Brent R. Drenon
Associate
Brent Drenon focuses his practice on a range of corporate and finance transactions.
Key Matters
- Represented ACON Investments, a private equity investment firm based in Washington D.C., in the closing of ACON Strategic Partners II, a new single-asset continuation fund of approximately $700 million in connection with the partial sale of its ACON Equity Partners IV portfolio investment in New Era Cap as well as an increase in its existing ownership stake in New Era Cap. New Era Cap's iconic brand serves as the official headwear license partner for Major League Baseball, the National Football League, and the National Basketball Association as well as 170+ other licensed partnerships around a variety of headwear, apparel, and accessory products. ACON will manage the continuation fund with the support of their new and continuing limited partners. ACON and AEP IV continue to maintain significant stakes in the company.
- Represented Culper Capital Partners, a private investment firm that invests both debt and equity in middle market companies, in the formation of its first control platform, The Producto Group (Producto or the Company), which is the result of the acquisition of Ring Precision Components (Ring Precision), New Vision Industries (New Vision) & Dieco Ring Precision and Dieco were sold as part of a corporate carve out from The PMT Group. New Vision was acquired from its majority shareholder. The Producto Group, through Ring Precision and New Vision, serves as a solution driven, contract manufacturer and provider of precision tooling and components for a wide variety of industries, including the medical, semiconductor, aerospace, and defense markets. Producto's cutting edge manufacturing and quality control equipment uniquely positions the Company to provide solutions for its customers most demanding applications.
- Representing Roadzen, Inc., a global insurance technology company, in its announced business combination with Vahanna Tech Edge Acquisition I Corp. (Nasdaq: VHNA), a special purpose acquisition company. Upon the closing of the transaction, the combined company will operate as Roadzen Inc. and expects to be listed on Nasdaq. Roadzen provides B2B AI solutions to the auto insurance market primarily to automakers and fleet operators. The transaction reflects a pre-money equity value for Roadzen of approximately $683 million. The merger is expected to close during the second quarter of 2023, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Roadzen’s CEO Rohan Malhotra will continue to lead the combined company following the closing of the transaction. The transaction implies a pro forma equity value post-closing of approximately $965 million. Estimated cash proceeds from the transaction are expected to consist of Vahanna’s $204 million of cash held in trust, assuming no redemptions and prior to the payment of transaction expenses. The proceeds of the transaction are expected to fund Roadzen’s organic growth initiatives and M&A strategy.
- Representing Estrella Biopharma, Inc. (Estrella), a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on cancer therapeutics, in its announced business combination with TradeUP Acquisition Corp. (TradeUp) (Nasdaq: UPTD), a special purpose acquisition company. Emeryville, California-based Estrella is developing T-cell therapies with the capacity to address treatment challenges for patients with blood cancers and solid tumors. The transaction values the combined company, to be renamed Estrella Immunopharma, Inc upon closing, at a pro forma equity value of approximately $398.5 million, assuming no redemptions by TradeUp’s public stockholders.