Neil P. Stronski

Mr. Stronski has represented acquirers, targets and financial advisors in a number of significant U.S. and international mergers and acquisitions, including public and private transactions, negotiated and contested acquisitions, and other corporate matters. He has represented:

• Mars, Inc. in numerous transactions, including its acquisition of VCA, Inc., acquisition of BluePearl Veterinary Partners LLC, acquisition of Proctor & Gamble’s pet business, acquisition of Pet Partners, and sale of its private label pet food business;
• Pinnacle Entertainment in its acquisition by Penn National Gaming, Inc., and the spin-off of its gaming operations and acquisition of its real estate by Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc.;
• Trinity Industries, Inc. in the spin-off of its infrastructure business and related corporate matters;
• Tamko Building Products in connection with an investment by The Carlyle Group and related corporate matters;
• Lanxess AG in its acquisition of Chemtura Corporation;
• Merck KGaA in a number of transactions, including its acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, and sale of its crop bioscience business to Novozymes A/S;
• ASML Holdings N.V. in its acquisition of Cymer, Inc.;
• Serono S.A. and the Bertarelli Family in the acquisition of Serono by Merck KGaA;
• Activision Blizzard, Inc. in its acquisition of its shares from Vivendi S.A. and related reorganization;
• Cephalon, Inc. in connection with the unsolicited proposal made by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. and in its subsequent merger with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.;
• Grupo Ferrer Internacional, S.A. in its acquisition of Alexza Pharmaceuticals Inc.;
• Morgan Stanley in the sale of its interest in China International Capital Corporation;
• ING Americas in the sale of its group reinsurance business to RGA;
• Alcoa Inc. in its proposed, but terminated, unsolicited acquisition of Alcan Inc.;
• PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc. in its merger with UnitedHealth Group Inc.;
• UnitedHealth Group Incorporated in its acquisition of Oxford Health Plans, Inc.;
• The May Department Stores Co. in its merger with The Federated Department Stores;
• AdvancePCS in its merger with CaremarkRx, Inc.;
• Warner-Lambert Co. in its proposed, but terminated, merger of equals with American Home Products and in its acquisition by Pfizer Inc.;
• Mobil Corporation in its merger with Exxon Corporation;
• The Mead Corporation in its merger with Westvaco Corporation; and
• MacMillan Bloedel Limited in its acquisition by Weyerhauser Company.

Mr. Stronski also has advised several of Skadden’s investment banking clients in financings and transactional work, and he has represented both issuers and underwriters in equity and debt offerings. In 2007, The New York Times named Mr. Stronski as one of the “next generation of deal makers” under the age of 40.