Steven W Vazquez

Experience

Steven Vazquez is a corporate lawyer focusing on mergers & acquisitions, securities, and information technology transactions, primarily within the Health Care & Life Sciences and Innovative Technology sectors. He is best known for his ability to manage complex corporate finance deals for payors and providers across the health care industry. Clients share insight into Steven’s edge in mergers & acquisitions: “…he is a sophisticated lawyer… keeps the bigger picture in mind and has all the technical skills you need to be a good M&A lawyer.” Steven is chair of Foley & Lardner’s national Business Law practice and a member of the firm’s Transactional & Securities and Private Equity & Venture Capital practices.

Immersed in middle market deals, Steven counsels private equity groups as they buy and sell assets and advises public companies on securities matters. His experience includes representing issuers and underwriters in initial public offerings and follow-on offerings. With deep and practical knowledge of business and legal principles, public and private companies rely on Steven’s counsel as they undergo mergers and acquisitions. In addition to managing these transactions, clients call upon him to advise their boards of directors and special committees of independent directors on corporate governance matters, change in control issues, and anti-takeover strategies.

Based in the firm’s Tampa office, Steven is a former member of Foley & Lardner’s Management Committee.

Practice Areas

Capital Markets & Public Company Advisory

Corporate

Fund Formation & Investment Management

Mergers & Acquisitions

Mexico

Private Equity

Transactions

Venture & Growth Capital

Work Highlights

Sell-Side Transactions on Behalf of Family-Owned Businesses

• Represented Meridian, a family-owned business, in its $2.5 billion sale of Meridian Health Plan of Michigan, Meridian Health Plan of Illinois and MeridianRx to WellCare Health Plans, Inc.

• Represented Lee Container, a family-owned business, in its sale to Greif.

• Represented Dex Imaging, a family-owned business, in its sale to Staples.

• Represented Cox Lumber, a family-owned business, in its sale to Home Depot.

• Represented Freedom Health Care and Optimum Health Care, a family-owned business, in its sale to Anthem.

• Represented WellCare Health Plans, a family-owned business, in its sale to a private equity firm.

• Represented MMM Healthcare, a family-owned business, in its sale to a private equity firm that we then represented in several other acquisitions.

• Represented Gardner-Gibson, a family-owned business, in its sale to a private equity firm.

Mergers and Acquisitions, Venture Capital & Capital Markets Matters

• Represented Biocynetic, Inc. (d/b/a Pacemate), a market-leading cardiac data management platform and portfolio company of Ballast Point Ventures, in a merger pursuant to which its stockholders sold a majority of their equity to Lead Edge Capital Management, a technology-focused investment fund.

• Represented Ballast Point Ventures (Ballast Point), a late-stage venture capital and growth equity fund, in its investment in the $10.7 million Series A financing for UpLift, the technology-driven, omnichannel behavioral health provider.

• Represented Dream Finder Homes Inc. (NYSE:DFH), a publicly traded homebuilder based in Jacksonville, FL, in its debt offering of $300 million aggregate principal amount of 8.25% senior unsecured notes due 2028.

• Represented Gatekeeper, the leading Vendor & Contract Lifecycle Management (VCLM) platform, in a strategic growth investment from Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”), a leading global investment firm focused exclusively on enterprise software, data, and technology-enabled businesses.

• Represented Interstate Transport, a transportation arrangement provider, in its recent acquisition in a stock transaction by Dupré Logistics, a privately held provider of transportation and logistics services. The company will now be known as Interstate Transport, a Dupré Logistics Company, and will remain a separate business unit within the Dupré Logistics family of brands.

• Represented Papa, Inc., the leading U.S.-based on-demand assistance service providing seniors with transportation, house needs, technology, and social experiences. Our Florida-based corporate/M&A and private equity team is advising Papa on a $60 million Series C financing.

• Represented The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) in the sale of Streamsong Resort, one of the world’s leading golf destinations, for $160 million to Chicago-based KemperSports.

• Represented Care1st Health Plan, a California Medi-Cal and Medicare managed care plan owned by providers, in its $1.2 billion sale to Blue Shield of California.

• Represented Select Medical, a publicly held long-term acute care provider, in its $2.3 billion leveraged buyout transaction.

• Represented Maxim Healthcare Services in several M&A transactions, including its proposed $1.2 billion sale to Aveanna Healthcare.

• Represented Redwood Capital Investments, LLC, in several transactions, including, its acquisition of Tampa-based Pepin Distributing, and Ohio-based Heidelberg Distributing.

• Represented Dream Finder Homes Inc. in several transactions, including its acquisition of McGuyer Homebuilders Inc., for $471 million.

• Represented Jet Sports Management in its sale to Wasserman Agency.

• Represented publicly held Sykes Enterprises and FARO Technologies in several public offerings and strategic acquisitions.

• Represented publicly held Pulte Homes in its acquisition of Innovative Construction Group.

• Represented Gardner-Gibson in its sale to Innovative Chemical Products, an Audax Private Equity portfolio company.

• Represented Health Care Service Corporation, the country’s largest customer-owned health insurer, in the purchase of Trustmark Health Benefits, a leading administrator of self-funded employer health plans.

• Represented RV Retailer, LLC, a leading recreational vehicle retail company, in its acquisition of three Cousins RV locations in Colorado Springs. The transaction was structured as an asset purchase.

Education