Drea Schmidt

Tonkon Torp guided client Herbert Malarkey Roofing Company through a successful $1.35 billion stock sale to Switzerland-based Holcim Group, one of the world’s largest building products companies. The deal secured a place as one of Oregon’s largest M&A transactions in 2021.

The acquisition of Tonkon Torp client TomegaVax by San Francisco-based Vir Biotechnology marks a significant boom for Oregon’s growing role in the bioscience industry. Find details and more featured cases here.

Tonkon Torp’s Mergers & Acquisition practice group represented client Opus Agency in a significant equity transaction with private equity firm Fan Creek Capital, providing substantial additional growth capital to Opus. Opus, a global corporate events and experiential marketing agency headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, serves Fortune 1000 clients such as Salesforce, Amazon, Intel and Alaska Airlines.

Tonkon Torp acted as Oregon corporate counsel for its long-term client The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. in finalizing a 50/50 joint venture with Watco Companies, L.L.C. The venture combines the two companies’ railcar repair, refurbishment and maintenance businesses into a new organization, GBW Railcar Services, LLC.

Tonkon Torp was counsel to privately held Avid Health, Inc. in its cash sale to Church & Dwight Co Inc., a Princeton, New Jersey based, publicly traded consumer products company with a portfolio of personal care and household product brands.

Tonkon Torp represented Key Technology in its acquisition of Belgium-based Visys N.V. The deal, valued at approximately $21 million, created a single source of high-performance sorting technologies for food processing and other industrial markets. Find details and more featured cases here.

Forty-nine Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 36 practice areas have been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2024. All of the attorneys have been previously named to the peer-review list, and most have been listed for more than 10 years.

Fifty-three Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 37 practice areas have been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2023. Nearly all the attorneys have been previously named to the peer-review list, and most have been listed for more than 10 years.

Fifty-three Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 39 practice areas have been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2022

Partners from Tonkon Torp’s Business and Bankruptcy Departments hosted a webinar on October 15 to look at M&A prospects and strategies for late 2020 and beyond. The panel was moderated by Sherrill Corbett and featured Claire Brown, Tim Conway, and Drea Schmidt.

Attorneys from Tonkon Torp’s Business Department hosted a webinar to share information on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) EZ Forgiveness Application and other new guidance on the PPP. The program was moderated by Partner Drea Schmidt and featured attorneys Betsy Judd and Ferdie Ruplin.

It is an open secret that many business owners, no matter how organized, regularly neglect an important task—developing their exit strategy.

On June 17, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) published an abbreviated “EZ” forgiveness application and accompanying instructions (“EZ Forgiveness Application”) for certain eligible borrowers under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) as included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”).

On May 13, 2020, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) published an interim final rule (“IFR”) allowing certain partnerships that applied for Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans but did not include partner income in “payroll costs” to amend their loan applications to include partner compensation. Notably, modification is permitted even if the PPP loan has already been disbursed. Although not explicitly stated, the IFR should apply equally to LLCs taxed as partnerships, permitting LLC members to increase PPP loan amounts to include member draws.

Over the past few weeks, many of our clients who have received Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans have expressed concern about whether they had adequate basis to certify that their PPP loan request was necessary to support ongoing business operations

Reducing Employee Headcount – If the average number of a borrower’s full-time equivalent (FTE) employees during the eight-week period following origination is reduced compared to a pre-crisis comparison period, then the forgivable amount of your loan will be proportionately reduced. However, if a previously laid-off employee declines a rehire offer from the borrower, provided that certain documentation procedures are followed, that employee will not count against the borrower for forgiveness reduction purposes.