Marilyn Sonnie is a corporate and transactional lawyer with extensive experience in public company mergers and corporate governance. She also has a strong background in restructuring work and private equity transactions. Marilyn is actively involved in corporate counseling, including advising companies and their boards on proxy contests, shareholder activism, unsolicited takeover proposals, takeover preparedness, corporate governance, disclosure, and fiduciary issues.
Recent representative transactions in which she has played a key role include Chrysler's sale out of bankruptcy to a Fiat-sponsored entity, Dana Corporation's bankruptcy exit with a private equity sponsor, Harman International Industries' attempted sale to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and GS Capital Partners, Sprint and Nextel's merger-of-equals, R.H. Donnelley's merger with Dex Media, International Steel's merger with Mittal Steel, Hewitt Associates' merger with Exult, RH.
Donnelley's acquisition of directories businesses from Sprint and SBC, R.J. Reynolds' business combination with British American Tobacco's U.S. business and its acquisitions of Santa Fe Natural Tobacco and the Nabisco Group holding company, Williams Communications' chapter 11 case and sale of equity to Leucadia National, and TotaiFina's acquisition of Elf Aquitaine.
In addition, Marilyn has extensive knowledge in capital markets, having traded government securities at Security Pacific National Bank and McDonald and Company Securities, Inc.
EDUCATION
Case Western Reserve University (JD summa cum laude 1993; Order of the Coif; Class Rank. 3d: Articles Editor, Law Review);
The Johns Hopkins University (B.S. 1981)
BAR ADMISSIONS
Ohio and New York