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Shannon Zollo, Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP Photo

Shannon S. Zollo

Chair, Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity / Boston

Overview

Shannon S. Zollo is chair of Nutter’s M&A and Private Equity practice groups. He advises clients on a wide range of corporate law matters, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, executive compensation, and corporate governance. Shannon has significant expertise in the life sciences, health care, technology, and defense sectors. He also serves as outside general counsel to a number of privately held companies.

Representative matters include:

Life Sciences

  • CHEORS, a health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) provider for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries in its sale to Pharm Alliance, a portfolio company of Waud Capital Partners.
  • Abveris, a privately held in vivo antibody discovery services company, in its $190 million acquisition by Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ: TWST).
  • Veristat, a global clinical research organization (CRO), in its acquisition by WindRose Health Investors.
  • Ce3, a CRO focused on providing early phase oncology clinical development services to the biotechnology industry, in its acquisition by Catalyst Clinical Research.
  • MRN Diagnostics, a biotechnology laboratory, in its reorganization and acquisition of Innovative Transfusion Medicine (ITM).
  • Blue Stream Laboratories, a CRO supporting the development of complex biologics and biosimilars, in its acquisition by Charles River Laboratories (NYSE: CRL).
  • ETEX, a provider of nanocrystalline calcium-phosphate-based biomaterials, in its acquisition by Zimmer Biomet.
  • Genzyme, a rare disease focused biotechnology company, in the sale of certain of its assets to Cell Genesis.
  • Bone Biologics (OTC: BBLG), a developer of orthobiologic products, in corporate governance and securities law matters.
  • BioAxone BioSciences, a clinical stage neurotrauma and neurovascular biotechnology company, in corporate governance and licensing matters.

Health Care

  • Collaborating Docs, a company matching nurse practitioners with supervising physicians to facilitate high-quality collaborations, in a majority investment by TT Capital Partners.
  • Health Care Technology, Inc., a medical device distribution company, in its acquisition by Gemini Investors.
  • Cúram, a business intelligence service provider in the health care industry, in its acquisition of PMC Medical Group.
  • GrayHawk Health, a multi-state home health care agency, in its sale to Aging with Comfort.
  • iResearch, a leading multi-specialty clinical research center, in its acquisition by CenExel.
  • Connected Home Care, a leading home care provider serving Medicaid and private pay clients, in its acquisition by HouseWorks.
  • Firehouse Capital, a privately held investment company, in its recapitalization of TLC@Home.
  • Virgin Pulse, a habits-focused well-being company, in a recapitalization led by Insight Venture Partners.

Technology

  • CRIO, Inc., a provider of eSource and other eClinical technologies, in a significant investment from The Riverside Company.
  • OpenClinica, an industry-leading clinical research solutions provider, in a growth investment by Thompson Street Capital Partners.
  • Innovation Associates, a provider of high-volume pharmacy automation technology, in its sale to Allomer Capital.
  • Great American Mining, a Bitcoin mining company, in its sale to Crusoe Energy Systems.
  • BuySellAds, a digital advertising company, in its acquisition of Digg.
  • Invoke Solutions, a market research company, in its disposition of Academic Management Systems, Inc. and in its eventual sale to MarketCast.
  • ALM Works, a project management software developer, in its recapitalization by Tempo Software.
  • Strategic Cyber, a developer of software for penetration testers and red teams, in its acquisition by HelpSystems.
  • Vestigo Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on investing in transformative FinTech companies, in its closing of Vestigo Ventures Fund II, L.P. with $117.3 million total fund commitments.
  • Vestigo Ventures in 30 investments in transformative FinTech companies with an aggregate deal value approximating $80 million.

Business Services

  • Eastern Insurance Group, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ Global Select Market: EBC), in its $510 million sale to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG).

  • Taurus Investment Holdings, a Boston-based global real estate private equity firm, in connection with a strategic investment by Legal & General (L&G).

  • G.A. Fleet Associates, a distributor of water infrastructure solutions, in its sale to Vessco Water, a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors.

  • Field & Stream Lodge Co., a branded hospitality platform owned by Starwood Capital Group and Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners, in its acquisition of the Field & Stream IP portfolio from Dick's Sporting Goods.
  • Copley Equity Partners in its recapitalization and merger of Aethon Aerial Solutions and Flight Evolved.
  • Copley Equity Partners in its recapitalization of Gregory FCA and its subsequent acquisition of Affect.
  • McCarthy Capital in its recapitalization of Big Belly Solar.

Manufacturing

  • Shawmut Corporation, a leading global provider of innovative and sustainable textile solutions, in its acquisition of Fairystone Fabrics.
  • Fowler High Precision, a specialty manufacturer, in its recapitalization by Pfingsten Partners. 
  • DTM Packaging and Custom Automation, a provider of custom automation packaging solutions, in its acquisition by The Massman Companies.

Construction

  • Turner Brothers Construction, a concrete building services company, in its acquisition of Woodland Construction Company, Inc.
  • City Point Partners, a construction support services firm, in its acquisition by HDR.

Transportation

  • Boyle Transportation, a provider of specialized transportation services to clients in the life sciences and government/defense sectors, in its $80 million acquisition by Andlauer Healthcare Group (TSX: AND).
  • Magellan Jets, a private aviation solutions provider, in its acquisition of Stellar Labs.

Defense

  • Globe Composite Solutions, a navy submarine supplier, in its acquisition by ESCO Technologies (NYSE: ESE).
  • Seacon Phoenix, a provider of undersea electrical interconnect subsystems to the global submarine market, in its sale to Ametek.
  • Webb Research Corporation, a designer and manufacturer of scientific instruments for oceanographic research and monitoring, in its sale to Teledyne Technologies.

Active in numerous professional and civic organizations, Shannon is the co-founder of XPX and a member of the board of trustees of Cristo Rey Boston High School, where he chairs the Development Committee.

Shannon often presents and is quoted in the media on business issues, including emerging trends in M&A and private equity. He is also fluent in Portuguese.

Experience

Experience

  • ALM Works, Inc.

    Nutter served as legal counsel to ALM Works, Inc., the developer of software products to empower project managers around the world with visibility and control, in connection with its acquisition by Tempo Software, a leading provider in team time management and productivity-enhancing solutions.

  • Connected Home Care, LLC

    Nutter served as legal counsel to Connected Home Care, LLC, a leading home care provider serving Medicaid, dual-eligible, and private pay clients throughout Eastern Massachusetts, in connection with its acquisition by HouseWorks, LLC, one of the nation’s largest independent home care companies.

  • Ce3, Inc.

    Nutter served as legal counsel to Ce3, Inc., a full-service CRO focused on providing early phase oncology clinical development services to the biotechnology industry, in connection with its acquisition by Catalyst Clinical Research, a clinical development organization providing highly customizable clinical research solutions to the global biopharmaceutical industry.

  • Strategic Cyber LLC

    Nutter advised Strategic Cyber LLC in connection with its acquisition by HelpSystems, a Minnesota-based IT software company.

  • Copley Equity Partners

    Nutter served as legal counsel to Copley Equity Partners, a Boston-based private investment firm, in its minority growth capital investment in Gregory FCA, one of the nation’s 50 largest public relations firms.

  • Innovation Associates

    Nutter served as legal counsel to Innovation Associates, the market-leading provider of high-volume pharmacy automation technology and software solutions to the retail, hospital, government, and mail order pharmacy markets, in connection with a consortium of investors led by Greg Wasson, the former Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO, acquiring a majority stake to scale the business and enhance its pharmacy automation offerings.

  • McCarthy Capital

    Nutter served as legal counsel to McCarthy Capital Fund VI in connection with its partnership with Big Belly Solar, the global leader in smart waste solutions for public spaces, to recapitalize Bigbelly and provide further cash investment to accelerate growth.

  • DTM Packaging and Custom Automation

    Nutter served as legal advisor to DTM Packaging and Custom Automation, a leader in machinery manufacturing and re-manufacturing, in its acquisition by The Massman Companies, a Minnesota-based team of machinery and technology companies.

  • Globe Composite Solutions, LLC

    Nutter served as legal advisor to Globe Composite Solutions, LLC (Globe), a navy submarine supplier, in its acquisition by ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ESE), a global provider of highly engineered products and solutions to diverse and growing end-markets that include the aerospace, space, healthcare, wireless, consumer electronics, electric utility, and renewable energy industries. 

  • Abveris

    Nutter advised Abveris (formally known as AbX Biologics, Inc.), a privately-held in vivo antibody discovery services company, in connection with its acquisition by Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ: TWST), a leading and rapidly growing synthetic biology and genomics company that has developed a disruptive DNA synthesis platform to industrialize the engineering of biology.

  • Copley Equity Partners

    Nutter served as legal counsel to Copley Equity Partners, a Boston-based private investment firm, in its investment to recapitalize, and facilitate the merger of, Aethon Aerial Solutions and Flight Evolved.

  • Copley Equity Partners

    Nutter served as legal counsel to Copley Equity Partners, a Boston-based private investment firm, in connection with Gregory FCA’s acquisition of Affect, a B2B-focused firm serving technology, health care, and professional services clients. Gregory FCA, one of the nation’s 50 largest public relations firms, is a Copley portfolio company.

  • Cúram

    Nutter served as legal counsel to Cúram, a business intelligence service provider in the health care industry, in connection with its acquisition of PMC Medical Group, a multispecialty health care organization based in New Hampshire.

  • Eastern Bankshares, Inc.

    Nutter is serving as legal counsel to Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ Global Select Market: EBC), the stock holding company for Eastern Bank, in connection with its definitive merger agreement with Cambridge Bancorp (NASDAQ: CATC), the parent company of Cambridge Trust Company, pursuant to which Cambridge will merge with and into Eastern in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $528 million. Simultaneously, Nutter is also representing Eastern Insurance Group, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eastern, in its definitive agreement to sell its insurance operations to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG) for approximately $510 million in cash.

  • Fowler High Precision, Inc.

    Nutter served as legal counsel to Fowler High Precision, Inc., a specialty manufacturer and distributor of dimensional metrology tools, highly engineered systems, and calibration services, in connection with its recapitalization by Pfingsten Partners, LLC.

  • Great American Mining, Inc.

    Nutter represented Great American Mining, Inc., a Bitcoin mining company that provides a utilization solution for oil and gas producers that have stranded energy that cannot be brought to market, in its sale to Crusoe Energy Systems, LLC.

  • Invoke Solutions, Inc.

    Nutter served as legal counsel to Invoke Solutions, Inc., a research and content testing platform that serves many of the world's top video streaming services and broadcasters, in connection with its acquisition by MarketCast LLC.

  • iResearch

    Nutter served as legal counsel to iResearch, a leading multi-specialty clinical research center with locations in Decatur, GA and Savannah, GA, in connection with its acquisition by CenExel.

  • Magellan Jets

    Nutter served as legal counsel to Magellan Jets, LLC, a private aviation solutions provider, in its acquisition of Stellar Labs, Inc.

  • OpenClinica

    Nutter served as legal counsel to OpenClinica, an industry-leading clinical research solutions provider based in Waltham, MA, in connection with a strategic investment with Thompson Street Capital Partners.

  • Shepley Wood Products

    Nutter served as legal counsel to Shepley Wood Products, the premier building supply company for Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Southeastern Massachusetts, in its acquisition by Kodiak Building Partners, a Denver-based building products distribution platform.

  • T.F. Boyle Transportation, Inc.

    Nutter served as legal counsel to T.F. Boyle Transportation, Inc. in its acquisition by Toronto-based Andlauer Healthcare Group Inc. (TSX: AND).

  • Turner Brothers, LLC

    Nutter served as legal counsel to Turner Brothers, LLC, a Massachusetts-based concrete building services company, in its acquisition of Woodland Tilt-Up, Inc., a Florida-based specialty Tilt-Up construction contracting firm.

  • Veristat, LLC

    Nutter served as legal counsel to Veristat, LLC, a scientifically minded global clinical research organization (CRO), in its acquisition by WindRose Health Investors, LLC, a New York City-based health care private equity firm.

  • Vestigo Ventures

    Nutter served as legal counsel to Vestigo Ventures in connection with its closing of a $6 million financing round in ForMotiv, the leader in digital behavioral data capture and predictive analytics solutions used by Fortune 500 insurance carriers and financial institutions carriers globally.

  • Vestigo Ventures

    Nutter served as legal counsel to Vestigo Ventures in connection with its closing of Vestigo Ventures Fund II, L.P. with $117.3 million total fund commitments, surpassing its fundraising goal.

News & Insights

News

Speaking Engagements

Publications

Honors

Honors

  • Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, "Go To Business Lawyer," 2022
  • The Best Lawyers in America, 2021-2025

Education & Admissions

Education

Northeastern University School of Law, J.D.
Brigham Young University, Sc.B

Admissions

  • Massachusetts

Industry Expertise

Shannon often presents and is quoted in the media on business issues, including transactions, financing, and emerging trends in private equity and venture capital.

Noteworthy

  • Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, "Go To Business Lawyer," 2022
  • The Best Lawyers in America, 2021-2025
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