Reinhart Attorneys Share Insights at BizTimes M&A Forum

This month, the 2024 BizTimes M&A Forum shone a spotlight on the latest insights related to buying and selling a company from our Corporate Law Practice team, including Eric Hagemeier, Blake Knickelbein, Collin Weyers, and Brady Brown.

A premier event for business owners exploring best practices in mergers and acquisitions, the M&A Forum was attended by more than 300 participants this year. The firm’s Corporate Law Practice co-chair, Eric Hagemeier, kicked off the event, reviewing the day’s topics as well as the firm’s long-standing commitment to helping clients fully realize their M&A ambitions.

Shareholder Blake Knickelbein was one of five in the main panel discussion, following the keynote speaker, CEO of Sprecher Brewing, Sharad Chadha. The panel discussion, where Knickelbein advised business owners to prepare for potential buyers by reviewing their own records in advance, as a smooth due diligence strengthens a company's acquisition position.

Breakout Sessions were popular, including attorneys Collin Weyers and Brady Brown’s presentation session “Through the Legal Lens: Factors Impacting the Sale or Purchase of a Business.” Here, they explored critical legal issues surrounding every successful transaction.

Eric Hagemeier is co-chair and shareholder in Reinhart’s Corporate Law Practice. His extensive experience in business and transactional matters helps him provide informed, insightful counsel on various financial aspects of capital raising, mergers, acquisitions and other corporate transactions. He is also a member of the securities and private equity teams. In addition to transactional work, he guides public companies on regulatory compliance and corporate governance, and private companies in compliance with various securities and corporate governance matters.

Blake Knickelbein is a shareholder in Reinhart’s Corporate Law Practice, where he counsels a broad range of clients on various corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions, business succession planning, commercial contracting, corporate governance, entity formation and equity issuances. He has extensive experience working with closely held businesses throughout the succession planning process and regularly advises clients on business succession alternatives, including transfers to the next generation or to key employees, or a sale to a third party.

Brady Brown is an attorney in Reinhart’s Corporate Law Practice, where he works with business owners and management, counseling them on a range of matters to help meet their goals, including mergers and acquisitions, commercial transactions, entity formation and general corporate governance. Brady draws on his experience managing business transactions such as mergers and acquisitions in a variety of sectors and of all sizes, including those in the seven-figure enterprise valuation range.

Collin Weyers is an attorney in Reinhart’s Corporate Law and Institutional Investor Services Practice. He represents private equity firms and other investors as well as public and closely held businesses in strategic transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, investments and debt and equity-based financings. Collin has significant experience managing these transactions with emerging growth and middle-market businesses across a variety of sectors, including manufacturing, technology and software.