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John J. O'Brien

Partner, New York

Phone +1-212-558-3944
Fax +1-212-558-3588


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John O'Brien joined Sullivan & Cromwell in 1992 and has been a partner since 2001. He specializes in mergers and acquisitions, investment management, corporate and securities matters for both domestic and foreign clients.

Selected Transactions

Recent significant engagements include representing:

  • Lone Star Funds in its acquisition of Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co.;
  • Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. in its sale of Merrill Lynch Investment Management (MLIM) to Blackrock, Inc.;
  • The Bank of New York in connection with the swap of its retail banking business for the corporate trust business of JPMorgan Chase & Co.; and
  • SBC Communications (now AT&T Inc.) in connection with its acquisition of AT&T Corp.

Mr. O'Brien has specialized experience with acquisitions and joint ventures involving investment managers, broker-dealers and other financial institutions. Recent assignments in the asset management area, in addition to the sale of MLIM, include the acquisition of:

  • Nuveen Investments by a consortium led by Madison Dearborn Partners LLC (representing co-investor Merrill Lynch);
  • AssetMark Investment Services, Inc. by Genworth Financial Inc.; and
  • a minority stake in Artisan Partners L.P. by Hellman & Friedman LLC.

Other engagements for financial institutions include representing:

  • Bank of Montreal in connection with its sale of Harrisdirect LLC to E*TRADE Financial Corporation;
  • John Hancock Financial Services in connection with its merger with Manulife Corporation;
  • Mizuho Corporate Bank in divestitures of its US asset management operations;
  • UBS in connection with its acquisition of PaineWebber Group; and
  • Allianz AG in connection with its acquisition of Nicholas-Applegate Capital Management and majority control of PIMCO Advisors.

Education

Bar Admissions

  • New York

Country of Origin

  • USA