Peter W. Wardle is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is a member of the firm’s Corporate Transactions Department and co-chair of its Capital Markets Practice Group, and previously served as partner in charge of the Los Angeles office.
Peter’s practice includes representation of issuers and underwriters in equity and debt offerings, including IPOs and secondary public offerings, and representation of both public and private companies in mergers and acquisitions, including private equity, cross border, leveraged buy-out and going private transactions. He has led the execution of IPOs across industries on both the issuer side and underwriter side, including some of the largest transactions in the year they were completed. He also advises clients on a wide variety of general corporate and securities law matters, including corporate governance and disclosure issues.
Representative matters include:
- Venice Brands Acquisition Corp. I - proposed initial public offering.
- Leslie’s Inc. - secondary public offerings.
- Montrose Environmental Group - initial public offering, preferred stock investment and various acquisitions.
- Goldman Sachs, BofA and Morgan Stanley – initial public offering of Parsons Corporation.
- Various portfolio companies of private equity fund - initial public offerings.
- Stone Canyon Industries – acquisition financing high-yield bond offerings.
- Eros International - initial public offering, follow-on offering and merger of equals with STX.
- AECOM - $6 billion acquisition of URS Corporation, creating the largest public company in Southern California, including a bond offering financing, one of the largest initial public offerings in the country at the time and the second largest in California, valued at $808 million, and other acquisitions.
- Dole Food Company, Inc. - largest California initial public offering at the time, valued at $446 million, sale of certain businesses to ITOCHU Corporation for $1.685 billion and going private transaction.
- CalAmp Corp. - convertible notes offering and various acquisitions.
- Aurora Capital Group - acquisition of NuCO2, which included the first full company securitization in connection with an acquisition, and proposed initial public offering of NuCO2.
- Farmers Insurance Exchanges - $1.9 billion acquisition with Farmers Insurance Group, Inc. of an international insurer’s personal auto group.
- Chandler Trusts - highly public shareholder activist efforts as the largest holder of Tribune Company, which concluded with the sale of over $1.6 billion of Tribune shares by the trusts.
- Significant capital markets, mergers and acquisitions and other transactions for Aerojet Rocketdyne, Akzo Nobel, Allied Security, Amazon, BCBG Max Azria Group, CSK Auto, Casden Properties, Gryphon Investors, IAC/InterActiveCorp., InterMedia Partners, K2, Lazard, Morgan Stanley, Singapore Post, Square, Stewart Title Company, Ticketmaster, ValueClick, Verra Mobility, Vivendi, William Hill and Worldwide Restaurant Concepts.
Peter earned his Juris Doctor in 1997 from the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as business manager of the UCLA Law Review and articles editor of the UCLA Entertainment Law Review. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude in 1992 from Harvard University. Peter is a member of the Board of Directors and chair of the Governance Committee for The Colburn School. He is a member of the firm’s Compensation Committee, National Pro Bono Committee, and serves as one of the partners in charge and pro bono partners for the Los Angeles area offices.
Capabilities
- Capital Markets
- Emerging Companies / Venture Capital
- Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
- Fashion, Retail, and Consumer Products
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance
Credentials
Education:
- University of California - Los Angeles - 1997 Juris Doctor
- Harvard University - 1992 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- California Bar