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Food + Agriculture

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Our agribusinesses team is a cross-disciplinary practice that includes ag-tech, food and beverage law, agribusiness consulting and more.

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Case Studies

2023 AgTech Startup Hackathon

2023 Food and Drug Law Institute’s Food Advertising, Labeling, and Litigation Conference

Escondido AgTech Gathering - August 2023

2023 BCLT IP & Tech Month

Escondido AgTech Gathering - May 2023

2023 Food & Ag Startup Legal Bootcamp

Events

FDA’s Lab-Developed Test Rule May Bring Historic Challenges

Golden State Crackdown—Unpacking California’s Landmark Food Safety Act

Why Agricultural End Effectors Are Ripe for IP Protection

It Takes Two to Taco: Taco John’s Abandons “Taco Tuesday” Trademark Registration

Top 10 Considerations for Transactions Involving Alternative Protein Companies

The EU’s New Proposal for Plants Developed Using New Genomic Techniques: How Does it Compare to U.S. Regulation?

Insights

DOJ Losses Cast Shadow over Chicken Price-Fixing Trial

MoFo Advises Palladium Equity Partners in Acquisition of Source Logistics

Neuer Rechtsrahmen für Gentechnik für Nahrungs- und Futtermittel

Genetic Engineering in the Food and Feed Industry

Chicken, Pork Prices Made Higher by Meatpackers’ Data Feed, DOJ Says

Daily Journal Names MoFo Partner Suz Mac Cormac to Top 100 Lawyers List

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Mitchell Presser advises on high-profile global public and private mergers and acquisitions, with a heavy concentration on private equity transactions. Mitchell is co-chair of the global Food + Agriculture Industry practice.Clients across wide-ranging sectors call on Mitchell for his vast experience, as both a lawyer and a principal, executing high-profile M&A and private equity transactions that lead to successful outcomes. He has worked across asset classes, including, but not limited to, agriculture, food, financial services, industrials, insurance, sports and entertainment, energy and retail.Mitchell was a founding partner of Paine Schwartz Partners (formerly Paine & Partners), a leading U.S. private equity firm managing a fund focused on investing in food and agriculture. Having served as an investor for more than eight years, Mitchell has an understanding of both the legal and business environments that enables him to provide a unique perspective to clients.Mitchell has been recognized as a top lawyer by Chambers USA and Legal 500 US. Our private equity practice was recently recognized as a Law360 Practice Group of the Year. He is a faculty member and lecturer of law at Harvard Law School and Columbia Law School, where he teaches a class focused on the sale of international businesses. Mitchell has served as member of the Board of Directors for privately-held and public companies. He is also a member of the firm’s global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) steering committee.<h4>Representative Experience</h4><ul><li>Paine Schwartz Partners, a global leader in sustainable food chain investing, in connection with its new platform investment in Registrar Corp., a leading provider of supply chain compliance software and services to domestic and foreign food & beverage, medical device, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic customers.</li><li>Silver Crest Acquisition Corporation (NASDAQ: SLCR), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in connection with its US$1.4 billion business combination with TH International Limited (Tims China), a master franchisee and operator of Tim Hortons coffee shops in China.</li><li>Sky Harbour LLC, a developer of private aviation infrastructure focused on building, leasing, and managing business aviation hangars, in its business combination agreement with Yellowstone Acquisition Company (NASDAQ: YSAC, YSACU, and YSACW), a publicly traded SPAC sponsored by Boston Omaha Corporation (NASDAQ:BOMN). The combined company will have an implied pro forma equity market value of approximately $777 million at closing.</li><li>Verisem BV, an integrated global seed production company, and Paine Schwartz Partners, a global leader in sustainable food chain investing, in connection with the agreement to sell Verisem to Syngenta’s vegetable seeds business, part of Syngenta Group, a global leader in agricultural science and innovation headquartered in Switzerland.</li><li>Phesi, a data-driven provider of AI-powered clinical development analytics products and solutions for biopharmaceutical companies, in securing a $10 million investment from Sensyne Health (LSE: SENS), a clinical AI technology company, as part of an exclusive strategic collaboration.</li><li>Tinicum and affiliated funds managed by Tinicum Incorporated in the acquisition of a controlling interest in Robert Family Holdings to create TSL Engineered Products.</li><li>SoftBank Group Corp. as the largest investor in Social Finance, Inc. (SoFi), a leading next-generation financial services platform, in connection with SoFi’s agreements with Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. V (SCH) (NYSE: IPOE), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), that will take the company public via merger, in a transaction that values the company at $8.65 billion.</li><li>Project 8, a new entity formed by ATN International, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATNI) and its financial partner Freedom 3 Capital, LLC, in connection with its $332 million agreement to acquire Alaska Communications Systems Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALSK), the leading provider of advanced broadband and managed IT services for businesses and consumers in Alaska.</li><li>Tene Capital and Pulse Agri Investments in its acquisition of Ahern Agribusiness, a San Diego-based seed distribution business with operations in the United States, Mexico and Central America.</li><li>Pivotal Investment Corporation II, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, on its merger with XL Fleet, a leader in vehicle electrification solutions for commercial and municipal fleets.</li><li>FoodChain ID and Paine Schwartz in the sale of FoodChain ID to Berkshire Partners.</li><li>Paine Schwartz Partners in its acquisition of Wawona Packing Company, and in Wawona’s subsequent acquisitions of Gerawan Farming and Burchell Nursery to create the largest stone fruit business in the United States</li><li>Burford Capital in its acquisition of GKC Holdings, the parent company of Chicago-based litigation finance and asset management firm Gerchen Keller Capital, combining the two largest litigation finance players in the world</li><li>Paine Schwartz Partners in its sale of Icicle Seafoods to Cooke Seafood, its acquisition of FoodChain ID (formerly Global ID Corporation), and its international acquisitions of Suba Seeds and Spearhead International</li><li>MSD Capital in its significant investment in the $4 billion buyout of UFC, joining WME-IMG, KKR, and Silver Lake, and in its investment in the WIRB-Copernicus Group</li><li>Acting for the buyout group led by Goldman Sachs in Kinder Morgan’s $22 billion leveraged buyout</li><li>Pivotal Acquisition Corp. in its merger with KLDiscovery</li></ul>

Mitchell Presser

Partner

Michael (Mike) Ward is global head of the Life Sciences + Healthcare Group, head of the Patent Group, co-chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Group, and co-chair of our global Food + Agriculture Group.As head of the Patent Group, Mike manages a team that includes 80+ Ph.D.s and 100+ attorneys and others with advanced scientific degrees in life sciences and related engineering disciplines. From small molecules and antibodies to gene editing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, MoFo has deep experience protecting some of the most important innovations in the life sciences and food and agriculture sectors.Life SciencesFor his work across the life sciences sector, Mike was named San Francisco Biotechnology Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in America in 2020 and is recommended for his patent strategy and prosecution practice in LMG Life Sciences. He also led the team that was named 2022 Patent Management and Strategy Firm of the Year at the 2022 LMG Life Sciences Americas Awards.Food + AgricultureRecognized as “one of the world’s foremost plant and agriculture IP lawyers,” Mike manages a wide range of intellectual property issues related to plants and plant products. He and his team advise clients on plant and plant utility patents; licensing agreements for plant IP; litigation in U.S. state and federal court and before the International Trade Commission; and regulatory approvals from the USDA, FDA, and EPA for gene edited and genetically engineered plants.Patent Strategy + ProsecutionMike is a Legal 500 US Hall of Fame lawyer for patent prosecution and is consistently named one of the leading IP lawyers by Managing Intellectual Property, Chambers USA and Chambers Global, and IAM Patent 1000.Mike works closely with many clients to develop and manage their patent portfolios. He helps clients identify, monitor, and assess the infringement risks of third-party patents. He also assists clients in preparing both offensive and defensive patent portfolios, with a particular emphasis on drafting patent applications that will be utilized in licensing and in litigation efforts.IP Due DiligenceFor venture capitalists seeking to invest in early- and mid-stage companies, underwriters involved in IPOs, and companies seeking to acquire or merge with other companies, Mike has managed extensive IP diligence. His work includes assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of patent portfolios, evaluation of freedom to operate issues, and strategic recommendations for maximizing the value of patent portfolios going forward.Mike also works closely with the IP Litigation Group on various litigation matters including patent interferences to determine the first-to-invent and patent re-examination work and actively participates in both mediation and arbitration proceedings on behalf of clients in the life sciences and food and agriculture areas.He is a frequent lecturer and speaker. Among numerous speaking engagements, Mike is the IP instructor at the UC Davis Licensing Academy and founded Morrison Foerster’s annual Harvard Biotechnology Club Fall Patent Law Course.Mike holds a Ph.D. in plant physiology (biochemistry) and an M.S. in agronomy from the University of California, Davis; a B.S. in biology from the University of California, Berkeley; and a J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law. He was a post-doctoral fellow in plant molecular biology at the Harvard Medical School and the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he worked on the Arabidopsis genome project.

Food + Agriculture

Recognized for Global-wide Agribusiness

Recognized for Nationwide Food & Beverage: Regulatory & Litigation

Winner of the Practice of Law: Multidisciplinary Teams Category for Food & Agriculture

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