Biography

Michael D. Thompson is a senior associate practicing corporate and securities law in Seyfarth Shaw’s Chicago office. He concentrates his practice in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and public company securities law matters, with a specialization in inbound and outbound international M&A. He also dedicates a significant portion of his practice to commercial transactions and general corporate matters. Mr. Thompson provides pragmatic business-oriented legal advice with a view towards a client’s overall economic goals.

Mr. Thompson’s representative clients include U.S., UK and EU-based companies actively engaged in the M&A market. Mr. Thompson also regularly represents privately-held businesses engaging in significant business transactions and U.S. public companies requiring cost-effective assistance with securities law and similar regulatory compliance matters. As representative examples, in 2008 Mr. Thompson acted as U.S. counsel to a Belgian client in a partial demerger transaction, represented a UK client in multiple strategic acquisitions of U.S. companies, assisted another UK client in a divestiture of its U.S. portfolio company and closed a sale of a privately-held company to a U.S. stock exchange. Mr. Thompson assisted a UK-based public company in its acquisition of a majority stake in a U.S. publicly-traded company, coupled with a contemporaneous initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange. He represented the seller in a two-step tender offer/short form merger, and represented the buyer in a $300 million life insurance company acquisition that included negotiations with state insurance regulators.

His securities experience includes counseling public companies with regard to their periodic reporting requirements, advising clients on new developments in securities law and facilitating private placements. Mr. Thompson drafted one of the first Form S-1 registration statements to be filed under the SEC’s new securities offering reform rules that went effective in December 2005. He represented the buyer/majority shareholder in a Schedule 13e-3 going-private transaction and has teamed with other attorneys to represent a large public company in its $17.6 billion combined euro, dollar and sterling bond offering, which, at the time, was the largest corporate bond offering in debt capital markets history.

Mr. Thompson periodically assists clients with structuring joint venture transactions, including those involving international collaboration between a U.S. entity and a non-U.S. entity. Mr. Thompson advises clients on a litany of corporate governance issues and has helped clients form new business entities and implement a sound corporate governance structure. In addition, he dedicates a portion of his practice to general contract issues, such as supply, distribution and marketing agreements, and also assists his clients to obtain financing and conduct other commercial transactions.

While in law school, he traveled to China for a survey of Chinese Law, served as a teaching assistant at the University of Iowa College of Business and served as a Note and Comment Editor of the Iowa Law Review.

Mr. Thompson is actively involved in Chicago’s pro bono community. He has assisted non-profit organizations and emerging businesses with their entity formation and contractual matters, as well as helping pro bono clients with financing transactions.

Education

J.D., University of Iowa, with distinction (2001)

Note & Comment Editor, Iowa Law Review

B.B.A., University of Iowa (1997)

Admissions

• Illinois