New York, Jan. 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that Stephen “Steve” C. Koval has joined the firm’s New York office as a partner in the Corporate, M&A, and Securities group. A well-known dealmaker, Steve focuses his practice on structuring and negotiating complex business and private equity (“PE”) transactions, including public and private mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, carveouts, and recapitalizations. He joins Blank Rome from Arnold & Porter where he served as partner and co-head of the firm’s global private equity practice.
“We are pleased to welcome Steve to our New York office and our national corporate practice,” said Grant S. Palmer, Blank Rome’s Chair and Managing Partner. “Steve’s vast experience helping investors strategize and implement sophisticated merger, acquisition, and financing transactions will add significant value to our Corporate, M&A, and Securities group. Paired with his deep industry knowledge and reputation as a trusted adviser in the private equity space, Steve will be an incredible asset to our clients seeking to navigate the dynamic deal landscape.”
Active in the private equity arena since its inception, Steve counsels leading private equity firms across the middle-market, as well as other investors, including independent sponsors, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, hedge funds, and more. His considerable experience involves counseling on public offerings and private placements of debt and equity securities; fund formation for PE firms; representing financial institutions and U.S. issuers of all sizes in the United States, as well U.S. and international entities, in cross-border offerings; restructuring the debt of financially distressed public and private companies; and serving as a skilled corporate counselor to boards of directors and their committees on governance, executive compensation, and a broad range of other issues.
“We are excited to welcome Steve to our group and the firm,” said Peter Schnur, partner and co-chair of the Corporate, M&A, and Securities group. “Steve has built a stellar reputation assisting investors in raising, deploying, and harvesting capital. The outlook for deals in 2025 is promising, with predicted increases in merger, acquisition, and PE activity and Steve’s experience will help our clients evaluate and seize market opportunities in the coming year.”
Steve’s clients often include those with consumer facing assets such as retail, consumer goods and luxury brands, transactional healthcare, manufacturing, industrials, and other services. His experience will strengthen Blank Rome’s Financial Services, Life Sciences, and Retail & Ecommerce industry teams.
“I am thrilled to join Blank Rome and look forward to contributing to its success,” said Steve. “I was impressed by Blank Rome’s broad industry coverage, strong leadership team, extensive platform, and the amazing group of lawyers here. The firm’s team of professionals from coast to coast is collegial and collaborative and I am eager to work with my new colleagues to support clients.”
Steve earned his J.D. and M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, and his B.S., summa cum laude, from St. John’s University. Outside of his practice, Steve is active in the community, serving as a member emeritus of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries Board of Directors and The Metropolitan Opera Guild Board of Directors, a member of the American Museum of Natural History Museum Advisory Council, and a member of fundraising committees for numerous educational and philanthropic institutions.
About Blank Rome
Blank Rome is an Am Law 100 firm with 16 offices and more than 750 attorneys and principals who provide comprehensive legal and advocacy services to clients operating in the United States and around the world. Our professionals have built a reputation for their leading knowledge and experience across a spectrum of industries and are recognized for their commitment to pro bono work in their communities. Since our inception in 1946, Blank Rome’s culture has been dedicated to providing exceptional service to all of our clients and has been rooted in the strength of our diversity and inclusion initiatives. For more information, please visit blankrome.com.
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