Lee Johnston

Lee Johnston is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Nashville office and has earned a reputation for closing deals. Mr. Johnston assists clients in all aspects of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and advises on a wide range of other private equity matters. In addition to his M&A, private equity, venture capital and strategic investment experience, corporate clients, financial institutions and other investors have relied on his ability to close syndicated lending and leveraged finance transactions and capital markets offerings. Mr. Johnston's broad corporate law experience is a valuable asset in M&A and other transactional matters, enabling him to resolve issues that could potentially disrupt or derail a deal.

He advises individual sellers, family firms, private equity clients and corporate clients, both public and private, in M&A across healthcare, telecommunications, technology, consumer products, financial services and other industries. From matters involving family firms, private equity portfolio companies and emerging and mid-level companies to front-page transactions featuring multinational corporations, Mr. Johnston's experience managing deal teams of all sizes helps clients close deals.

Highlights of Mr. Johnston's 11-year transactional career include his work on a $187 billion mobile telecommunications merger, advising a multinational software company in its $275 million acquisition of a venture-capital funded construction services company and representing a family office in its $40 million strategic investment in a leading vitamin and supplement company. Additionally, he has advised clients in investment grade and high-yield securities transactions, syndicated lending and leveraged finance transactions and general corporate matters.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Johnston practiced at a multinational law firm in its San Francisco office, focusing on M&A and strategic investments involving private equity investors, venture capital firms and corporate clients. He began his legal career in the New York and London offices of a major U.S. law firm where he maintained a broad corporate practice, including mergers and acquisitions, syndicated lending and leveraged finance, capital markets and securities regulation.