Simpson Thacher is among the world's premier law firms in mergers and acquisitions and LBOs. Whether a transaction is taxable or tax-free, tax issues play a critical role in a transaction's structure.

The M&A tax practice covers a diverse group of transactions, from corporate combinations and dispositions to unincorporated joint ventures to cross-border or wholly-foreign transactions. The Firm's tax lawyers also have worked on complicated tax issues associated with acquisitions involving such private equity firms as KKR, Blackstone, Cyprus, Evercore, Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking and Vestar.

Tax attorneys are often called upon to develop alternative transaction structures to suit the special needs of our clients. For example, the Firm's tax attorneys played an important role in structuring the recent formation of Wachovia Securities LLC, a combination with the retail brokerage business of Prudential Securities.

Cross-border considerations are often of critical importance in acquisition transactions. The Firm’s tax lawyers were integrally involved in KKR’s acquisition of Legrand S.A. in France, and Yellow Pages Group in Canada.