Poonam Kumar

Recent transactions that Poonam has been involved with include:

Mergers and Acquisitions

• Global information technology company on its multi-jurisdictional divestiture of its telecommunications-solutions business to a leading global technology company
• London Stock Exchange Group on its USD$325 million acquisition of TORA, a leading cloud-based technology provider which supports customers trading multiple asset classes across global markets
• ERIKS NV sale of its North American operations (ERIKS North America, Rawson-Industrial Controls, ERIKS Seals and Plastics and CNC Flow Control) to LKCM Headwater Investments
• Sodexo with its acquisition of Frontline Food Services (d/b/a Accent Food Services), a leading provider of breakroom and refreshment solutions
• Health and Happiness (H&H) International Holdings Limited in its acquisition of Zesty Paws, LLC for US$610 million
• Riveter Capital on its acquisition of Healthy Lunch Box, Inc., a food service provider of high-quality, nutritious meals to children and adults
• Axalta Coating Systems Ltd.'s proposed acquisition of the European and Chinese operations of IVA, from its parent company Superior Essex
• Deere & Company's joint venture with Hagie Manufacturing, a manufacturer of high-clearance sprayers. In connection with the joint venture, Deere & Company acquired a majority ownership in Hagie Manufacturing
• Deere & Company's sale of its crop insurance business to Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company of Iowa
• Communica Global, LLC in its acquisition of Alpha PM Consulting, Inc.
• Deere & Company's divestment of its global water irrigation business to FIMI Irrigation Ltd. (involving 18 countries worldwide)
• Musco Lighting LLC's joint venture with Ferrostaal Industrial Projects (Musco Ferrostaal GmbH) to design, supply and install lighting systems for industrial plants and sports grounds in continental Europe
• Fortune 50 company's strategic investment in a Hong Kong company
• GoDaddy's expansion of its international domain name registration operations in Asia, Europe and Latin America
• Polaris Industries Inc.'s joint venture with Eicher Motors Limited to develop and market new products in India and other emerging markets
• Graco Inc.'s US$650 million acquisition of the global finishing business of Illinois Tool Works, Inc.
• H.B. Fuller Company's US$395 million acquisition of Forbo Group's global industrial adhesives business
• H.B. Fuller Company's US$120 million sale of its Central America paints business to Compania Global de Pinturas S.A., a company of Grupo Mundial
• Polaris Industries Inc.'s acquisition of Groupil Industrie SA, a France-based manufacturer of on-road, commercial electric vehicles
• Creation of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney joint venture (involving 35 jurisdictions securities compliance analysis)
• US$30 million sale of a service contract business
• Proposed sale of a controlling stake in a global cable business
• Proposed US$1 billion cross-investment and joint venture between financial institutions
• Negotiation of global supply arrangement for aircraft equipment manufacturer

Global Corporate Restructuring Transactions

Poonam has also advised large multinational companies with the following corporate restructurings and integration projects:

• General Electric in its carveout and reorganization through spin-offs into separate publicly traded aviation, healthcare and energy companies
• Ecolab Inc. in its separation of the global upstream energy business (involving 68 countries)
• Bunge and Loders Croklaan USA, LLC in the global integration following the cross-border joint ventures
• Ecolab Inc.'s pre-acquisition financing and post-acquisition integration for acquisition of Laboratories Anios for US$800 million
• Ecolab Inc.'s global IP migration to align the IP ownership for Europe and Asia
• Ecolab Inc.'s reorganization of Mexico holding company structure and debt alignment which involved subsidiaries in Algeria, Austria, Ireland, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands and the US
• Ecolab Inc.'s implementation of alternative financing structure for the Ecolab worldwide group through Irish subsidiaries
• Axalta Coating Systems Ltd.'s rationalization of domestic legal entity structure by segregating manufacturing operations from sales, distribution, R&D, procurement and management functions
• Axalta Coating Systems Ltd.'s creation and integration of headquarters for operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa and centralization of European management structure
• The Toro Company's pre-acquisition financing structure for its acquisition of Regnerbau Calw GmbH, and multiple cash repatriation transactions
• The Toro Company's global reorganization for legal entity rationalization and to implement debt leverage and financing activities
• Ecolab, Inc.'s pre-acquisition reorganization to implement financing structure for acquisition of controlling interest in Jianghai Environmental Protection Co. Ltd., an industrial water treatment company in China
• Ecolab, Inc. and Champion Technologies Inc.'s post-acquisition integration of operations in North America, Latin America and Europe (involving 30 countries worldwide)
• Ecolab, Inc. and Nalco Holding Company's post-acquisition integration of operations (involving 99 countries worldwide)
• H.B. Fuller Company in its post-acquisition integration of the Forbo Group's global industrial adhesives business
• Pentair plc's global integration and reorganization of its valves and control business acquired from Tyco International in the US, Australia and the Unite Kingdom
• Veon Ltd's centralization of transactional support functions and the implementation of standard intercompany services agreement in Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan

• "The Impact of the Pandemic on Women Lawyers," Hennepin Lawyer (Hennepin County Bar Association), October 2020
• "How I Made Partner: DLA Piper's Poonam Kumar," Law.com, January 2019
• "Corporate reorganizations in the US: five key steps - Getting the Deal Through 2018," July 2018

• Panelist, “Three Generations of Lawyers in the Workplace,” Corporate Counsel Women of Color Annual Strategies Conference (October 2024)
• Panelist, “Teamwork to Make the Dream Work: How to Maximize Your Teams' Performance,” Global Women’s Leadership Summit (September 2024)
• Moderator, "Finding and Using your Voice," the 2023 MWL Rosalie Wahl Lecture, Minnesota Women Lawyers (November 2023)
• Panelist, "COVID-19 and the Impact of Women in the Workplace," Fordham Law Women’s 3rd Annual Symposium (March 2021)
• Panelist, "Unexpected Lessons in M&A: Key Takeaways from 2020 and Predictions for 2021," American Bar Association (December 2020)
• Panelist, "Challenging the Status Quo: Self-Advocacy & Countering Personal Negation," Women in Law & Leadership Summit (December 2020)
• Moderator, "Insights for Your 2020 Performance Review," Minnesota Women Lawyers (November 2020)
• Presenter, "Impact of COVD-19 on M&A Transactions," Corporate Counsel Women of Color Conference (September 2020)
• Presenter, "Doing Business in Emerging Markets," Advanced Business Series (August 2019)
• Panelist, Women in the Law "Navigating Unwritten Rules of the Law Firm" (March 2019)
• Presenter, "Cross-border M&A – Trends and Key Considerations," 2018 Business Law Institute Minneapolis, Minnesota (May 2018)
• Moderator, "Leadership Lessons from the In-house Perspective," Minnesota Women Lawyers (March 2018)
• Presenter, "Cross-border M&A - Trends, Key Considerations and Making the Deal Work Globally," Minnesota State Bar Association, International Business Law Section, Minneapolis, Minnesota (November 2014)

• MWL Welcomes its FY24-25 Board of Directors & Leaders - Minnesota Women Lawyers (mwlawyers.org) (July 2024)
• MWL | With Equal Right - Winter 2024 Issue (mwlawyers.org) (Winter 2024)
• MWL 50 Years, 50 Voices - Minnesota Women Lawyers (mwlawyers.org) (May 24, 2022)
• Poonam Kumar: Path leads to global law success | Lawrence University (April 2, 2021)
• "How I Made Partner: DLA Piper's Poonam Kumar," Law.com (January 25, 2019)
• The MWL Foundation Welcomes its 2018-2019 Leadership (July 4, 2018)
• MWL Welcomes its 2018-2019 Board of Directors (July 2, 2018)
• "DLA Piper announces partnership promotions for 2018" (April 3, 2018)
• "MWL Announces its 2017-2018 Board of Directors Slate of Candidates" (March 24, 2017)

• Minnesota Women Lawyers, President (2023)
• South Asian Women’s Network (Twin Cities), Advisory Board Member (2022)
• National Conference of Women's Bar Associations, Board of Directors
• Minnesota Women Lawyers, Board of Directors
• Minnesota Women Lawyers Foundation, Board of Directors (2016-2018)
• Mosaic, DLA Piper's Diverse Partners and Counsel Resource Group, Co-Chair
• DLA Piper's North American Pro Bono Committee, Partner Delegate
• DLA Piper Leadership Alliance for Women, Representative, Partner Delegate
• International Corporate Reorganizations Steering Group, DLA Piper