Lee Meyerson is a senior corporate partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett specializing in mergers and acquisitions and in capital markets transactions for financial institutions. Mr. Meyerson, who is head of the firm's M&A Group as well as its financial institutions practice, has participated in many of the largest U.S. financial services mergers of the past decade, including representing JPMorgan Chase & Co. in its $58 billion merger with Bank One Corporation, Mellon Financial in its $16.8 billion merger with The Bank of New York and The Toronto-Dominion Bank in its $8.5 billion acquisition of Commerce Bancorp. His transactions over the past several years also include representing The Charles Schwab Corporation in its $1 billion acquisition of options Xpress, Carlyle Partners in its pending acquisition of the TCW Group asset management business, private equity investors in their $1 billion investment in Banco Santander's U.S. auto finance business, Wachovia in its $6.8 billion acquisition of A.G. Edwards, UBS in its $2.5 billion acquisition of Banco Pactual (Brazil's leading independent investment bank), The Toronto-Dominion Bank in its $3.2 billion going-private acquisition of its subsidiary, TD Banknorth, and Washington Mutual in its $6.6 billion acquisition of Providian Financial and the sale of its mutual fund business ($740 million). At the height of the financial crisis in 2008 he represented the U.S. Treasury in the development and implementation of its $250 billion TARP program for purchasing equity in U.S. financial institutions. In addition, he has participated in the most significant private equity investments in the banking industry over the past several years, and has represented both banks and investor consortia in a number of FDIC failed bank auctions, including the investor-led acquisition of BankUnited; Scotiabank's acquisition of R-G Premier Bank in Puerto Rico ($5.6 billion in assets) and East West Bancorp's acquisition of United Commercial Bank ($10.4 billion in assets) and concurrent $500 million capital raise.
Mr. Meyerson's capital markets practice includes IPOs and a broad range of debt, equity and hybrid capital securities offerings for banks, thrifts, insurance companies and other financial services companies. He has been ranked as one of the leading M&A and banking lawyers in the United States in a number of recent surveys, including The American Lawyer, which selected him as a "Dealmaker of the Year" for both 2008 and 2005, Chambers' USA 2012 Guide to America's Leading Lawyers for Business (Financial Institutions M&A - Band 1; Financial Services Regulation - Band 2; Corporate/M&A - Band 2), Who's Who Legal (Banking 2012), and The Legal 500 US 2012 (Leading lawyer in Financial Services: Regulatory and M&A: mega-deals). He is a frequent speaker and author on issues concerning the financial services industry.