* Harry Arthur Saintsbury , English actor...
, Payless ShoeSource
Payless ShoeSource
Payless ShoeSource is a discount footwear retailer founded in Topeka, Kansas in 1956 that is owned by Collective Brands, Inc. In 1961, it became a public company as the Volume Shoe Corporation which merged with the May Department Stores Company in 1979. In the 1980s, Payless was widely known in the...
, Pharmacia
Pharmacia
Pharmacia was a pharmaceutical and biotechnological company in Sweden.-History:Pharmacia was founded in 1911 in Stockholm, Sweden by pharmacist Gustav Felix Grönfeldt at the Elgen Pharmacy. The company is named after the Greek word φαρμακεία, transliterated pharmakeia, which means 'sorcery'...
, Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
, Pillsbury and Medtronic
Medtronic
Medtronic, Inc. , based in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the world's largest medical technology company and is a Fortune 500 company.- History :...
.
Mr. Aquila served as lead counsel to InBev
InBev
InBev is a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev. The company existed independently for several years - since the merger between Interbrew and AmBev and until the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch. InBev has operations in over 30 countries and sales in over 130 countries...
in their successful unsolicited bid for Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. , is an American brewing company. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and 18 in other countries. It was, until December 2009, also one of America's largest theme park operators; operating ten theme parks across the United States through the...
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/07/14/whaaaassuup-skaddens-schnell-greenberg-deliver-a-b-to-inbev/, the largest all-cash acquisition ever according to Dealogic. For his work on the InBev/Anheuser-Busch transaction, Aquila was named "Dealmaker of the Week" by the American Lawyer for "standing out from the rest in his tenacity and creativity in getting the deal done." In 2009, Aquila was ranked # 7 among the "Dealmakers of the Year" by the American Lawyer. Aquila was the 2010 recipient of the Atlas Award as M&A Lawyer of the Year from the M&A Global Network. Aquila is featured in the book Dethroning the King: The Hostile Takeover of Anheuser-Busch, an American Icon by Julie MacIntosh.
Aquila was selected by the American Bar Association in September, 2009 as a "Legal Rebel" as part of its "Legal Rebels" Project. He was profiled in the October, 2009 issue of the ABA Journal.
Aquila is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the NALP Foundation for Law Career Research and Education; he also serves on the Board of Directors of Dress for Success Worldwide, the Board of Trustee of Brooklyn Law School, the Board of Directors of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution and the Advisory Board of the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
of Greater of New York. Aquila is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
and the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. He has previously served as a member of the Democratic National Committee and the Education and Training Council of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
.