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Stephen A. Tight

In my estimation, nothing constitutes work worth doing and working hard at more than helping my clie...

Contact: P /612.604.6602E /[email protected]

Education

University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., cum laude, 1997

St. Olaf College, B.A., Economics and English Literature, 1993

Bar Admissions

Minnesota, 1997

My Approach

“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing,” is a quote attributed to Teddy Roosevelt.  In my estimation, nothing constitutes work worth doing and working hard at more than helping my clients consistently achieve their objectives.

In my nearly 30-year legal career, I’ve seen just about everything across the corporate spectrum – from mergers and acquisitions of public and private companies, to strategic investing and the resurgence and continued impact of private equity strategies in the broader M&A market. My past experience across multiple sectors, coupled with my time spent both as a law firm partner and corporate general counsel, allow me the ability to maintain perspective and to help my clients achieve their business goals as if they were my own.

I want my clients to view me as a resource and a collaborative, creative partner.  My depth and breadth of knowledge and experience on the business and legal aspects of a transaction help make me a steadfast but practical and flexible negotiator.  If we can avoid getting bogged down in unnecessary details, particularly when negotiating with opposing counsel, we can all focus on the important aspects of an opportunity –  your business strategy and goals.

Outside the office, I’m a consummate family man. I enjoy spending time with my wife, our three kids, and our family dog, Dixie. Travel these days seems to be centered around prospective college visits for our youngest daughter and treks to and from Omaha, NE and South Bend, IN where her older sister and brother are in college, currently. I also enjoy getting in a round of golf when my professional and family commitments will allow.

Practice Areas

Practicing Mergers & Acquisitions

My Experience

I represent public and private companies, private equity funds and firms, venture capital funds and firms, and other financial and strategic buyers, sellers, and investors on complex domestic and international M&A transactions. I have had the good fortune of advising clients on transactions of varying sizes across a wide range of industries, with specific expertise across the health care, life sciences, and medical device sectors.

Representative Matters

• Represented the acquirer, a large, domestic healthcare company in the informatics and patient analytics space, in the transformative acquisition of an OUS competitor with significant international operations that substantially increased the size and international reach of the client’s business and with a total transaction value well in excess of $1 billion.
• Regularly represents Fortune 500 medical device manufacturers and MDO manufacturers in a wide range of commercial and strategic transactions including asset and business line dispositions, strategic investments, technology licensing transactions, and acquisitions (by merger, stock, and asset purchase) of numerous companies, subsidiaries, and divisions (public and private).
• Represented a large, national health care company in the systematic build out of its care delivery platform in numerous physician practice group, ambulatory surgical care, and specialty care center acquisitions across the country and in compliance with a myriad of state specific health care regulatory laws.
• Represented and had primary legal responsibility for the several venture funds and strategic investing function at a Fortune 10 health care and insurance company.
• Represented numerous physician and dental practice groups in the sale of their respective practices to large, national, care delivery organizations and dental services organizations involving both strategic buyers and private equity sponsored entities / financial buyers.

Practicing General Corporate

My Experience

Having spent considerable time as an in-house, corporate general counsel, I am familiar with the challenges that businesses face and can cut through the noise to provide practical and creative solutions for any given situation. I’m uniquely positioned to understand your business priorities and your short- and long-term goals, and I’m equipped to provide tailored advice that takes into consideration not only business and legal priorities, but also any non-legal downstream effects. I frequently serve as outside general counsel to my clients, including, particularly, medical device, life sciences and health care organizations, helping them effectively navigate the day-to-day complexities of these highly regulated industries and advising on corporate strategy with a legal perspective.

Representative Matters

• Advised all functional areas of a global medical device company on a wide range of legal and compliance issues (both domestic and international), including litigation and transactional matters, federal and state anti-kickback statutes, False Claims Act issues, fraud, waste and abuse concerns, FDA marketing and labeling restrictions, state and federal health care reform legislation, national and international multicenter clinical trial efforts, and the structuring, negotiation and drafting of research grants and sponsored research agreements.
• Advised a global, healthcare provider and healthcare insurance provider with respect to its ’33 Act securities filings and compliance, as well as its ‘34 Act reporting obligations, Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance, and overall SEC reporting and compliance obligations.
• Represent private business clients in an outside general counsel role, including preparation and negotiation of joint development, distribution, and supply agreements, and negotiation of litigation and licensing settlements.
• Prepare and advise public company clients with respect to the preparation of registration statements and securities financings, proxy statements, and SEC periodic reports.
• Provide counsel to corporate boards, special committees, and management teams.

Practicing Private Equity

My Experience

I represent private equity sponsors and private equity funds (and their portfolio companies) and other related parties, including rollover investors and management teams, in platform and bolt-on acquisitions, investments, recapitalizations, equity rollovers, and divestitures.  My ability to bring both legal and business acumen to bear, as well as my familiarity with some of the unique aspects and structural components of private equity transactions allows me to provide efficient, sophisticated, and timely advice to my clients.

Representative Matters

• Represented a portfolio company of a large, OUS-based, private equity fund in a series of tuck-in acquisitions focused on growth and product portfolio augmentation in the specialty, rigid-packaging solutions and medical device packaging industries.
• Represented the founding and managing partners of a multibillion-dollar agricultural and commodities focused private equity fund in the spin-out and separation of that fund & strategy from the world’s largest privately held food, ingredients, agricultural solutions and industrial products conglomerate, as well as continuing to represent the fund in its subsequent M&A and capital deployment efforts throughout the life of the fund and in multiple strategies.
• Represented the seller and seller’s management team in the sale of a private equity backed, franchised junk removal and recycling business to the world’s largest franchisor and operator of home service brands and its private equity owners, including a significant equity rollover component.
• Represented a private equity backed portfolio company in the patient analytics and healthcare informatics industry in its transformative acquisition of one of its largest international competitors that dramatically increased the size and OUS reach of our client’s business and substantially diversified the enterprise and with a transaction value well in excess of $1 billion.

Also experienced in

Health Care Mergers & Acquisitions

State & Federal Regulatory Compliance

Associations & Memberships

American Bar Association, Business and Health Law Section

Minnesota State Bar Association

Hennepin County Bar Association

Minneapolis Golf Club

Board of Directors & Executive Committee, past member
Greens Committee, current member

Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon

Rules & Officiating Committee of the Board of Directors, past chair

American Heart & Stroke Association – Heart Stoke Gala, Executive Leadership Team

2012-2014