Hunton & Williams Atlanta Hires New Partner from King & Spalding

June 26, 2008

Hunton & Williams LLP today announced G. Roth Kehoe II has joined the firm’s global capital markets and mergers and acquisitions practice as a partner in its Atlanta office.  Hunton & Williams is globally recognized as a leading advisor on M&A transactions and earned the top ranking for advising on announced deals worldwide in Thomson Financial’s 2008 first quarter league tables.  Recent M&A representations include the widely publicized $113 billion Altria Group’s spin-off of Philip Morris International, where the firm represented both the parent corporation and the subsidiary; Progress Energy’s sale of its natural gas business to EXCO Resources for $1.16 billion; Grupo Banistmo, S.A.’s sale to HSBC Holdings for $1.77 billion; and American General Finance’s $1.5 billion acquisition of assets from Equity One and its affiliates. 

“The firm’s global capital markets and mergers and acquisitions practice has long been interna­tional in scope,” said Kurt Powell, managing partner of the firm’s Atlanta office, “and Hunton & Williams will benefit tremendously with Roth’s experience. Our objective is ‘smart growth’ through the addition of the highest quality lateral partners. Roth has built a successful practice advising companies in complex M&A transactions and his client roster includes a diverse range of businesses and industries, including molecular biology, technology, finance and financial transactions, health care, real estate and manufacturing — areas of strategic focus for our firm.”

Kehoe said, “I was attracted to the firm’s rapidly growing, local presence and to the opportunities available because of the national and international platforms of Hunton & Williams.  I look forward to contributing both to the firm’s strong corporate practice and to its infrastructure and energy groups.”

Kehoe comes to Hunton & Williams–Atlanta from King & Spalding, a few months following the arrival of corporate partner John Decker, who transferred to Atlanta from another of the firm’s offices.  Kehoe concentrates on international and domestic public and private mergers and acquisitions, dispositions, going private transactions, investments and strategic transactions.  He advises boards of directors in connection with corporate governance, M&A and strategic transactions, SEC compliance and reporting matters. A member of the Georgia and Louisiana State Bars, Kehoe serves on the finance council of Our Lady of the Assumption Church and School, Atlanta, and the financial review committee of the United Way of Metro Atlanta. He received his undergraduate degree from Washington & Lee University and his MBA and law degrees from Tulane University, where he was managing editor of the Tulane University Law Review.

The global capital markets and mergers and acquisitions practice of Hunton & Williams is comprised of more than 75 corporate M&A lawyers, who handle all aspects of domestic and international M&A transactions, including contested and negotiated acquisitions, hostile and friendly tender offers, takeover defenses, leveraged buyouts, corporate spin-offs, privatiza­tions and strategic acquisition and divestiture programs, and more. 

About Hunton & Williams LLP
Hunton & Williams LLP provides legal services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals, as well as to a broad array of other entities. Since our establishment more than a century ago, Hunton & Williams has grown to more than 1,000 attorneys serving clients in 100 countries from 18 offices around the world. While our practice has a strong industry focus on energy, financial services and life sciences, the depth and breadth of our experience extends to more than 100 separate practice areas, including bankruptcy and creditors rights, commercial litigation, corporate transactions and securities law, intellectual property, international and government relations, regulatory law, products liability, and privacy and information management.  For additional information visit our website at www.hunton.com.