Overview
Brooks B. Gruemmer is a corporate partner with a wide-ranging practice representing private equity and other investment funds and private and public companies, with an emphasis on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, recapitalizations, joint ventures, and the related financing required to fund such transactions. Brooks is a former member of the Firm’s Management Committee and served as head of the Chicago office’s Transactions Practice Group for over a decade.
Brooks has represented clients in a wide range of transactions, business ventures and general corporate matters. He regularly represents a number of private equity and other investment funds in leveraged buyouts of public and private companies, venture capital and growth equity investments, divestitures and recapitalizations. He also represents privately held and publicly traded corporations in connection with a variety of corporate matters, including strategic mergers and other acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, financings, securities law disclosure and compliance matters, and executive compensation. In recent years, Brooks has advised acquirers of financially distressed companies, inside and outside of bankruptcy, and in connection with debt and equity restructurings, workouts and related financings.
Brooks brings a unique perspective to private practice, having spent approximately four years as vice president of administration and general counsel of Favorite Brands International, Inc., the fourth-largest manufacturer of confectionery products in the United States. While at Favorite Brands, Brooks was a member of the executive committee and oversaw numerous acquisitions, financings that raised more than $1 billion, and the eventual sale of the Company to Nabisco.
Results
- Represented Tribune Company in connection with its transfer of the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field and related assets to a partnership with the Ricketts Family, and the transfer of Newsday Media Group to a partnership with Cablevision Systems
- Represented H.I.G. Capital in the acquisition and divestiture of multiple portfolio companies, including the acquisition of Service Net Solutions, LLC, a leading provider of extended warranties and service contracts, and the subsequent sale of the company to GTCR; the acquisition of Total Safety Services, Inc., a leading provider of safety and related services to the oil industry and the subsequent sale of the company to DLJ Merchant Banking; the leveraged buyout of Warrantech Corporation, a leading provider of extended warranties and service contracts, in a take-private transaction and the subsequent sale of the company to AmTrust Financial Services; the acquisition of Gould & Lamb, Inc., a provider of specialized services to the insurance industry, and the subsequent sale of the company to Abry Partners; the sale of Align Networks, Inc., to General Atlantic Partners; the sale of PMSI, a leading provider of pharmacy benefit management and other cost-containment services to the workers compensation market, to Kelso & Company; the acquisition of Texas Honing, Inc., a provider of finished components to the oil and gas industries, and the subsequent sale of the company to Precision Castparts Corporation; the acquisition of First Capital Corporation, a provider of specialized commercial finance products; the acquisition of Higher Gear Group, Inc., a provider of customer relationship management software to automobile dealers, and the sale of the company to OneCommand; the acquisition and combination of Petroferm, Inc., Lipo Industries, and the US operations of Croda Uniqema, manufactures and suppliers of specialty chemicals, and the subsequent sale of the combined company (then known as Vantage Specialty Chemicals) to an affiliate of The Jordan Company; the acquisition of MagnaCare Holdings, an operator of regional health care networks and the subsequent sale of the company to an affiliate of Goldman Sachs; the acquisition of Teleflex Marine, a global supplier of marine equipment for sports and leisure boats and the subsequent sale of the company (then known as Seastar Solutions) to American Securities; the acquisitions of two national operators of ambulatory surgery centers, Symbion, Inc., from Crestview Partners and Novamed, Inc., in a take-private transaction; and the acquisition of Dent Wizard Incorporated, a provider of automobile reconditioning services, and the subsequent sale of the company to Gridiron Capital
- Represented Great Point Partners, LLC, in connection with multiple investments and acquisitions, including the acquisition of The Risk Services Companies, a provider of specialized consulting services to the insurance industry; the acquisition of Caprion Proteomics, a provider of protein target and biomarker service, and the subsequent sale of the company to Chicago Growth Partners; the acquisition of Biotronic NeuroNetwork, Inc., a leading provider of neurophysiological intraoperative monitoring services, and the subsequent sale of the company to NuVasive, Inc.; the acquisition of Autism Learning Partners, a leading provider of applied behavioral analysis, and the subsequent sale of the company to FFL Partners; the leveraged buyout of American Surgical Holdings, a provider of professional surgical assistant services, in a going-private transaction and growth equity investments in iVantage Health Analytics, a leading provider of health care business analytics solutions to hospitals; Softbox Solutions, a UK-based leading provider of temperature controlled packaging solutions for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries; and Orange Health Solutions, a technology-enabled health care services company
- Represented multiple other private equity funds in acquisitions or divestitures, including, Lindsay Goldberg, Bayside Opportunity Fund, Aurora Resurgence, Riverside Partners and Peak Rock Capital
- Represented special committees in connection with the going-private transactions and in an internal investigation and resolution of certain related-party transactions
- Represented Follett Corporation in multiple acquisitions
- Represented Mars Incorporated in its acquisition of S&M NuTec, LLC, the maker of Greenies pet treats
Recognitions
- Best Lawyers in America, Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law, 2023-2025
- Thomson Reuters, Stand-out Lawyer – independently rated lawyers, 2024
- Chambers USA, Band 2 in Private Equity: Buyouts, 2010-2024
- Legal 500 US, Recommended, 2012-2024
- IFLR1000, M&A, 2022-2023
- BTI Client Service All-Star Team
Community
- American Bar Association
- Illinois Bar Association
Credentials
Education
University of Michigan Law School, JD, cum laude and Order of the Coif, 1990
University of Notre Dame, BBA, with highest honors, 1987
Admissions
Illinois