Phillip Sanders is a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is a member of Gibson Dunn’s Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity Practice Groups. Phillip represents both strategic companies and private equity clients (including their portfolio companies) in connection with all aspects of their domestic and cross-border M&A activities.
He received his Juris Doctor, summa cum laude, in 2014 from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as a Lead Articles Editor on the SMU Law Review. In 2010, Phillip earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin.
Phillip is admitted to practice in the State of New York.
Representative Strategic Transactions:
- SES: Pending $3.1 billion acquisition of Intelsat
- Pioneer Natural Resources: $65 billion merger with Exxon Mobil Corporation
- PepsiCo: Numerous transactions, including:
- $1.2 billion acquisition of Siete Foods
- Sale of Tropicana, Naked and other select juice brands to PAI Partners for $3.3 billion in cash and a 39% interest in the resulting joint venture
- $3.8 billion acquisition of Rockstar Energy
- $3.2 billion acquisition of publicly-traded SodaStream
- $550 million preferred equity investment in publicly traded Celsius
- $175 million preferred equity investment in Instacart in connection with Instacart’s initial public offering
- Merck & Co.: Numerous transactions, including:
- Acquisition of EyeBio for up to $3 billion
- Spin-off of its women’s health, biosimilars and established brands businesses into a new, publicly traded company, Organon & Co.
- $1.3 billion acquisition of publicly-traded Imago Biosciences
- $300 million acquisition of publicly-traded Immune Design
- Xylem: Numerous transactions, including:
- $7.5 billion acquisition of publicly-traded Evoqua Water Technologies
- $1.7 billion acquisition of Sensus
- $400 million acquisition of publicly-traded Pure Technologies
- Marsh & McLennan Companies and its affliates: Numerous transactions, including:
- Acquisition of International Catastrophe Insurance Managers
- Acquisition of Avascent
- Acquisition of Huron’s life sciences strategy consulting practice
- Sale of Marsh ClearSight to Riskonnect
- Mondelēz International: $2.9 billion acquisition of Clif Bar & Company
- Brown-Forman Corporation: Sale of Sonoma‑Cutrer Vineyards to The Duckhorn Portfolio
- Continental Building Products: $1.4 billion sale to Saint-Gobain
- Visa: Acquisition of Verifi, a leader in technology solutions that reduce chargebacks
Representative Private Equity Transactions:
- L Catterton and its portfolio companies: Numerous transactions, including:
- L Catterton’s significant growth investment in Alliance Animal Health
- PatientPoint’s combination with Outcome Health to create PatientPoint Health Technologies
- Canidae’s combination with Natural Balance to create Ethos Pet Brands
- Sale of StriVectin to Crown Laboratories
- Sale of Ferrara Candy Company to The Ferrero Group
- Acquisition of Saje Natural Wellness
- Kelso & Company and its portfolio companies: Numerous transactions, including the acquisitions and subsequent combination of Emtec and Definition 6
- KKR: Partial sale and partial rollover of its investment in KnowBe4 in connection with the take private of KnowBe4 by Vista Equity Partners
- Pharos Capital Group and its portfolio companies: Numerous transactions, including:
- Acquisition of TechLab and its subsequent sale to SSI Diagnostica
- Acquisition of Vantage Outsourcing
- J.H. Whitney: Sale of WANHO Manufacturing to FIMO Group
Capabilities
Credentials
Education:
- Southern Methodist University - 2014 Juris Doctor
- University of Texas - 2010 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- New York Bar