Louis Rappaport concentrates his practice on business and corporate matters, with specific emphasis on emerging businesses. Mr. Rappaport represents both private equity firms-buyout and venture capital-and business operators with respect to these transactions. Mr. Rappaport advises clients in a wide range of industries in the following areas:
· mergers and acquisitions
· venture capital and private equity funding transactions
· securities offerings
· corporate finance matters
· strategic alliances and joint ventures
· intellectual property/technology licensing and transfer matters
· executive employment and compensation matters
· business formation and planning
Since 1997, Mr. Rappaport has served as a lecturer for a number of courses at Villanova University School of Law, including "Business Acquisitions" and "Counseling Emerging Businesses."
Chambers USA ranks Mr. Rappaport as a leader in the field of venture capital.
Representative Matters
· Growth equity venture capital raise for a financial services technology client from strategic investors, including a Morgan Stanley affiliate, Knight Capital and SIG Growth Equity.
· Series A venture capital transaction for Meakem Becker Venture Capital into a financial services technology company.
· Growth equity venture capital transaction for Metropolitan Equity Partners into a financial services technology company.
· Angel equity capital transaction for healthcare information technology company.
· Sale of a venture-backed healthcare information technology firm to GE Healthcare.
· Sale of over $1.2 billion of energy generation assets to two strategic buyers in a bankruptcy auction.
· Sale of electric generation assets by east coast based utility company in a transaction valued at $173 million.
· Sale of a private manufacturer of paint finishing systems to 3M Company.
· Private equity investment by ZS Fund into vanpooling and passenger vehicle leasing services company.
· Sale of a majority stake in a venture backed project management software client to two private equity firms, valued at more than $150 million.
· Sale of a private equity backed payment processing company to 3i Infotech Ltd., valued at $80 million.
· Private placement of over 40 interests in private equity and venture capital funds into the secondary market on behalf of a Philadelphia-based wealth management firm.
· Negotiation of employment and compensation matters for a management team of venture-backed IT company purchased by Oracle.
· Private sale of manufacturing company owned by multiple generations of family members to an AMEX-listed manufacturing company, valued at approximately $35 million.
Community Service & Affiliations
Mr. Rappaport is a firm representative of Villanova University School of Law. In addition, he is a member of the Investment Advisory Committee for Benjamin Franklin Technology Partners in Southeastern Pennsylvania and a co-chair of entrepreneurial education programming, a company coach and board member of the Private Investors Forum Angel Venture Fair. Further, Mr. Rappaport is a member of the planning board of Early Stage East and co-chair of its Vision to Value entrepreneur education programming.
Mr. Rappaport has been a guest speaker and educator for a variety of venture and emerging business programs, presenting topics including: "Ready...Set...Capitalize! What You Need to Know to Raise Venture Capital" and "Flying with the Angels: How to Negotiate a Term Sheet."
Memberships
Angel Venture Fair
Ben Franklin Technology Partners
Pennsylvania Bar Association
Philadelphia Bar Association
Villanova University School of Law
Events
4TH ANNUAL MID-ATLANTIC CLEANTECH INVESTMENT FORUM
[Event]
The Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy.
Philadelphia PA 19103
April 12, 2012
Louis M. Rappaport, Thomas P. Dwyer and Margaret Anne Hill
3RD ANNUAL MID-ATLANTIC CLEANTECH INVESTMENT FORUM
[Event]
The Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19103
March 31, 2011
Thomas P. Dwyer and Louis M. Rappaport
BLANK ROME WILL SERVE AS A PROMOTIONAL PARTNER AT SPARK CONFERENCE
[Event]
Spark Networking Conference for Entrepreneurs
The Hub Cira Centre, 2929 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
May 24, 2010
Louis M. Rappaport
2ND ANNUAL MID-ATLANTIC CLEANTECH INVESTMENT FORUM
[Event]
The Academy of Natural Sciences Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
March 25, 2010
Thomas P. Dwyer and Louis M. Rappaport
PHILADELPHIA REAL ESTATE COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE
[Event]
Blank Rome LLP, Philadelphia, PA
October 29, 2009
Louis M. Rappaport, Philip R. Rosenfeldt and Stephen D. Schrier
FROM VISION TO VALUE IS BACK!
[Event]
Marvin Comisky Conference Center, One Logan Square, Philadelphia, PA
September 21, 2009
Louis M. Rappaport and Alan L. Zeiger
FROM VISION TO VALUE IS BACK!
[Event]
Marvin Comisky Conference Center, One Logan Square, Philadelphia, PA
May 21, 2009
Louis M. Rappaport and Alan L. Zeiger
MID-ATLANTIC CLEANTECH INVESTMENT FORUM 2009
[Event]
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
February 3, 2009
Thomas P. Dwyer and Louis M. Rappaport
FROM VISION TO VALUE
[Event]
Marvin Comisky Conference Center, One Logan Square, Philadelphia, PA
September 24, 2008
Thomas P. Dwyer, Louis M. Rappaport and Alan L. Zeiger
FROM VISION TO VALUE
[Event]
Marvin Comisky Conference Center, One Logan Square, Philadelphia, PA
June 3, 2008
Thomas P. Dwyer, Louis M. Rappaport and Alan L. Zeiger
ANGEL VENTURE FAIR'S "SELECTION AND PRESENTATION DAY"
[Event]
2008 Angel Venture Fair
Marvin Comisky Conference Center, One Logan Square, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
March 13, 2008
Louis M. Rappaport, Thomas P. Dwyer, Brian J. McTear and Brett J. Schulman
NANOTECHNOLOGY & SUSTAINABILITY: A NEW VALUE PROPOSITION
[Event]
New Jersey Technology Council, Princeton, New Jersey
June 26, 2007
Louis M. Rappaport and Jonathan M. Korn
EFFECTIVELY NEGOTIATING WITH A VENTURE CAPITALIST
[Event]
Early Stage East 2007, Wilmington, Delaware
June 13, 2007
Alan L. Zeiger and Louis M. Rappaport
READY. . . SET. . . CAPITALIZE! WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO RAISE ANGEL AND VENTURE CAPITAL
[Event]
Angel Venture Fair, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
May 8, 2007
Louis M. Rappaport
MID-ATLANTIC VENTURE OUTLOOK 2007
[Event]
Venture Scene Mid-Atlantic Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
May 2, 2007
Louis M. Rappaport
HIMSS07 HEALTH IT VENTURE FAIR
[Event]
New Orleans, Louisiana
February 25, 2007
Louis M. Rappaport
HIMSS07 ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION
[Event]
New Orleans, Louisiana
February 25-March 1, 2007
Lawrence J. Beaser, Albert B. Krachman, Mark I. Rabinowitz and Louis M. Rappaport
HIMSS07 VENTURE FAIR: READY. . . SET. . . CAPITALIZE! WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO RAISE VENTURE CAPITAL
[Event]
February 13, 2007
Thomas P. Dwyer and Louis M. Rappaport
THE BUSINESS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
[Event]
Blank Rome LLP, One Logan Square, 130 North 18th Street, Philadelphia, PA
November 15, 2006
Thomas P. Dwyer, Louis M. Rappaport, James R. Staiger and Alfred W. Zaher
HEALTH IT INDUSTRY INVOLVEMENT
[Event]
San Diego, CA
February 12-16, 2006
Albert B. Krachman and Louis M. Rappaport
Publications
HEXION V. HUNTSMAN: WHAT'S AN MAE ANYWAY?
[Article]
Top Cases of 2008
March 2009
Louis M. Rappaport and Brian J. McTear
NOTE: ST. MARY'S HONOR CENTER V. HICKS: HAS THE SUPREME COURT TURNED ITS BACK ON TITLE VII BY ABANDONING "PRETEXT-ONLY?",
[Article]
39 Villanova Law Review 123
1994
Louis M. Rappaport
News
CONTRARIAN INVESTORS TAKE STAGE AT MID-ATLANTIC CLEANTECH INVESTMENT FORUM
[Media Coverage]
April 16, 2012
Louis M. Rappaport, Thomas P. Dwyer and Margaret Anne Hill
SYNERGY AND CRITICAL MASS PROPEL LOCAL CLEANTECH SECTOR
[Media Coverage]
April 9, 2010
Thomas P. Dwyer and Louis M. Rappaport
BLANK ROME ELECTS NEW PARTNERS
[Press Release]
January 14, 2004
Brooke T. Iley, Jonathan M. Korn, Matthew D. Lee, Louis M. Rappaport, Rebecca D. Ward and Shawn M. Wright
THOMAS P. DWYER AND LOUIS M. RAPPAPORT NAMED TO BEN FRANKLIN TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS' INVESTMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
[Press Release]
July 24, 2002
Thomas P. Dwyer and Louis M. Rappaport
Cases and Deals
HALFPENNY TECHNOLOGIES IN A $2.5M VENTURE CAPITAL FINANCING
[Deal]
February 17, 2012
Louis M. Rappaport and Shaun Snitman
Halfpenny Technologies Inc. in a $2.5 million venture capital financing by Vital Financial and Emerald Stage2Ventures, Osage Venture Partners, Milestone Venture Partners and certain members of LORE Associates.
MOBILEREACTOR RECEIVES ANGEL INVESTMENT
[Deal]
December 16, 2011
Louis M. Rappaport
MobileReactor, LLC (d/b/a OneTwoSee.com) in connection with an angel investment by Ben Franklin Technology Partners and other private investors.
SUSQUEHANNA GROWTH EQUITY LEADS $16M STOCK INVESTMENT IN PAYSIMPLE
[Deal]
September 23, 2011
Louis M. Rappaport, Shaun Snitman, Linsey B. Bozzelli and Shlomo Troodler
Susquehanna Growth Equity (SGE), which led a $16 million preferred stock investment in PaySimple, Inc.
BLACKGOLD BIOFUELS IN A SERIES A FINANCING
[Deal]
July 11, 2011
Louis M. Rappaport
BlackGold Biofuels in a Series A financing and additional project finance commitment from Liberation Capital.
LLR EQUITY PARTNERS IN AN ACQUISITION OF SDI
[Deal]
May 2011
Louis M. Rappaport, Linsey B. Bozzelli, Cory G. Jacobs and Joshua L. Strober
LLR Equity Partners, in its joint acquisition with Pouschine Cook Capital Partners, of Strategic Distribution, Inc. from Platinum Equity.
EDGE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ACQUIRED BY ARTECH INFORMATION SYSTEMS
[Deal]
April 8, 2011
Louis M. Rappaport
Edge Professional Services, LLC, in its acquisition by Artech Information Systems, LLC.
PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER OF INVESTORS' CIRCLE IN A SERIES A INVESTMENT
[Deal]
March 3, 2011
Louis M. Rappaport and Linsey B. Bozzelli
The Philadelphia chapter of Investors' Circle in a Series A investment in DailyWorth.com.
BALLISTA SECURITIES ACQUIRED BY INTERCONTINENTALEXCHANGE
[Deal]
February 25, 2011
Louis M. Rappaport
Ballista Securities in its acquisition by Intercontinental
Exchange for an undisclosed amount.
VPSI, INC. ACQUIRED BY VERDE PARENT, INC.
[Deal]
December 23, 2010
Gary R. Goldenberg, Louis M. Rappaport, Brett J. Schulman, Joseph T. Gulant, Mathew S. Rotenberg and Cory G. Jacobs
VPSI, Inc. in its acquisition by Verde Parent, Inc. for an undisclosed amount.
HALFPENNY TECHNOLOGIES SECURES $2.6 MILLION IN CAPITAL INVESTMENT
[Deal]
October 7, 2010
Louis M. Rappaport and Cory G. Jacobs
Halfpenny Technologies Inc. in a $2.6 million Series A Preferred venture financing from Osage Ventures, Milestone Partners and LORE.
WISH UPON A HERO IN A VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTMENT
[Deal]
October 2010
Louis M. Rappaport
Wish Upon A Hero LLC in a venture equity investment for an undisclosed amount.
RELEVENT ACQUIRED BY MDC PARTNERS
[Deal]
August 2, 2010
Louis M. Rappaport
Relevent in its acquisition by MDC Partners for an undisclosed amount.
FIRST SOLAR INC. ACQUIRES NEXTLIGHT RENEWABLE POWER
[Deal]
July 12, 2010
Louis M. Rappaport and Howard M. Knee
NextLight Renewable Power in connection with its $297 million acquisition by Arizona-based alternative energy company First Solar Inc.
MERION CAPITAL CLOSES NEW FUND
[Deal]
July 2010
Gary R. Goldenberg, Louis M. Rappaport, Richard J. McMahon, Mary K. Stokes and Cory G. Jacobs
Merion Capital in the closing of a new fund.
NETQOS ACQUIRED BY CA, INC. FOR $200 MILLION
[Deal]
November 19, 2009
Richard J. McMahon, Lisa Casey Spaniel, Louis M. Rappaport, Joseph T. Gulant, Thomas B. McKernan III, Geoffrey D. Schwartz, et al.
NetQos in its sale to CA, Inc. for $200 million.
FUND FORMATION FOR RETAIL LIQUIDATION PROJECTS
[Deal]
May 2009
Louis M. Rappaport
Fund formation focusing on retail liquidation projects for an undisclosed amount.
DEDICATION TO DETAIL ACQUIRED BY 3M COMPANY
[Deal]
August 30, 2008
Bonnie Glantz Fatell, Thomas P. Dwyer, Louis M. Rappaport, Brian J. McTear and Geoffrey D. Schwartz
Dedication to Detail, Inc., a Philadelphia-based manufacturer of paint finishing systems, including buffing and polishing pads, in its acquisition by 3M Company.
METROPOLITAN EQUITY PARTNERS INVESTS IN BUXBAUM JEWELRY ADVISORS, LLC
[Deal]
August 8, 2008
Louis M. Rappaport and Cory G. Jacobs
Metropolitan Equity Partners in its recent investment in Buxbaum Jewelry Advisors, LLC.
METROPOLITAN EQUITY PARTNERS INVESTS IN CHELSEA 10011
[Deal]
July 15, 2008
Louis M. Rappaport, Kevin J. Baum and Cory G. Jacobs
Blank Rome advised Metropolitan Equity Partners in its recent investment in Chelsea 10011
METROPOLITAN EQUITY PARTNERS INVESTS IN BALLISTA SECURITIES LLC
[Deal]
June 30, 2008
Louis M. Rappaport, Cory G. Jacobs and Mary K. Stokes
Blank Rome advised Metropolitan Equity Partners in its recent investment in Ballista Securities LLC.
REGULUS GROUP ACQUIRED BY 3I INFOTECH FOR $80 MILLION
[Deal]
June 12, 2008
Barry H. Genkin and Louis M. Rappaport
Regulus Group LLC in its acquisition by 3i Infotech Ltd. for $80 million.
ANGEL INVESTMENT FOR MEDIFLAG
[Deal]
March 24, 2008
Louis M. Rappaport
MediFlag LLC in connection with an angel equity investment transaction.
MEAKEM BECKER VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTS IN SPENDVIEW
[Deal]
December 20, 2007
Louis M. Rappaport, Thomas P. Dwyer and Brett J. Schulman
Meakem Becker Venture Capital, in its series A investment in SpendView, Inc.
MICRONETWORK PRODUCER OF "OBAMA GIRL" VIDEO SOLD
[Deal]
October 19, 2007
David M. Perry, Louis M. Rappaport, Jennifer Hale Eagland, Cory G. Jacobs and Dina L. Relles
Barely Political LLC in the formation, intellectual property agreements, and sale to Next New Networks.
DYNAMIC IMAGING ACQUIRED BY GE HEALTHCARE
[Deal]
October 11, 2007
Barry H. Genkin, Louis M. Rappaport, Cory G. Jacobs and Karen L. Corliss
Dynamic Imaging LLC, in its acquisition by GE Healthcare.
ZS FUND PORTFOLIO COMPANY, SMITH-COOPER, CLOSES ADD-ON ACQUISITION
[Deal]
June 29, 2007
Gary R. Goldenberg, Louis M. Rappaport, Mathew S. Rotenberg, Cory G. Jacobs, Brett J. Schulman, Kevin M. O'Malley, et al.
ZS Fund LP portfolio company Smith Cooper International L.L.C. in its recent purchase of substantially all of the assets of Sharon Piping & Eqpt. Inc.
ZS FUND BUYS VPSI, INC.
[Deal]
April 16, 2007
Gary R. Goldenberg, Louis M. Rappaport, Mathew S. Rotenberg, Joseph T. Gulant, Cory G. Jacobs, Brett J. Schulman, et al.
ZS Fund in its recapitalization and purchase of VPSI, Inc.
CLEARPOINT COMBINES WITH TERRA NOVA SPAC
[Deal]
February 12, 2007
Alan L. Zeiger, Louis M. Rappaport, Brad L. Shiffman and Brian J. McTear
ClearPoint Business Resources, Inc., in its merger with TerraNova Acquisition Corporation for $33.5 million.
ZS FUND BUYS STAKE IN SMITH COOPER AND FLO-RITE
[Deal]
October 4, 2006
Gary R. Goldenberg, Joseph T. Gulant, Larry Hampel, Margaret Anne Hill, Frederick L. Ikenson, Cory G. Jacobs, et al.
Fund purchases equity interest in leading importers of piping system products.
$173 MILLION SALE OF ELECTRIC GENERATION FACILITIES
[Deal]
September 1, 2006
Karen L. Corliss, Louis M. Rappaport and Brett J. Schulman
Atlantic City Electric in the sale of its interests in the Keystone and Conemaugh electric generating facilities to Duquesne Light Holdings, Inc., for $173 million.
PRIMAVERA SELLS 75% STAKE TO VC'S
[Deal]
May 1, 2006
Alan H. Lieblich and Louis M. Rappaport
Primavera Systems, Inc., in an article about the project and portfolio management software company's sale of a 75% stake to Francisco Partners and Insight Venture Partners.
$150 MILLION PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTMENT IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE CLIENT
[Deal]
April 25, 2006
Samuel H. Becker, Timothy A. French, Alan H. Lieblich and Louis M. Rappaport
Private equity funds team up to buy a majority stake in Primavera Systems, Inc.
Recognition
CHAMBERS USA 2011 RECOGNIZES MORE BLANK ROME ATTORNEYS AND PRACTICES
[Ranking]
June 10, 2011
Thomas H. Belknap, Jr., Thomas E. Biron, Fred Blume, Kevin J. Bruno, David W. Carickhoff, Sara L. Chenetz, et al.
CHAMBERS USA 2010 RECOGNIZES MORE BLANK ROME ATTORNEYS AND PRACTICES
[Ranking]
June 11, 2010
Thomas H. Belknap, Jr., Thomas E. Biron, Fred Blume, Ernest W. Chung, Scott F. Cooper, Steven Dubow, et al.
CHAMBERS USA 2009 RECOGNIZES MORE BLANK ROME ATTORNEYS AND PRACTICES
[Ranking]
June 2009
Thomas H. Belknap, Jr., Thomas E. Biron, Fred Blume, Scott F. Cooper, Steven Dubow, Bonnie Glantz Fatell, et al.