James Hartwell

James also advises large corporations on complex special situations, including M&A, executive transitions, short seller scrutiny, and industrial action. He has advised clients through some of the most high-profile corporate crises and reputational challenges of recent years.

Prior to joining Kekst CNC's New York office, James spent more than five years as part of the firm's London team. He has significant cross-border project experience and holds a B.A. in Politics and International Relations from the University of Nottingham

Private Capital

• Private Equity: Advising firms on investments, realizations, fundraises, and broader profile-raising initiatives across strategies. Representative examples include EQT, BC Partners, Sandbrook Capital, Centre Partners, and various confidential clients.
• Private Credit: Ongoing work with Audax Private Debt and BC Partners Credit on a range of financial communications, positioning and reputational matters.
• Venture Capital: Extensive work with venture firms and corporate venture firms on investments, brand building, issues management, crises, fundraising, and portfolio IPO communications. Representative examples include EQT Ventures, IVP, MMV, Leaps by Bayer, and BP Ventures.
• Pension Funds: Advising pension platforms, including AustralianSuper and OTPP, on U.S. investments and market presence from a reputational perspective.

Financial Situations & Transactions

• Sequence Holdings and the Dell Family Office (DFO Management, LLC) on their pending $7.7 billion take-private acquisition of The Baldwin Group, alongside the Baldwin family and management team;
• Equitable Holdings on its pending $22 billion merger of equals with Corebridge Financial;
• Janus Henderson on its $7.8 billion take-private transaction with Trian Partners and General Catalyst, and its response to Victory Capital’s unsolicited takeover offer;
• Seven & i Holdings, the parent company of 7-Eleven, on its response to Alimentation Couche-Tard’s $47 billion unsolicited acquisition proposal;
• The Dallas Morning News on its take-private transaction with Hearst;
• Coventry Building Society on its acquisition of the Co-operative Bank;
• Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling on their merger to form A&O Shearman;
• RSM US on multiple acquisitions;
• Dufry on its $2.8 billion acquisition of Autogrill and subsequent rebrand to Avolta;
• Mars on multiple acquisitions;
• SoftBank on its attempted $40 billion sale of Arm Holdings to NVIDIA.

Crisis, Issues, & Litigation

• Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, on a range of portfolio company and Group-level matters;
• A ‘Big Three’ automotive manufacturer and several transport providers on industrial disputes;
• Large industrial and energy clients on local site matters;
• Private capital firms and portfolio companies on LP and personnel litigation matters;
• Various litigation and regulatory matters involving the SEC and other government agencies;
• Numerous publicly traded companies on investor litigation.

Shareholder Activism

• Advising U.S. and multinational companies on public and private engagement strategies, including proxy contests involving leading activist investors, as well as smaller and first-time activists – leveraging deep expertise working directly with investment firms.

Investor Relations

• Supporting the development and execution of strategic financial communications initiatives, including equity narrative development, complex disclosures, IPO processes, and quarterly earnings.