Battle Ready

When the founders of a successful regional healthcare delivery system were faced with a hostile take-over from their well-financed private equity investor, they came to us. The private equity fund stretched the company thin with promises of significant investments and then, when the money was needed the most, demanded they give up control of the company they founded and grew into one of the Portland Business Journal’s “Most Admired Companies.” When the founders came to us, their backs were against the wall; the private equity investor filed a mountain of paperwork seeking appointment of a receiver, and sought a temporary restraining order with a hearing scheduled on one day's notice. Represented by a large international firm, the private equity fund assumed the founders would not have the strength or the resources to fight back. They were wrong. We went to work on short notice, defeated the motion for a temporary restraining order, and then turned our attention to preparing for a full-blown evidentiary hearing on the appointment of a receiver. On the day of the hearing—when it was obvious the founders would not roll over—the case settled and the private equity fund made an additional $24M investment to ensure the company’s continued growth.