George R Bason Jr
450 Lexington Avenue
10017
Biography: Mergers and Acquisitions
Mr Bason is the global head of Davis Polk's mergers and acquisitions practice. His practice is devoted primarily to the merger, acquisition, merchant banking and joint venture areas. He also has experience in cross-border transactions, restructurings, takeover defences and corporate governance issues, as well as in providing general corporate and securities law advice. He has been involved in numerous and varied acquisition transactions.His work highlights have included Citigroup's US$306 billion loss protection agreement with the US government in 2008, its joint venture of the Smith Barney business with Morgan Stanley in 2009, its 2009 US$52.5 billion capital realignment and US$20.5 billion capital raise, and the 2009 termination of the loss protection agreement with the US government.
He has also been involved in ExxonMobil's acquisition of XTO Energy; PepsiCo's acquisition of Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods and its acquisitions of its anchor bottlers; the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's investment in AIG; the proposed acquisition of Sallie Mae by an investor group; Heinz's director election contest in 2006; Gillette's acquisition by Procter & Gamble; JP Morgan's $38.6 billion merger with Chase; and Exxon's $81 billion merger with Mobil.
Mr Bason was recognised as one of only 10 "Most Highly Regarded Individuals" by Law Business Research's The International Who's Who of Mergers & Acquisitions Lawyers 2010, which described him as ''superb... a renowned name 'without whom any discussion of the M&A scene in New York would be simply incomplete.'"
He was named a Dealmaker of the Year for 2008, Dealmaker in the Spotlight for October 2009 and Dealmaker of the Week in December 2010 by The American Lawyer.
He is listed as a leading lawyer in several legal industry publications, including: Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business; Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business; Practical Law Company's Cross-border: Private Equity Handbook, Corporate Governance Handbook and Mergers and Acquisitions Handbook; Law Business Research's The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers, The International Who's Who of Mergers and Acquisitions Lawyers, and The International Who's Who of Corporate Governance Lawyers; Legal Media Group's Expert Guide to the World's Leading Lawyers: The Best of the Best, Leading M&A Lawyers and Leading Private Equity Lawyers; Euromoney's IFLR1000: The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms; and American Lawyer Media's Corporate Counsel: Best Lawyers in Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions and Securities Law.
He is a member of the American Bar Association and a member of the New York City Bar. He joined Davis Polk as an associate in 1978 and became a partner in 1986. He worked in the firm's Paris office from 1980 to 1983 and 1989 to 1991.
This biography is an extract from The International Who's Who of Mergers and Acquisitions Lawyers which can be purchased from our Bookstore.
Other Practice Areas
George R Bason Jr also features in the following practice areas:
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