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Rory O’Halloran

Partner

Email

rory.ohalloran@aoshearman.com

Phone

+1 212 848 4550

Offices

New York

V-CARD
Rory represents U.S. and international clients in a broad range of public and private M&A transactions, including in complex cross-border transactions, joint ventures and unsolicited transactions.
His experience also includes special committee representations as well as advising clients on corporate governance matters.

Expertise

Industries

Experience

Representative matters

  • General Electric Company in various matters including:  the acquisition of Nexus Controls; the combination of GE Oil & Gas with Baker Hughes Incorporated to create a new publicly traded company; the sale of the GE Energy Financial Services project finance debt business; and the sale of GE Asset Management to State Street Corporation.
  • Intercontinental Exchange in various matters including:  the acquisition of Black Knight, and related divestiture transactions; the acquisition of Ellie Mae; the acquisitions of the Chicago Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange; the acquisitions of TMC Bonds and BondPoint; the acquisition of Simplifile; and the sale of its IDMS business to FactSet.
  • Anglo American in various matters including:  its proposed joint venture with Vale involving the acquisition by Anglo American Brasil of the Serra da Serpentina iron ore resource and the concurrent acquisition by Vale of a 15% shareholding in Anglo American Brasil; Mitsubishi Corporation’s investment in Anglo American’s Quellaveco copper project (Peru) and the negotiation of related joint venture arrangements; the sale of its Anglo American Norte copper business in Chile to an investor consortium led by Audley Capital; its sales to Mitsubishi Corporation and Codelco of minority shareholdings in Anglo American Sur (Chile) and the negotiation of related partnership arrangements; and the sale of its Moly-Cop and AltaSteel businesses to OneSteel.
  • ArcelorMittal in various matters including:  the joint acquisition (with Nippon Steel) of Essar Steel; the joint acquisition (with Nippon Steel) of ThyssenKrupp Steel USA; and the sale of a 15% interest in its Labrador Trough iron ore mining and infrastructure assets in Canada to a consortium led by POSCO of Korea and China Steel Corporation.
  • The special committee of the board of directors of Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores in connection with the company’s “going private” merger transaction with Transform Holdco and related sale of the company’s Outlet segment to the Franchise Group.
  • The special committee of the board of directors of Sprint Nextel Corporation in connection with its evaluation of the unsolicited acquisition proposal submitted by DISH Network and negotiation of the terms of an amended merger agreement with SoftBank.
  • The Rohatyn Group in the sale of Ness Digital Engineering to KKR, and in the prior sale of the Ness Linium business to Cognizant.
  • PointState Capital in its investment in Argentine energy company Genneia S.A.
  • The National Hockey League’s Arizona Coyotes in the sale of 51% of the franchise to Andrew Barroway.
  • Pierpont Securities in its merger with Amherst Securities Group.
  • NPC International in its sale to Olympus Partners.
  • Sun Pharmaceutical in its “going private” acquisition of all of the publicly held shares of Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories.
  • Northgate Capital in its sale of a controlling interest to Religare Enterprises.
  • JBS in its acquisition of a controlling interest in Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation.
  • Dow Chemical in its sale of Morton Salt to K+S Aktiengesellschaft, and in the sale of its Calcium Chloride business to Occidental Chemical Corporation.
  • Merrill Lynch in its sale to Bank of America.
  • Thomson in its sale of Thomson Learning to funds managed by Apax and OMERS.
  • Citigroup in its acquisition of Grupo Financiero Uno.

Pro bono

  • Rory has been active for many years in representing pro bono clients The Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature (Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza) (FMCN) and the Mesoamerican Reef Fund (MAR Fund).
  • FMCN is a Mexican non-profit organization that serves as a private financial intermediary for the conservation of the biological richness of Mexico. Rory’s work here includes representing FMCN in its participation in arrangements relating to the financing, production and marketing of the IMAX film “Flight of the Butterflies”, which chronicles the annual migration of monarch butterflies from the United States and Canada to Mexico and debuted at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
  • MAR Fund is a non-profit organization that focuses on regional funding and partnerships for the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of the Mesoamerican Reef in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.

Leadership Positions And Professional Affiliations

  • Member, New York City Bar Association

Recognition

“He is outstanding. He has one of the calmest demeanors I have ever come across.”
Chambers, 2016

Awards

  • Recommended lawyer M&A/Corporate and Commercial: M&A: Large Deals ($1BN+) Legal 500 2023, 2021

Qualifications

Admissions

New York, 2006

Academic

B.S., Boston College, 2002

J.D., Tulane University, 2005

Disclaimer
A&O Shearman was formed on May 1, 2024 by the combination of Shearman & Sterling LLP and Allen & Overy LLP and their respective affiliates (the legacy firms). Any matters referred to above may include matters undertaken by one or more of the legacy firms rather than A&O Shearman.