Alan S. Kaden

Alan Kaden’s broad transactional tax experience and sound business judgment combine to create a truly distinctive practice.

As co-chair of our Tax Practice, Alan advises the leaders of public and private corporations as well as many of the firm’s private equity clients on a full range of transactional tax issues. He is the former managing partner of our Washington, DC office and a member of our Governance Committee.

Clients rely on Alan’s deep experience throughout the principal areas of tax law, particularly the structuring and negotiation of taxable and tax-free corporate acquisitions, reorganizations, spin-off transactions and dispositions of ongoing business enterprises, the structuring of investment funds, the development of partnership and other joint-venture arrangements for various business ventures and tax planning for financings, and other capital formation transactions.

As a key member of our corporate transactional practice, Alan provides his guidance and perspective to other practice groups as needed.

Chambers Global and Chambers USA consistently recognize Alan among the world’s leading lawyers for business. Peers and clients recognize the depth of his transactional expertise and have described him as “a brilliant tax lawyer and counselor with an excellent breadth of knowledge,” further describing him as “one of the best in the business,” and noted that “he is a master at describing complex issues in an easy to digest way.” Another client commented, “if I ever have a hard tax issue, I always call Alan; he is a brilliant tax lawyer and also extremely business savvy.” Other clients commend his “good technical knowledge” and also consider him to be “a tremendous problem solver” and describe him as “an absolutely brilliant strategist.” Sources also praise his “drafting and negotiation” skills.

Alan is also consistently recognized by Legal 500 as a “Leading Lawyer” in Tax: US Taxes: Non-Contentious and recognized in the “Hall of Fame,” which highlights individuals who have received constant praise by their clients for continued excellence. Clients remark that “Alan Kaden is a king in the tax world. Everyone knows him, respects him, and listens to him. He’s the rare combination of a brilliant tax lawyer and really nice guy who makes you feel like you’re the most important client he has.” Alan has also been recognized by Legal 500 in M&A/Corporate and Commercial: Private Equity Buyouts. He was selected as a “Leading Lawyer” in tax law by the Legal Times of Washington and is recognized among “Washington’s Best Lawyers” by Washingtonian magazine. The Washington Business Journal also nominated Alan as a “Top Washington Lawyer” in tax law.

Alan served as an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center for many years. He is a member of various tax committees, and the author of numerous articles.

Work highlights include:

• Represented Cargill in the $24 billion split-off and disposition of its 64% stake in The Mosaic Company (for which he was recognized by American Lawyer as “Dealmaker of the Week” and Law360 as a “MVP Lawyer of the Year”).
• Advised Sinclair Broadcast Group on numerous engagements, including its $10.6 billion acquisition of 21 regional sports networks and Fox College Sports from The Walt Disney Company and its long-term strategic partnership with Bally’s Corporation.
• Counseled Aleris Corporation in its $2.8 billion acquisition by Novelis.
• Represented RedBird Capital Partners on several engagements, including its investment into Fenway Sports Group (owner of the Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club) alongside LeBron James and Maverick Carter; its acquisition of the XFL with Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia; its formation of OneTeam Partners, a joint venture with the National Football League and Major League Baseball players associations centered around the management of players’ portrayals; its investment in The SpringHill Company, the production company founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, in which Redbird led a group of investors including Nike, Fenway Sports Group and Epic Games; and its $835 million sale of Main Event Entertainment to Dave & Buster’s Entertainment.
• Advised Lockheed Martin in its acquisition of Sikorsky Aircraft.
• Counseled ProQuest in its $5.3 billion acquisition by Clarivate plc.
• Represented Spirit MTA REIT in the sale of its $2.4 billion property portfolio to Hospitality Properties Trust.
• Advised Nant Capital in its acquisition of The Los Angeles Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and various titles in the California News Group from Tronc.
• Counseled Humana on numerous transactions, including its $4.1 billion acquisition of the Kindred at Home Division of Kindred Healthcare; its acquisition of the remaining 60% interest in Kindred at Home, a transaction with an enterprise value of $8.1 billion; its $3.4 billion sale of a majority interest in the Hospice and Personal Care divisions of Humana’s Kindred at Home subsidiary to Clayton, Dubilier, and Rice; its $1.4 billion acquisition of Curo Health Services; and its $37 billion attempted merger with Aetna.
• Represented Permira on numerous engagements, including its $14 billion acquisition of McAfee Corporation; its $5.8 billion acquisition of Mimecast Limited; its acquisitions of CommentSold and Motus; its acquisition of Lytx, valuing the company in excess of $2.5 billion; and its pending $10.2 billion acquisition of Zendesk.