Anika Hermann Bargfrede

ANIKA HERMANN BARGFREDE’s principal areas of practice include the representation of buyers and sellers in public and private mergers and acquisitions, as well as the advising of numerous publicly traded corporations on a wide range of matters, with a particular focus on federal securities laws and corporate governance. Anika also has experience advising publicly traded corporations in connection with shareholder activism, proxy contests and rights plans, and regularly represents boards of directors in connection with special committee assignments.

Anika previously served as Assistant Corporate Secretary and Senior Counsel, Securities & Transactions at a Fortune 200 company. In this role, she reported directly to the General Counsel to support the Office of the Corporate Secretary for the company’s Board of Directors and represented the company in domestic and international M&A transactions, including carveout divestitures, acquisitions and other strategic partnerships and investments.

Anika graduated second in her class and summa cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law and was elected to the Order of the Coif. During law school, Anika received Rickert Awards for Excellence in Academics and Excellence in Legal Writing, as well as numerous CALI Awards for achieving the highest grade in the class, including for Securities Regulation. Also while in law school, Anika served as a notes editor for the University of Illinois Law Review and as a judicial extern to the Honorable Michael M. Mihm of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. Prior to earning her J.D., Anika graduated first in her class, summa cum laude and with Highest Distinction, from the University of Illinois with a B.A. in political science and communication. She also earned Phi Beta Kappa, Bronze Tablet and Senior 100 honors.

Clients served in recent representative transactions and other matters include:

• Markel Group Inc. (NYSE: MKL) in its US$920 million acquisition of publicly traded State National Companies Inc. (Nasdaq: SNC).
• Dover Corporation (NYSE: DOV) in multiple acquisitions and divestitures, including the approximately US$244 million sale of its Unified Brands business to Electrolux Professional AB, a Swedish publicly traded company.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA) in multiple strategic transactions, including acquisition of the remaining approximately 30% stake in Shields Health Solutions, an industry leader in integrated, health system-owned specialty pharmacy care, for US$1.37 billion.
• United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: UAL) in the establishment of its corporate venture capital arm, United Airlines Ventures, to support and invest in emerging technologies and sustainable solutions.
• Exelon Corporation (Nasdaq: EXC) in connection with its acquisition of the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant.
• General Electric Company, doing business as GE Aerospace (formerly GE Aviation) (NYSE: GE), in connection with its joint ventures with Praxair, Inc., which merged with Linde AG to form Linde plc (Nasdaq: LIN).
• Aon plc (formerly Aon Corporation) (NYSE: AON) in the sale of its fire protection engineering business to Jensen Hughes.
• Harris Corporation (Nasdaq: HRS), which merged with L3 Technologies to form L3Harris Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: LHX), in the US$210 million sale of its Aerostructures business to Albany International Corp. (NYSE: AIN).
• BDT Capital Partners in connection with its investment in Athletico Physical Therapy, one of the largest providers of orthopedic rehabilitation services in the U.S.
• Thompson Street Capital Partners in multiple add-on acquisitions and the sale of its Receivables Management Partners platform.
• RoundTable Healthcare Partners in multiple add-on acquisitions.
• Private life insurance company in multiple acquisitions.
• OneSpan Inc. (Nasdaq: OSPN) in connection with the proxy contest launched by Legion Partners.
• Landauer Inc. (NYSE: LDR), which was since acquired by Fortive Corporation (NYSE: FTV) in connection with the proxy contest launched by Gilead Capital.
• Commonwealth Edison Company in several offerings of its first mortgage bonds.

• Chicago Associate Co-Leader and Member, SidleyWomen