Sidley represented Athene Holding Ltd. (Athene) and Donlen, LLC (Donlen) as lead investor in the consortium investing in the combination of Donlen and Wheels, Inc. (Wheels). Athene, through its subsidiaries, is a leading retirement services company with total assets of US$215.5 billion as of June 30, 2021. Donlen has been developing innovative fleet management technology solutions for more than 55 years. Wheels, Inc. was established in 1939 and is one of the largest privately held companies in North America, featuring a portfolio of more than 325,000 vehicles. The new company has approximately US$5 billion in assets, a broader product suite, a highly diversified, highly rated customer base, and is expected to be rated investment grade.
This transaction is being led by New York M&A partner Daniel Serota and Private Equity partner Adam Weinstein. The team included corporate associates Josh Barkow, Rachel Fridhandler, Katherine Gomer, Jerry Ford II, Connor Grant-Knight, Jack Messer, Whitney Price, and Johnathan Sargent; Technology & IP Transactions partner Jennifer Coplan, as well as associates E. Kyle Barnett and Grace Walton; Tax partner Rachel Kleinberg, as well as associates Nathan Enfield and Lena Qiu; Employee Benefits partner Benjamin Rosemergy and associate Richard Schneider III; Real Estate partner Liz McCloy and associate Matt Wholey; Insurance Regulatory partner Andrew Holland and associate Sara Africano; Privacy & Cybersecurity partner Alan Charles Raul and associate Steven McInerney; and Labor, Employment and Immigration counsel Eric Hoffman, as well as associates Vera Iwankiw and Jason Marsico.