Jump to:
Christian Westra is a partner in the firm’s private equity transactions group. He represents private equity firms and institutional investors in mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts and other investments. Christian regularly advises private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies on add-on acquisitions, dispositions and general corporate governance matters. His practice often entails advising clients on carveout and cross-border transactions in Europe, Latin America and elsewhere.
Christian’s clients include Advent International, Berkshire Partners, Summit Partners, Sverica Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners.
Prior to joining the firm, Christian worked as a management consultant with the Monitor Group and served as a Rosenthal Fellow in the Office for European and NATO Policy at the Pentagon.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Christian led the foundation of the COVID Relief Coalition, a private and public sector partnership to help non-profits and small businesses navigate the economic downturn prompted by COVID-19. In recognition of his leadership, Christian was awarded the Adams Pro Bono Publico Award by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
In February 2021, Christian was named a Trustee of the Boston Public Library by the Mayor of Boston.
Experience
- Represented Advent International in its:
- acquisition of Nielsen’s Global Connect business for US$2.7 billion
- strategic combination of NIQ and GfK, resulting in the world’s leading consumer intelligence company
- acquisition, alongside Warburg Pincus, of the BioPharma Solutions business of Baxter International Inc. for US$4.25 billion
- acquisition of AccentCare, a leader in post-acute health care, from Oak Hill Capital Partners
- acquisition by AccentCare of Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care
- acquisition of a majority equity stake in Walmart Brazil
- sale of Grupo BIG to Carrefour in a transaction valuing Grupo BIG at an enterprise value of R$7.0bn
- investment in Tredence Analytics, a leading data science company
- acquisition of Ansira Partners, a leading technology-enabled marketing solutions provider, from KRG Capital Partners
- Represented Berkshire Partners in its:
- investment in Point Broadband, a provider of high-speed fiber-to-the-premises interest services to residential and business customers
- acquisition of a majority stake in AHEAD, a provider of enterprise cloud services, from Centerbridge Partners
- investment in Ensemble Health Partners, a leading provider of technology-enabled revenue cycle management solutions for health systems, including hospitals and affiliated physician groups
- sale of Lightower, a leading provider of fiber solutions, to Crown Castle International Corp. for approximately US$7.1 billion
- sale of Tower Development Corporation, a developer of wireless communication infrastructure, to Crown Castle International Corp.
- acquisition of Masergy, the owner and operator of one of the largest independent software-defined networking platforms in the world, from ABRY Partners
- sale of Masergy to Comcast Business
- acquisition of Affordable Care, Inc., a leading dental support organization for affiliated dental practices, from American Capital Equity
- acquisition by Affordable Care, Inc. of DDS Dentures + Implant Solutions, a dental practice management company
- sale of Affordable Care, Inc. to Harvest Partners
- acquisition of 3Phase Elevator, a leading independent elevator and escalator services provider, from Fort Point Capital
- acquisition of Specialized Elevator by 3Phase Elevator
- acquisition of Tango Analytics, a leading provider of cloud-based store lifecycle management and integrated workplace management software, from Frontier Growth
- acquisition by Tango Analytics of AgilQuest
- acquisition of Curriculum Associates, a leading provider of K-12 education assessment and instructional materials
- acquisition of Elevation Education by Curriculum Associates
- acquisition of Implus Corporation, a leading provider of consumer products in the accessories marketplace, from Trilantic North America
- Represented Advent International, Berkshire Partners and Bain Capital in their:
- take-private acquisition of Skillsoft, an e-learning company, for US$1.2 billion
- acquisition by Skillsoft of MindLeaders, an e-learning company
- sale of Skillsoft to Charterhouse Capital
- Represented Summit Partners in its:
- sale of ABILITY Network, a provider of web-based work-flow solutions for the healthcare industry, to Inovalon for US$1.2 billion in cash and restricted stock
- Represented Thomas H. Lee Partners in its:
- take-private acquisition of inVentiv Health, a pharmaceutical services provider, for US$1.1 billion
- acquisition by inVentiv Health of the clinical development business i3 from Ingenix, a UnitedHealth Group company
- acquisition of Curo Health Services, a hospice care provider
- Represented TPG Capital in its:
- take-private acquisition of Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc., a generic pharmaceutical company, for US$1.9 billion
- take-private acquisition of Arden Group, Inc., the parent of Gelson’s Markets, an operator of specialty grocery stores in Southern California, for US$394 million
- acquisition by Gelson’s Markets of certain Haggen, Inc. grocery stores as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy sale
- Represented Sverica Capital in its:
- majority investment in Electronic Source Company, an electronic manufacturing services company serving the aerospace, defense and space markets.
- Represented State Street Corporation in its:
- acquisition of GE Asset Management, a global asset manager with more than US$110 billion in assets under management, from General Electric Company
- sale of its equity stake in Boston Financial Data Services, Inc.
- sale of its equity stake in International Financial Data Services Limited
- Represented Café Rio Holding, Inc., a restaurant chain specializing in Mexican cuisine and a portfolio company of affiliates of KarpReilly, LLC and Apax Partners, L.P., in the acquisition by Freeman Spogli & Co. of a majority interest in Café Rio Holding, Inc.
- Represented the special committee of independent directors of Ness Technologies in its sale of Ness Technologies to Citi Venture Capital, for US$337 million
- Represented a leading institutional investor with respect to acquisitions and dispositions of assets in its global natural resources portfolio
Credentials
Publications
Awards
Professional & Civic Activities
Raising $3 Million for Dana-Farber Through the Pan-Mass Challenge
The Pan-Mass Challenge cycling fundraiser supports cancer research and treatment at Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, one of the world’s premier cancer treatment and research centers. Ropes & Gray has been one of the PMC’s leading longtime supporters, fielding a team for more than 20 years that has now raised more than $3 million over that span.