Zach Johnston

ZACH JOHNSTON counsels clients on a range of technology and intellectual property matters, primarily in the context of mergers and acquisitions, licensing, development, marketing, and other strategic transactions.

Prior to joining Sidley, Zach was an associate at a boutique business law firm where he represented emerging brands and startups in corporate and intellectual property matters.

Zach earned his J.D., cum laude, and LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law from DePaul University – College of Law, where he was the Editor-in-Chief of the DePaul Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law and a recipient of numerous CALI Awards for the highest grade in his class for several courses, including Intellectual Property Licensing and Trademark and Unfair Competition Law. Zach served as an in-house legal intern for multiple high-growth technology media startups and an international financial services corporation, focusing on issues ranging from intellectual property and marketing, to data privacy and protection. In addition to these roles, he served as research assistant to Professors Anthony G. Volini (Data Privacy and Cybersecurity) and Michael Grynberg (Trademark and Unfair Competition), and was a judicial extern to The Honorable Thomas M. Durkin, District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Prior to law school, Zach worked in corporate finance and risk for a multinational software company, gaining experience in capital financing, corporate governance, and mergers and acquisitions. He earned his B.B.A. in finance with an international emphasis and a minor in energy technology and management from the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University.

Zach’s representative experience includes:

• A sponsor consortium comprised of global asset manager DWS Group (as sponsor and investment advisor to an investor consortium) and specialist investor in and manager of media music rights Cutting Edge Group (CEG) (as lead investor and manager) in the creation of a joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that constitutes one of the largest and highest valued music rights deals ever executed covering almost a century’s worth of music copyrights.
• Tengram Capital Partners, a private equity firm that acquires highly recognizable consumer and retail brands, in its sale of HRB Brands to Sodalis Group, a European-based beauty and personal care platform.
• Mastercard in its US$2.65 billion acquisition of global threat intelligence company Recorded Future.
• IDEX Corporation in its US$1 billion acquisition of Mott Corporation and its subsidiaries.
• Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners in the sale of its portfolio company, WTG Midstream Holdings LLC, to Energy Transfer LP for US$3.25 billion.
• Audeze LLC, an audio technology brand, in its acquisition by Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC.
• Zinnia in its strategic acquisition of Policygenius, a digital insurance marketplace.
• CTM Group, Inc., a portfolio company of the private equity arm of Z Capital Group, L.L.C., in its acquisition of ScooterBug Best Lockers, a provider of mobility and locker solutions across leisure and entertainment sites and major tourist destinations.
• H.I.G. Growth Partners in the sale of its portfolio company Eruptr LLC, a healthcare digital marketing company, to Amulet Capital Partners, L.P., a middle-market private equity investment firm focused exclusively on the healthcare sector.
• MarketTime, LLC in its majority investment by private investment firm Hudson Hill Capital.
• ZMC in its strategic investment in Wpromote, an independent digital marketing agency.
• ZMC in its strategic investment in Resonate, a provider of A.I.-powered consumer data and intelligence.
• Siris Capital Group, LLC and Stratus Technologies (“Stratus”) in the sale of Stratus to SMART Global Holdings, Inc. (“SGH”), a holding company that provides simplified, protected, and autonomous computing solutions.
• IDEX Corporation in its definitive agreement to acquire micro-precision technology manufacturing company Muon B.V. and its subsidiaries (“Muon Group”) from Rivean Capital for a cash consideration of EUR€700 million.
• Z Capital Partners, L.L.C. portfolio company Techniks Tool Group (“TTG”) in its acquisition of the Eppinger Group (“Eppinger”), a Germany-based designer and manufacturer of high precision solutions.
• Incyte (NASDAQ: INCY) in its agreement to acquire Villaris Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel antibody therapeutics.
• Immutable X, a pioneer in the development and publishing of Non-Fungible token (NFT) games on the Ethereum NFT ecosystem, in connection with the commercial arrangements for its new partnership with Turner Sports, a subsidiary of WarnerMedia.
• Darling Ingredients Inc. in its US$1.1 billion acquisition of Valley Proteins.
• Wheels Donlen and its lead investor, Athene, in Wheels Donlen acquiring LeasePlan USA.
• Thompson Street Capital Partners (TSCP) in its sale of LTP Home Services Group to L Catterton.
• Fleming Insurance Holdings, a portfolio company of Altamont Capital Partners, in its strategic US$277 million acquisition of JRG Reinsurance Company (JRG Re).
• Advising publicly traded insurance distribution firm BRP Group in the acquisition of California-based Westwood Insurance Agency from QBE.
• Novant Health, Inc. in its agreement with Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) to acquire three Tenet hospitals and affiliated operations in South Carolina for approximately US$2.4 billion.

• American Bar Association
• American Bar Association - Intellectual Property Law Section
• Dallas Bar Association

• Veterans Advocacy Project