Ram Sachs

RAM SACHS advises boards and management teams in preparing for and responding to shareholder activism, hostile takeovers, and contentious corporate governance situations. His practice also encompasses M&A and other strategic transactions, investor engagement, and general corporate governance matters.

Prior to joining Sidley, he was an associate at a New York law firm with a prominent M&A and shareholder activism practice and worked as a management consultant.

Ram received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as executive editor on the Yale Journal on Regulation. He also holds a B.S. from Stanford University, where he graduated as a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Ram is a lecturer at Stanford Law School, where he teaches a course on shareholder activism, hostile takeovers, and corporate governance.

Shareholder Activism

While many matters remain private, past representative engagements include:

• Enhabit in its proxy contest defense against AREX.
• Alight in its proxy contest defense against Starboard.
• BJ’s Restaurants in connection with its cooperation agreements with Fund 1 Investments and PW Partners.
• Nordstrom in its activism campaign defense against RC Ventures/Ryan Cohen.
• LivePerson in its activism campaign defense against Starboard.
• Cutera in its proxy contest defense against Voce Capital and cooperation agreements with Pura Vida Investments and RTW Investments.
• Dollar Tree in its activism campaign defense against Mantle Ridge.
• GCP Applied Technologies in its proxy contest defense against Starboard.

Mergers and Acquisitions and Hostile Takeovers

• Beacon Roofing Supply in defense of an unsolicited tender offer and proxy contest by QXO.
• Bluerock Residential Growth REIT in its US$3.6 billion acquisition by Blackstone. 
• Hubbell in the US$360 million sale of its commercial and industrial lighting business to GE Current.
• IAC in its US$2.7 billion acquisition of Meredith.
• Pharmaceutical company in approximately US$7 billion cross-border acquisition.
• Software company in approximately US$1.5 billion acquisition.
• Immunomedics in its US$21 billion sale to Gilead.

Governance

• Advice to boards and companies on board structure, governance, leadership transitions, shareholder proposals, ESG, and other topics.

Some of the above matters were handled prior to joining Sidley.