Benjamin Chouka (Ben)

Partner

Irvine + 1.949.553.7522

Connect:

Share

Ben Chouka advises U.S. and international clients on public and private M&A transactions. With nearly two decades in private practice, Ben is dually qualified in California and Germany. His practice focuses on cross-border M&A, venture capital and growth equity financings, corporate venture capital (CVC), and joint ventures. He represents public companies, private companies, and startups, mainly in the technology, software, semiconductor, life sciences, health care, and energy industries.

Ben's notable representations include advising: Astellas Pharma in its $5.9 billion acquisition of Iveric bio; Skyworks Solutions in its $2.75 billion acquisition of the Infrastructure and Automotive business of Silicon Laboratories; Meridian Bioscience in its $1.53 billion sale to SD Biosensor and SJL Partners; BioMarin in its acquisition of Alesta Therapeutics for up to $490 million; Hilti Group in its $300 million acquisition of Fieldwire; NerdWallet in various M&A transactions, including its $120 million acquisition of On The Barrelhead; Silicon Mobility in its sale to Intel; and Five9 in its acquisition of Acqueon and Aceyus.

His other representative clients include Eli Lilly and Company, SAP, KKR, ATP Tour, Western Digital, Sumitomo Pharma, Organon, Minted, TotalEnergies, Dignity Health, Artis BioSolutions, VSE, Sempra, AGIC Capital, Triton Partners, and thyssenkrupp. Ben also maintains an active pro bono practice advising nonprofit organizations on governance matters.

Before joining Jones Day, Ben practiced with an international law firm in Düsseldorf, Germany. He also completed a client secondment in the M&A group of a major financial institution in Dubai. There he advised from an in-house perspective on transactions across the Middle East.

Experience

  • BioMarin acquires Alesta TherapeuticsJones Day advised BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. in the acquisition of Alesta Therapeutics B.V. for $275 million in upfront cash consideration, plus up to $215 million in contingent milestone payments.
  • NerdWallet acquires college student scholarship search platformJones Day advised NerdWallet, Inc. in the all cash acquisition of 100% of the outstanding equity interests of a scholarship search platform for college students.
  • MGI Tech sells Complete Genomics to Swiss RocketsJones Day represented MGI Tech Co., Ltd., a China-based global leader in DNA sequencing, on the sale of its U.S. subsidiary, Complete Genomics Inc., a pioneering life science company that develops and commercializes end-to-end DNA sequencing platforms, including instruments, reagents, and software, for high-throughput human genome sequencing and analysis in research applications, to Swiss Rockets AG, a specialized biotechnology incubator and accelerator based in Basel, Switzerland.
  • NerdWallet acquires College Finance CompanyJones Day advised NerdWallet, Inc. in the acquisition of College Finance Company, LLC.
  • NerdWallet completes several strategic M&A and investment transactionsJones Day has advised NerdWallet, Inc. (Nasdaq: NRDS), a platform that provides financial guidance to consumers and small- and mid-sized businesses, in connection with several strategic M&A and equity investment transactions.
  • ATP partners with PIF's SURJ Sports Investment in first-ever expansion of the Masters 1000 categoryJones Day advised the ATP Tour, Inc. in connection with its agreement with SURJ Sports Investment, a PIF company, regarding the launch of an all-new ATP Masters 1000 tournament, to be hosted in Saudi Arabia.
  • Artis BioSolutions acquires Syngoi TechnologiesJones Day represented Artis Biosolutions, a San-Diego based advanced-therapies development and manufacturing company, in its acquisition of Syngoi Technologies, a Spanish biotechnology company pioneering novel enzymatic approaches for manufacturing synthetic DNA technologies.
  • Artis BioSolutions acquires Landmark BioJones Day advised Artis BioSolutions, a newly launched company dedicated to streamlining the discovery, process development, and manufacturing of genetic medicines, in its acquisition of Landmark Bio, allowing expansion of manufacturing and commercialization of advanced therapies.
  • Healthy Footprints Adventure Community establishes tax-exempt status as 501(c)(3) not-for-profitJones Day represented Healthy Footprints Adventure Community, an organization dedicated to environmental education for youths, in securing federal tax-exempt status.
  • Five9 acquires AcqueonJones Day advised Five9, Inc. in its acquisition of Acqueon, a pioneering real-time revenue execution platform, realizing Five9's ambition to become the orchestration engine for every interaction across the entire customer journey, including marketing, e-commerce, sales and customer service through AI-driven, omnichannel proactive customer engagement.
  • City of Hope invests in Reimagine CareJones Day represented City of Hope in connection with the $25 million Series A financing of Reimagine Care, a technology-driven, home-based cancer care company.
  • Silicon Mobility sold to IntelJones Day advised Silicon Mobility SAS in the acquisition of the company by Intel Corporation.
  • Five9 acquires Aceyus for $82 millionJones Day represented Five9, Inc. in its acquisition of 100% of the equity of Aceyus, Inc. for $82 million in cash.
  • Sumitomo acquires assets and rights related to lefamulin from NabrivaJones Day advised Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. in the acquisition of assets from Nabriva Therapeutics plc and various wholly-owned subsidiaries. This acquisition includes assets from the U.S., Ireland, and Austria in support of the development, manufacture, marketing and commercialization of lefamulin in the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
  • Astellas acquires Iveric bioJones Day advised Astellas Pharma Inc. in the $5.9 billion cash acquisition of Iveric bio, Inc., a science-driven biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel treatments for retinal diseases with significant unmet medical needs.
  • Meridian Bioscience agrees to be acquired by SD Biosensor and SJL Partners in $1.53 billion all-cash transactionJones Day advised Meridian Bioscience, Inc. in its $1.53 billion all-cash acquisition by SD Biosensor and SJL Partners.
  • VSE Aviation acquires Precision Fuel ComponentsJones Day advised VSE Aviation Services, LLC, a subsidiary of VSE Corporation (NASDAQ: VSEC), in the acquisition of Precision Fuel Components LLC.
  • Organon makes strategic investment in Claria MedicalJones Day advised Organon in the strategic investment in Claria Medical, Inc. a privately-held company developing an investigational medical device being studied for use during minimally invasive laparoscopic hysterectomy.
  • NerdWallet acquires On The Barrelhead for $120 millionJones Day advised NerdWallet, Inc. (Nasdaq: NRDS), a platform that provides financial guidance to consumers and small- and mid-sized businesses, in its acquisition of On the Barrelhead, Inc. for total consideration of $120 million, consisting of approximately $70 million in cash and $50 million in NerdWallet Class A common stock.
  • Hookit sells company to Kore SoftwareJones Day advised Hookit in the sale of 100% of Hookit’s stock to KORE Software, a portfolio company of Serent Capital.

    • The following represents experience acquired prior to joining Jones Day.

    Advised Triton Partners, a pan-European private equity fund, on: the acquisition of global recycling specialist BEFESA from the Spanish-listed energy and environment technology company ABENGOA S.A. with a total transaction value of more than €1 billion; the acquisition of Dywidag Systems International (DSI), the global market leader in post-tensioning control systems, from Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Barclays, and CVC; and the sale of Dunkermotoren, a group of companies engaged in the engineering and manufacturing of precision motion control solutions, to NYSE-listed AMETEK for more than €250 million.

    Advised ThyssenKrupp AG, a German-listed steel and technology company, on various cross-border transactions, including the disposal of their civil shipyard and repair activities to Star Capital Partners, a U.K.-based private equity investor.

    Advised E.ON SE, the leading German utility, on the sale of 5,000 MW generation capacity to various major European utility players, including GDF Suez, Électricité de France, and EnBW.

    Advised Knauf, a privately held global building materials company, on various transactions, including the acquisition of the European ceiling grid and compound business from NYSE-listed USG Corporation.

    Advised Waterland Private Equity on the acquisition of a majority stake in Ranger, a German-based leading provider of direct sales services in Europe, from its founders, and the subsequent add-on acquisition of Omnigroup B.V., a direct sales services provider based in The Netherlands.

    View All

    Additional Speaking Engagements

    • May 14, 2025
      Corporate Venture Capital: A Legal Perspective, Annual NerdWallet Legal Offsite
    • April 29, 2026
      2026 Corporate and M&A Transactional Trends, NerdWallet Trust & Safety Offsite
    • March 18, 2026
      Civility Matters: what California’s evolving rules of professional conduct mean for in-house counsel, Jones Day MCLE University

    Before sending, please note:

    Information on www.jonesday.com is for general use and is not legal advice. The mailing of this email is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Anything that you send to anyone at our Firm will not be confidential or privileged unless we have agreed to represent you. If you send this email, you confirm that you have read and understand this notice.