• • Advises privately held businesses with acquisitions, succession planning, governance and other corporate matters, including multigenerational succession planning for family-owned businesses.
  • Drafts and reviews a variety of commercial contracts, including supply agreements, distribution agreements and consulting agreements, for clients in the manufacturing, information technology and medical device industries.
  • Represents nonprofit issuers of debt securities in structuring and completing single-state, multistate and national offerings of debt securities while complying with registration/exemption and disclosure requirements under federal and state securities laws.

General Corporate Advising

• Assists several multigenerational family businesses, including Louis Padnos Iron and Metal Company, a leading recycler of paper, plastics and metals throughout the United States, and EJ Group, Inc., a world leader in infrastructure access solutions with corporate planning and governance, ownership planning, commercial contracts, general business matters and business acquisitions.
• Represents Skytron, LLC, a leading OEM and supplier of medical equipment, with regard to supply and service contracts.
• Assists Stryker Corporation (NYSE) with respect to corporate structure management, organization and maintenance in connection with domestic and international tax matters.

Impact Investing

• Advises CDFIs and other nonprofit organizations in multistate and national impact investment offerings of over $1 billion in debt securities on an annual basis. Representative clients include Calvert Impact Capital, Inc., Enterprise Community Loan Fund, RSF Social Investment Fund and Homewise.

Representative Mergers and Acquisitions

• ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. (Nasdaq), the holding company of ChoiceOne Bank, in its acquisitions of County Bank Corp. (parent of Lakestone Bank & Trust) and Community Shores Bank Corporation (parent of Community Shores Bank).
• Keweenaw Financial Corporation (OTC), the holding company of Superior National Bank, in its acquisition of North Star Financial Holdings, Inc. (parent of Main Street Bank).
• TCSB Bancorp, Inc., the holding company of Traverse City State Bank, in its merger with Independent Bank Corporation (Nasdaq).
• CCL Industries, Inc.(TSX) in its $532 million acquisition of Checkpoint Systems, Inc. (NYSE).
• West Shore Bank, in its acquisitions of West Michigan Bank and Trust and Ellis Capital Management.
• American Grease Stick Company, a multigenerational family business, in its sale of substantially all of its assets to an affiliate of 3 Rivers Capital.
• Birmingham Bloomfield Bancshares, Inc. (parent of the Bank of Birmingham) in its merger with Arbor Bancorp, Inc. (parent of the Bank of Ann Arbor).
• Chemical Financial Corporation (Nasdaq) in its acquisitions of Lake Michigan Financial Corporation, Monarch Community Bancorp, Inc., and Talmer Bancorp, Inc.
• Action Fabricators, Inc. and Laminin Medical Products, Inc. in their sale to a private equity affiliate of River Associates Investments, LLC.
• Mercantile Bank Corporation (Nasdaq) in its acquisition of Firstbank Corporation in an all-stock merger of equals transaction.
• Spartan Stores, Inc. (Nasdaq) in its merger with Nash-Finch Company in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $1.3 billion.
• Consumers Energy Company (NYSE) in a $155 million acquisition of a gas-fired power plant from AlphaGen Power LLC.
• Dri-Design, LLC, in its 2014 sale of stock to Kingspan Group, a global leader in high performance insulation, building fabric and solar integrated building envelopes.
• Howmedica Osteonics Corp., an affiliate of Stryker Corporation(NYSE), in its acquisition of assets from Marshall Steele & Associates, LLC.
• Perrigo Company(NYSE) in its acquisition of assets from CanAm Care, LLC.
• East Jordan Iron Works, Inc., d/b/a EJ USA, Inc., in its acquisition of Syracuse Castings Sales Corporation and Syracuse Castings West Corp.
• Reid Supply Company in its sale of assets to Filtrona Newton, Inc.

Public Private Partnerships (P3)

• Part of the Warner team serving as P3 procurement, governance and commercial counsel to the Canadian government and Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority in connection with the multi-billion dollar Gordie Howe International Bridge.