Overview

Jon-Paul Bernard is a partner in Mayer Brown's New York office and a member of the Corporate & Securities practice. Jon-Paul regularly advises clients on various aspects of domestic and cross-border acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, financings and restructuring transactions. He also has extensive corporate finance experience. His practice is particularly focused on joint ventures and financial services M&A.

Jon-Paul is recognized as a “Rising Star” for M&A in the US by IFLR1000 where clients describe him as “a phenomenal attorney and truly values the relationship with his client. He seamlessly integrates into the business to effectively communicate issues and facilitate favourable outcomes.”

Jon-Paul graduated from Colgate University with a BA and earned his JD, magna cum laude, from St. John’s University School of Law. He is a member of the State Bar of New York, and member of the American Bar Association.

Experience

A selection of Jon-Paul's experience is listed here.  He has represented:

  • Synchrony Bank in its approximately $9 billion sale of the credit card portfolio of Walmart Inc. to Capital One
  • Synchrony Financial in its $5.8 billion acquisition of U.S. consumer receivables from PayPal Holdings, Inc., and in its acquisition of approximately $1 billion of participation interests in receivables held with investors and financial institutions
  • SoftBank Group Corp. (SBG) in its agreement to provide $6.5 billion in debt and equity financing to WeWork, to make a $3 billion tender offer to holders of WeWork shares, other than SBG and its affiliates, and in connection with revisions to the WeWork governance structure
  • Arca Continental, S. A. B. de C.V. in its acquisition, via a $2.7 billion joint venture with Coca-Cola Refreshments USA, Inc., of bottling operations in Texas and parts of Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arkansas, becoming the Coca-Cola Company's sole franchise bottler in the area formerly known as the Southwest operating unit of Coca-Cola Refreshments
  • General Electric Company in its strategic plan to sell most of GE Capital’s assets
  • General Electric Capital Corporation in its $32 billion sale of its global Commercial Distribution Finance, North American Vendor Finance and North American Corporate Finance platforms to Wells Fargo & Co.
  • General Electric Capital Corporation in its $6.9 billion sale of its United States, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand fleet businesses to Element Financial Corporation, and in the sale of its European fleet businesses to Arval Service Lease S.A.
  • General Electric Company in its $3.4 billion sale of GE Water to SUEZ
  • General Electric Capital Corporation in its formation of a strategic relationship with Mitsui & Co.
  • General Electric Capital Corporation in the sale of its North American tank car rail assets and railcar repair business to Marmon Holdings, Inc.
  • General Electric Capital Corporation in its sales of its stake in Penske Truck Leasing Co. LP to Penske Automotive Group Inc.
  • JPMorgan Chase & Co. in its sale of approximately 50% of the portfolio companies held at the time by One Equity Partners (OEP), its principal private equity unit, and in the formation by OEP professionals of OEP Capital Advisors, L.P.
  • Alpek, S.A.B. de C.V. (a subsidiary of Alfa, S.A.B. de C.V.) in the establishment of a joint venture (together with Indorama Ventures Holdings LP) with Corpus Christi Polymers LLC (CCP) and in CCP's $1.125 billion acquisition of a partially completed integrated PTA-PET plant in Corpus Christi, Texas and certain related properties from M&G USA Corp. and its affiliated debtor companies
  • Alpek, S.A.B. de C.V. (a subsidiary of Alfa, S.A.B. de C.V.) in its acquisition of expandable polystyrene distribution channels in the Americas and expandable polystyrene production facilities in Argentina, Brazil and Chile from BASF SE
  • DAK Americas, LLC (a subsidiary of Alpek, S.A.B. de C.V. (a subsidiary of Alfa, S.A.B. de C.V.)) in its acquisition, via a 363 asset sale in a chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding, of a production facility in Reading, PA
  • Lindsay Goldberg in its purchase, through a subsidiary, of 275,000 marine cargo containers from two funds controlled by Buss Global Container Management GmbH
  • Qatar Airways Limited in its $608 million acquisition of a 10% stake in LATAM Airlines Group S.A.
  • Arca Continental, S. A. B. de C.V. in its acquisition of Wise Foods, Inc. from Palladium Equity Partners, LLC
  • CVC Capital Partners in its acquisition of majority control of Cunningham Lindsey Group Limited from Fairfax Financial Holdings and Stone Point Capital
  • IFM in its acquisition of an additional interest in the Duquesne Light Holdings power utility
  • General Electric Capital Corporation in the $2.51 billion sale of Business Property Lending, a commercial real estate lending business in the US, to EverBank
  • Alfa Corp. in its acquisition of Wellman Holdings, Inc.
  • VF Corporation in its acquisition of certain intellectual property rights and assets of Rock & Republic pursuant to a plan of reorganization
  • Alfa Corp. in its acquisition of the PET and PTA businesses of Eastman Chemical Company
  • General Electric Capital Corporation in the sale of its RV and marine finance business to Santander Consumer USA and Sovereign Bank
  • J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC in the restructuring of its investment in HSH Nordbank AG, a German public bank
  • Arca Continental, S. A. B. de C.V. in the establishment of a Central and South American beverage bottling joint venture with Ecuador Bottling Company
  • General Electric Company and GE Capital in their global business partnership (including an $8 billion global financial services joint venture headquartered in Abu Dhabi) with Mubadala Development Company PJSC
  • GE Capital in the restructuring and subsequent $1.3 billion sale of GE SeaCo SRL, a joint venture established with SeaCo Ltd.
  • General Electric Company in the sale of its Times Microwave Businesses in the U.S. and China
  • A bank group lead by Credit Suisse in a successful credit bid for Questex Media Group, Inc. pursuant to Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code
  • GE Capital in the acquisition of Merrill Lynch Capital from Merrill Lynch & Co.
  • GE Capital in the acquisition of the U.S. and Canadian businesses of CitiCapital from Citigroup
  • General Electric Company in the multi-jurisdictional restructuring and divestiture of its GE Plastics business
  • GE Capital in its proposed joint acquisition, with Blackstone, of PHH Corporation
  • Houghton Mifflin Company in the sale of its college publishing business
  • CCMP in its acquisition of Generac Power Systems
  • GE Capital in the acquisition of Antares Capital Corporation
  • GE Capital in its acquisition of IOS Capital LLC and the establishment of a vendor financing program with IKON Office Solutions, Inc.
  • GE Capital in its vendor financing programs and joint venture with Xerox Corporation

Education

Colgate University, BA

St. John's University School of Law, JD, magna cum laude

Admissions

  • New York