Mark Fallati

Mark's practice is rooted in complex special and contested situations, often with capital markets implications, including shareholder activism, M&A, and challenging financial disclosures. He has substantial experience navigating sensitive crises and issues spanning cybersecurity, litigation, restructurings, and executive transitions. He also partners with clients on ongoing financial communications as well as investor and media relations strategies, strengthening credibility and trust across stakeholder groups.

Prior to Kekst CNC, Mark conducted economic analysis in the antitrust and competition practice at NERA. He holds a B.A. in economics from Swarthmore College, where he was a nationally ranked tennis player. He serves on the sports committee of the City Parks Foundation.

Experience

Contested Situations 

• Shareholder activism: Advises U.S. and multinational companies on public and private engagement and proxy contests with activists such as Elliott Management, Icahn Capital, and Starboard Value, as well as smaller and first-time activists.
• Unsolicited M&A: Recent engagements include Janus Henderson in its pending transaction with Trian Partners and General Catalyst and unsolicited offer from Victory Capital; JetBlue in its acquisition proposal for Spirit Airlines; Omni Logistics in its contested transaction with Forward Air; and Seven & i, the parent company of 7-Eleven, regarding a $47 billion acquisition proposal by Alimentation Couche-Tard.
• Antitrust: Advises on a variety of competition matters, including merger review, investigations and enforcement actions, and civil litigation.

Financial Communications

• Transactions: Counsels on buy-side and sell-side M&A, spinoffs, and IPOs, including Avantor in its sale of Resonant Clinical Solutions; Corteva in its separation into two public companies; DuPont in its spinoff of Qnity; First Citizens in its acquisition of Silicon Valley Bridge Bank; FirstEnergy in multiple sales of its transmission business; Getty Images in its merger with Shutterstock; Grant Thornton in its investment from New Mountain Capital and more than a dozen acquisitions; Nuance Communications in its sale to Microsoft; Public Storage in its acquisition of NSA Storage; and Waystar in its IPO, that year’s largest in technology and healthcare, and its acquisition of Iodine Software.
• Investor relations: Supports development and execution of strategic financial communications initiatives, including narrative development, leadership transitions, complex disclosures, and earnings support.

Crisis and Issues Management

• Cybersecurity: Experience managing teams through sensitive incidents, including a healthcare technology company in a third-party incident affecting hundreds of its clients and PHI of over one million patients; a life sciences company with sensitive IP following unauthorized access; and a legal services provider facing an operational shutdown following a ransomware attack.
• Crisis and litigation: Engagements include a Fortune 50 consumer company on litigation with a former merger counterparty following antitrust issues; a rental car company on extensive national media attention following multiple crises; and a fintech company on media and congressional scrutiny of its fraud prevention measures.
• Restructurings and bankruptcies: Supports Chapter 11 reorganizations and out-of-court restructurings, including Corvias, Franchise Group, and Party City.