Zach Johnston

ZACH JOHNSTON counsels institutional investors and strategic acquirers on complex transactions, involving technology, intellectual property, and other core business assets, primarily in connection with mergers and acquisitions, licensing and other strategic transactions.

Zach earned his J.D., cum laude, and LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law from DePaul University College of Law, where he served as editor-in-chief of the DePaul Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law and received multiple CALI Awards for the highest grade in courses including Intellectual Property Licensing and Trademark and Unfair Competition Law. During law school, he served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Thomas M. Durkin of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and as a research assistant to Professors Anthony G. Volini (Data Privacy and Cybersecurity) and Michael Grynberg (Trademark and Unfair Competition).

Zach also served as an in-house legal intern for high-growth technology companies and a global financial services corporation, advising on intellectual property, marketing, data privacy, and data protection matters.

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:

Technology, Data, & Digital Infrastructure

• Mastercard in its US$2.65 billion acquisition of Recorded Future, a leading global threat intelligence company.
• United Airlines in connection with its strategic consumer collaboration with JetBlue Airways, including integrated loyalty and digital distribution platform arrangements.
• Siris Capital Group, LLC and Stratus Technologies in the sale of Stratus to SMART Global Holdings, Inc., a provider of protected and autonomous computing solutions.
• Northlane Capital Partners in the sale of PAR Excellence Systems, a provider of healthcare supply chain automation software and analytics solutions.
• ZMC in its strategic investment in Resonate, a provider of AI-powered consumer data and intelligence platform technology.
• ZMC in its strategic investment in Wpromote, an independent digital marketing agency.
• MarketTime, LLC, a B2B commerce platform serving wholesale brands and retailers, in its majority investment by Hudson Hill Capital.
• CASA Systems, Inc., a provider of broadband access and cloud software solutions, in its Chapter 11 restructuring proceedings and related sale process.
• ICON Aircraft, Inc., a manufacturer of light-sport amphibious aircraft, in its Chapter 11 restructuring and related sale process.

Media, Entertainment, & Digital Content

• Sponsor consortium comprised of DWS Group and Cutting Edge Group in the creation of a landmark joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery covering nearly a century of music copyrights — one of the largest and highest-valued music rights transactions ever executed.
• Audeze LLC, a designer and manufacturer of high-performance audio equipment and headphones, in its acquisition by Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC.
• Immutable X in connection with the commercial arrangements for its partnership with Turner Sports, a subsidiary of WarnerMedia, relating to NFT-based digital collectibles and gaming integrations.
• CTM Group, Inc., a portfolio company of Z Capital Group, in its acquisition of ScooterBug Best Lockers, a provider of mobility and locker solutions across major leisure and entertainment destinations.

Life Science, Healthcare, & Insurance

• Radiology Partners and its subsidiary Mosaic Clinical Technologies in the acquisition of Cognita Imaging Inc., a developer of radiology-focused artificial intelligence and vision-language diagnostic models.
• Incyte (NASDAQ: INCY) in its agreement to acquire Villaris Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company focused on novel antibody therapeutics.
• Novant Health, Inc. in its approximately US$2.4 billion acquisition of three Tenet Healthcare hospitals and affiliated operations in South Carolina.
• H.I.G. Growth Partners in the sale of Eruptr LLC, a healthcare-focused digital marketing company, to Amulet Capital Partners.
• Zinnia in its strategic acquisition of Policygenius, a digital insurance marketplace.
• Fleming Insurance Holdings (a portfolio company of Altamont Capital Partners) in its US$277 million acquisition of JRG Reinsurance Company, a specialty reinsurance platform.
• BRP Group in its acquisition of Westwood Insurance Agency from QBE, a residential property insurance distribution business.

Industrials, Advanced Manufacturing, & Agriculture

• IDEX Corporation in its US$1 billion acquisition of Mott Corporation, a manufacturer of precision filtration and flow control products.
• IDEX Corporation in its definitive agreement to acquire Muon Group from Rivean Capital for EUR€700 million, a micro-precision components manufacturer serving semiconductor and medical end markets.
• Darling Ingredients Inc. in its US$1.1 billion acquisition of Valley Proteins, a renderer and recycler of animal by-products into sustainable ingredients and fuels.

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

• Veterans Advocacy Project