Paul Bolaji

Paul Bolaji concentrates his practice on public and private mergers and acquisitions, investments, dispositions, joint ventures, complex reorganizations, carve-outs, corporate governance and other significant corporate transactions. Mr. Bolaji counsels private equity sponsors and strategic clients on a broad range of U.S. and cross-border transactions and has experience advising on matters in a variety of sectors, including, health care, biotechnology, e-commerce, energy, infrastructure and financial services.

Mr. Bolaji’s representative transactions prior to and since joining Skadden include:

• ALLETE, Inc. in its pending $6.2 billion take-private acquisition by a consortium led by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Global Infrastructure Partners
• Performance Food Group Company in its $2.5 billion acquisition of Core-Mark Holding Company, Inc.
• the private equity arm of a pension fund in various transactions, including:
  • one of its portfolio companies in the infrastructure sector in a merger of equals transaction with an enterprise value of $2.8 billion
  • a co-investment transaction with another private equity sponsor in a multimodal transportation and technology company
  • a co-investment transaction with another private equity sponsor in the agricultural sector
• Francis Renewable Energy, an electric vehicle charging station operator, in a minority investment by Alliance Resource Partners, L.P.
• Centene Corporation in the sale of its majority stake in U.S. Medical Management
• Carsales.com Ltd. (Australia) in its $624 million acquisition of a 49% stake in Trader Interactive
• Amicus Therapeutics in ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp IV’s attempted acquisition of Amicus’ gene therapy business
• Finance of America, a Blackstone portfolio company, in its $1.9 billion business combination with Replay Acquisition Corp.
• BC Partners’ business development company (Portman Ridge Finance Corporation) in connection with multiple acquisitions of other business development companies
• Castlelake, L.P. in its acquisition of Genesis Financial Solutions, a provider of consumer credit cards
• KKR, Inc. in connection with its joint venture with iCapital Network to operate a registered fund for alternative investments
• USAA in multiple transactions involving its asset management business units, including the $1.8 billion sale of USAA’s brokerage and wealth management divisions to Charles Schwab and the sale of a controlling interest in USAA’s real estate asset management business to a group of third-party investors, including James Davidson, a founder of Silver Lake
• Blackstone in its 2019 corporate conversion from a publicly traded partnership to a corporation
• The Carlyle Group in various matters, including its 2020 corporate conversion from a publicly traded partnership to a corporation and its €6.4 billion fundraise for Carlyle Europe Partners V
• Meridian Capital in its acquisition of a controlling stake in the agency lending business of Barings (subsequently renamed NewPoint Real Estate Capital)

Prior to starting his legal career, Mr. Bolaji taught ninth-grade students in the Dallas Independent School District as a member of Teach for America Corps.