Claire E. James

About Claire E. James

As the Head of New York Private Equity, Claire serves as a strategic partner to clients, offering insightful guidance on intricate transactions, including corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions and private equity deals. She provides end-to-end support across all market conditions and stages of the investment cycle. With experience spanning multiple industries, Claire brings a unique perspective from her early career as a bankruptcy attorney, equipping her with deep knowledge in navigating distressed and hybrid capital opportunities.

Claire holds a JD and LLM from New York University School of Law.

Claire is recognized in Super Lawyers (2015 – 2023).

Claire is a member of the board of directors for The Center For Family Representation, is currently a David Rockefeller Fellow with the Partnership for New York City and also serves as an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Recent work

• Turnspire Capital Partners LLC in its acquisition of Swanson Industries, a leading provider of mining equipment, hydraulic cylinders, and related industrial equipment
• iCON Infrastructure LLP in its strategic partnership with Royal Caribbean Group
• Kaseya on its $6.2 billion acquisition of Datto
• Famille C, the Courtin-Clarins family holding company and owner of the Clarins brand, in its acquisition of ILIA Beauty
• Holley in its merger with SPAC Empower Ltd., in which Holley will become a publicly traded company
• Arkema on the proposed divestment of its PMMA business to Trinseo, a global materials solutions provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders, and synthetic rubber
• Sarissa Capital Acquisition Corp. in its $200 million SPAC initial public offering
• E2open in its $2.57 billion combination with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) CC Neuberger Principal Holdings I, in which E2open will become a publicly traded company
• Stanley Capital on its acquisition of global specialty pharmaceutical company, Noden Pharma DAC
• SIX in its partnership agreement with and investment in Omniex, an institutional trading platform provider for digital assets and cryptocurrencies
• FFL Partners and its portfolio company EyeCare Partners in the sale of ECP to Partners Group
• E2open, a portfolio company of Insight Partners, in its acquisition of global trade management software provider Amber Road for $425 million
• GlaxoSmithKline in its $12.7 billion joint venture with Pfizer to combine their consumer health businesses
• Royal Resources, an entity owned by funds managed by Blackstone Energy Partners and Blackstone Capital Partners, in the sale of its Eagle Ford Shale assets for a transaction value of $894 million to Osprey Energy Acquisition Corp., an energy-focused SPAC
• Conyers Park Acquisition Corp. in its $900 million combination with Atkins Nutritionals Inc. to form The Simply Good Foods Company
• Swift Transportation in its $6 billion stock-for-stock merger with Knight Transportation
• Exela Technologies, formerly known as Quinpario Acquisition, in its $2.8 billion combination with SourceHOV and Novitex
• Cerberus Capital Management in its acquisition of Staples’ European business
• Sagent Pharmaceuticals on its approximately $750 million sale to Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical
• Cerberus Capital Management in its carveout of Avon's North American business and strategic investment in Avon’s international business
• Corning in connection with the unwinding of its 73-year-old Dow Corning joint venture with Dow Chemical in exchange for 100% of a newly formed corporation holding a 40% stake in Hemlock Semiconductor Group and approximately $4.8 billion in cash
• Innophos Holdings, Inc. on its agreement with FrontFour Capital Group LLC to expand its board of directors
• ICV Partners in its acquisition of SirsiDynix
• Sensata Technologies in its $1 billion acquisition of Schrader International
• Endo Health Solutions in its $1.6 billion acquisition of Paladin Labs (Canada) through the formation of a new Irish holding company, Endo International plc
• Funds managed by Kelso & Company and StoneRiver Group, L.P. in connection with the merger of Progressive Medical, Inc. and PMSI, Inc.
• Colfax Corporation, a manufacturer of fluid handling products, in its $947 million acquisition of Victor Technologies Group Inc., a manufacturer of industrial equipment, from Irving Place Capital, a private equity firm
• Gardner Denver, Inc. in its $3.9 billion acquisition by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P.
• LifeCare Holdings, Inc., an operator of long-term acute care hospitals, and its debtor affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware
• UniCredit in the dismissal of $60 billion in trebled RICO claims brought by the trustee for the Securities Investor Protection Act liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC and dismissal of $4 billion in common law claims also asserted by the Madoff trustee

*This list includes work that Claire completed while at a prior firm.