With more than 15 years in practice, Ben Chouka has advised a variety of U.S. and international clients in numerous private and public M&A transactions. Ben's practice focuses on cross-border M&A, where clients benefit from his dual qualification in Germany and California, as well as venture capital and growth equity financings, strategic and corporate venture capital (CVC), and joint ventures. He represents public, private, and startup companies alike and is most active in the technology, software, semiconductor, biotech, health care, life sciences, and energy industries.
Some of Ben's high-profile representations include: Astellas Pharma in its $5.9 billion acquisition of Iveric bio; Skyworks 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 Partner; Five9 in its acquisition of Acqueon and Aceyus; NerdWallet in its $120 million acquisition of On The Barrelhead; and Hilti Group in its $300 million acquisition of Fieldwire. Ben's other representative clients include SAP, KKR, Western Digital, Sumitomo Pharma, Organon & Co., Silicon Mobility, Minted, TotalEnergies, Dignity Health, Artis BioSolutions, Sempra Energy, AGIC Capital, Triton Partners, E.ON, and ThyssenKrupp. Ben also maintains an active pro bono practice, assisting nonprofits with governance matters.
Prior to joining Jones Day, Ben was a senior associate with an international firm in Düsseldorf, Germany. Ben complemented his international experience with a client secondment in the M&A department of a major financial institution in Dubai, where he advised from the in-house perspective on transactions in various Middle Eastern jurisdictions.
Esperienze
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.
- University of California, Los Angeles (LL.M. 2015, with a focus on securities regulation; Masin Family Academic Excellence Award); Second State Exam (Düsseldorf, 2008); First State Exam (Ruhr University Bochum, 2005)
- California and Germany (Düsseldorf Bar Association)
- Regional Court, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany (2005-2007)
- German