Professionals

Christina Tate

Partner

Overview
Experience
Credentials
Insights & News

As a founding partner of the firm’s Dallas office, Christina focuses her practice in M&A, securities and private equity transactions. With substantial knowledge of the middle market, she guides clients throughout each phase of the investment life cycle—from initial acquisitions, to company management, to exit transactions.

Christina is a founding partner of the Dallas office of Winston & Strawn LLP. She is a partner in the firm’s M&A, securities and private equity practices. She also serves as co-lead of the firm's private equity food and beverage industry vertical.

Christina focuses her practice on mergers and acquisitions, with an emphasis on private equity firms and their portfolio companies. As a trusted advisor to middle market private equity funds, she counsels her clients throughout each phase of the investment life cycle—from deal sourcing and platform acquisitions, to add-on transactions and portfolio company management, to liquidity and exit transactions. Her M&A experience also includes representing management teams, founders and strategic clients in public and private mergers, acquisitions, carve-out transactions and divestitures.

As an advisor to portfolio companies, Christina guides management teams and boards of portfolio companies through a wide range of legal and business challenges, utilizing her commercial judgment and understanding of the business of her clients to answer questions that arise every day and achieve successful outcomes. Her experience includes negotiating numerous commercial contracts (such as customer, supply, distribution, logistics and joint development agreements) and other complex business arrangements. She has “sticky” relationships with her clients and has often continued to represent companies after sales transactions to different owner groups.

Christina also has extensive experience with advising public and private companies on securities offerings and capital markets transactions (including initial, follow-on and secondary public offerings), and advises strategic and financial clients in a variety of other corporate matters, including securities law disclosure, corporate governance, fiduciary obligations and compliance matters. Her breadth of experience includes advising on related party transactions, minority investments, co-investment activity, investment management, failed investments, joint ventures and other strategic relations.

Christina has served as lead deal counsel for her clients in a variety of industries, including consumer products, food and beverage, downstream and midstream energy, retail, building products, media, advertising, health care services, pharmaceuticals and insurance. Her transactional experience includes negotiating and completing nearly 50 deals in the consumer products and food and beverage sectors.

Key Matters

Mergers and Acquisitions

Kainos Capital in its $575M acquisition of Nutrisystem, a direct-to-consumer nutrition and weight management brand, through a carveout from Tivity Health
Nutrisystem in its strategic combination with Adaptive Health, to form a direct-to-consumer and omnichannel health and wellness company
Kainos Capital in its acquisition of Muenster Milling, a family-owned pet food and ingredient manufacturer
International branded food manufacturer in its strategic acquisition of a domestic soy sauce manufacturer
Kainos Capital in the sale to Kelso & Company of Ferraro Foods, a specialty foodservice distributor
Silva International, a specialty dehydrated vegetable, fruit and herb processing company, in the US$170M sale to Universal Corp.
American Dehydrated Foods / International Dehydrated Foods (ADF/IDF), poultry ingredients providers for pet and human food manufacturers, in the US$900M sale to Symrise AG, including successfully obtaining clearance from the DOJ through its Second Request antitrust investigation of the transaction
Kainos Capital in its acquisition of Whisps, a better-for-you cheese snack brand, through a corporate carveout
Kainos Capital in the US$350M sale to Glanbia of Slimfast and its sister company HNS, which provide weight management and health and wellness products
Kainos Capital in the sale to MidOcean Partners of Florida Food Products, a formulator and manufacturer of vegetable and fruit based ingredients providing clean label solutions to the food, beverage and pet nutrition industries
Portfolio company of a private equity firm in add-on acquisitions of distribution businesses
Private equity firm in its acquisition of a distribution business that supplies specialty restaurants
Kainos Capital in the sale of Milk Specialties Global, a human and animal nutrition company
Private equity firm in its acquisition of a manufacturer of clean-label preservative solutions
Specialty healthcare business (multi-location radiation oncology practice) and its physician owners in its auction process to financial buyers
High-net worth investor in its rollover minority investment in connection with an equity exchange transaction to strategically consolidate media and entertainment businesses (in television, film, live entertainment, and digital media) to create a diversified media platform under one corporate umbrella
Management team in its rollover investment and post-closing arrangements in connection with the buyout of an aviation operator by a private equity sponsor
Private equity firm in the acquisition of a health and beauty products manufacturer
Kainos Capital in the acquisition of the Slim-Fast brand, including the global business portfolio from Unilever
Private equity firm in the acquisition of a nutritional supplements portfolio company
Management team and founders in the buyout of their investment partner in a clothing company joint venture
Private equity firm in the sale of a private label bottled water and beverages portfolio company
Private equity firm in the US$1.275B sale through a dual-track process of an oil and gas exploration and production company focused on properties in the Gulf of Mexico
Holly Corporation in its US$7B merger of equals with Frontier Oil Corporation
Private equity firm in its acquisition of a nutritional ingredients portfolio company
HM Capital in the US$1.4B sale through an auction process of Swift Holdings, the then third-largest red meat business in the United States
Private equity firm in the US$660M sale through an auction process of a private label food portfolio company
Holly Corporation in “drop down” transactions for the sale of MLP logistics “qualifying” assets (including crude oil, intermediate and refined product pipelines, tanks, terminals, and loading racks) to Holly Energy Partners, L.P.
Private equity firm in its exit from its investment in a newspaper company
NYSE pharmaceutical company in its acquisition of a privately held pharmaceutical and drug delivery company
NYSE mattress manufacturer and distributor in its acquisition of a Canadian distributor
Seven privately held companies engaged in the oil and gas exploration and production business in their strategic acquisition of a public oil and gas company through a reverse acquisition
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and TPG Capital in connection with their US$45B leveraged buyout of TXU Corp. (Co-Counsel)
Competitive power generation business in connection with the formation of a nuclear power plant development joint venture with a Japanese heavy machinery manufacturer
Public oil and gas exploration and production company in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and US$289M sale through a plan of reorganization
NYSE video rental and entertainment company in its strategic acquisition of a digital movie download company
NYSE meat processing company in its US$1.3B hostile tender offer of the common stock of a NASDAQ meat processing company, creating the then largest chicken producer in the United States and Mexico
NYSE payday lender in its strategic acquisition of a private online loan company

Capital Markets

Companies in preparing for their initial public offerings and initial listings on the NYSE and NASDAQ
Midstream MLP and its sponsor in an approximately US$150M primary and secondary public equity offering
Public and private issuers in connection with private preferred stock offerings
Issuers and third parties in equity and debt tender offers
Private retail company in a US$285M Rule 144A high-yield debt offering
Pioneer Natural Resources Company in its initial public offering as a publicly traded master limited partnership
Private label food portfolio company in a Rule 144A equity offering on a private securities trading platform
OTCBB alternative energy company in a PIPE offering
Bermuda insurance company in connection with its concurrent public offering of common shares and preferred shares

Special Committee, Corporate Governance, and Compliance

Special committee of the board of directors of Advanced Micro Devices in connection with the formation of a joint venture with an Abu Dhabi foreign sovereign fund
Independent directors of a NYSE advertising company with respect to corporate governance and conflict-of- interest issues
Audit committee of the board of directors of ENSCO International Incorporated in connection with various matters
Public companies with respect to adoption of shareholder rights plans
Numerous public companies in a variety of industries (including energy, advertising, food, insurance, and technology) in corporate governance and disclosure matters
Foreign private issuers with respect to registration and reporting obligations in the United States

Recent Experience

Kainos Capital's Ferraro Fine Foods Sale to Kelso & Co.

Kainos Capital's Acquisition of Nutrisystem

Capabilities

Mergers & Acquisitions

Key Matters

Mergers and Acquisitions

Kainos Capital in its $575M acquisition of Nutrisystem, a direct-to-consumer nutrition and weight management brand, through a carveout from Tivity Health
Nutrisystem in its strategic combination with Adaptive Health, to form a direct-to-consumer and omnichannel health and wellness company
Kainos Capital in its acquisition of Muenster Milling, a family-owned pet food and ingredient manufacturer
International branded food manufacturer in its strategic acquisition of a domestic soy sauce manufacturer
Kainos Capital in the sale to Kelso & Company of Ferraro Foods, a specialty foodservice distributor
Silva International, a specialty dehydrated vegetable, fruit and herb processing company, in the US$170M sale to Universal Corp.
American Dehydrated Foods / International Dehydrated Foods (ADF/IDF), poultry ingredients providers for pet and human food manufacturers, in the US$900M sale to Symrise AG, including successfully obtaining clearance from the DOJ through its Second Request antitrust investigation of the transaction
Kainos Capital in its acquisition of Whisps, a better-for-you cheese snack brand, through a corporate carveout
Kainos Capital in the US$350M sale to Glanbia of Slimfast and its sister company HNS, which provide weight management and health and wellness products
Kainos Capital in the sale to MidOcean Partners of Florida Food Products, a formulator and manufacturer of vegetable and fruit based ingredients providing clean label solutions to the food, beverage and pet nutrition industries
Portfolio company of a private equity firm in add-on acquisitions of distribution businesses
Private equity firm in its acquisition of a distribution business that supplies specialty restaurants
Kainos Capital in the sale of Milk Specialties Global, a human and animal nutrition company
Private equity firm in its acquisition of a manufacturer of clean-label preservative solutions
Specialty healthcare business (multi-location radiation oncology practice) and its physician owners in its auction process to financial buyers
High-net worth investor in its rollover minority investment in connection with an equity exchange transaction to strategically consolidate media and entertainment businesses (in television, film, live entertainment, and digital media) to create a diversified media platform under one corporate umbrella
Management team in its rollover investment and post-closing arrangements in connection with the buyout of an aviation operator by a private equity sponsor
Private equity firm in the acquisition of a health and beauty products manufacturer
Kainos Capital in the acquisition of the Slim-Fast brand, including the global business portfolio from Unilever
Private equity firm in the acquisition of a nutritional supplements portfolio company
Management team and founders in the buyout of their investment partner in a clothing company joint venture
Private equity firm in the sale of a private label bottled water and beverages portfolio company
Private equity firm in the US$1.275B sale through a dual-track process of an oil and gas exploration and production company focused on properties in the Gulf of Mexico
Holly Corporation in its US$7B merger of equals with Frontier Oil Corporation
Private equity firm in its acquisition of a nutritional ingredients portfolio company
HM Capital in the US$1.4B sale through an auction process of Swift Holdings, the then third-largest red meat business in the United States
Private equity firm in the US$660M sale through an auction process of a private label food portfolio company
Holly Corporation in “drop down” transactions for the sale of MLP logistics “qualifying” assets (including crude oil, intermediate and refined product pipelines, tanks, terminals, and loading racks) to Holly Energy Partners, L.P.
Private equity firm in its exit from its investment in a newspaper company
NYSE pharmaceutical company in its acquisition of a privately held pharmaceutical and drug delivery company
NYSE mattress manufacturer and distributor in its acquisition of a Canadian distributor
Seven privately held companies engaged in the oil and gas exploration and production business in their strategic acquisition of a public oil and gas company through a reverse acquisition
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and TPG Capital in connection with their US$45B leveraged buyout of TXU Corp. (Co-Counsel)
Competitive power generation business in connection with the formation of a nuclear power plant development joint venture with a Japanese heavy machinery manufacturer
Public oil and gas exploration and production company in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and US$289M sale through a plan of reorganization
NYSE video rental and entertainment company in its strategic acquisition of a digital movie download company
NYSE meat processing company in its US$1.3B hostile tender offer of the common stock of a NASDAQ meat processing company, creating the then largest chicken producer in the United States and Mexico
NYSE payday lender in its strategic acquisition of a private online loan company

Capital Markets

Companies in preparing for their initial public offerings and initial listings on the NYSE and NASDAQ
Midstream MLP and its sponsor in an approximately US$150M primary and secondary public equity offering
Public and private issuers in connection with private preferred stock offerings
Issuers and third parties in equity and debt tender offers
Private retail company in a US$285M Rule 144A high-yield debt offering
Pioneer Natural Resources Company in its initial public offering as a publicly traded master limited partnership
Private label food portfolio company in a Rule 144A equity offering on a private securities trading platform
OTCBB alternative energy company in a PIPE offering
Bermuda insurance company in connection with its concurrent public offering of common shares and preferred shares

Special Committee, Corporate Governance, and Compliance

Special committee of the board of directors of Advanced Micro Devices in connection with the formation of a joint venture with an Abu Dhabi foreign sovereign fund
Independent directors of a NYSE advertising company with respect to corporate governance and conflict-of- interest issues
Audit committee of the board of directors of ENSCO International Incorporated in connection with various matters
Public companies with respect to adoption of shareholder rights plans
Numerous public companies in a variety of industries (including energy, advertising, food, insurance, and technology) in corporate governance and disclosure matters
Foreign private issuers with respect to registration and reporting obligations in the United States