Profile
Mindy Leathe, Co-Chair of the Global Employee Benefits & Compensation Practice, focuses on executive compensation and employee benefits. With more than 20 years of experience advising public and private companies, not-for-profit entities, fiduciaries and executives, she regularly counsels clients on pension, profit sharing, 401(k), supplemental executive retirement (SERP), deferred compensation and health and welfare benefit plans. Mindy also advises companies and senior executives regarding equity compensation arrangements, including stock options, phantom stock, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, profits interests, phantom rights, as well as bonus awards and various other long-term incentive programs. In addition, Mindy prepares, reviews and negotiates employment agreements, parachute agreements, retention agreements and severance agreements for both companies and individual executives.
A significant portion of Mindy’s practice involves advising in mergers and acquisition transactions with respect to the executive compensation and employee benefits aspects. This includes negotiating and documenting the employee benefit provisions in transaction documents, reviewing various employee benefit plan documents, preparing equity compensation plans and employment agreements and analyzing excess parachute payment issues. Mindy also assists clients in employee plan transition and restructuring benefits following an acquisition or merger.
Concentrations
- Corporate tax
- Employee benefits
- Executive compensation
Capabilities
Experience
- Represented Sun Capital Partners in its sale of Ames Taping Tools, the nation’s foremost provider of automatic taping and finishing tools and related products to the professional drywall finishing industry.
- Represented Blue Wolf Capital Partners, LLC in connection with the sale of StateServ Medical, the leading durable medical equipment (DME) benefit management company supporting hospices and other post-acute care providers in the United States.
- Represented Centre Partners in connection with its sale of Stonewall Kitchen, a leading manufacturer of premium branded specialty food and gift products, including jams, olive oils, bottled sauces, crackers and pancake mixes.
- Represented Blue Wolf Capital Partners, LLC in connection with its acquisition of RHA Health Services, a leading provider of community-based health services focused on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, behavioral health needs and substance use challenges.
- Represented Centre Partners in connection with its acquisition of Guy & O’Neill, Inc., a consumer products company that focuses on private label and contract manufacturing.
- Represented H.I.G. Growth Partners in connection with its acquisition of a regional provider of comprehensive hospice related services.
- Represented Centre Partners in connection with its acquisition of the IMA Group, a national provider of medical and psychological evaluations and case review services.
- Represented affiliates of Crestview Advisors in connection with their acquisition of ATC Drivetrain, a leading independent remanufacturer of automotive drivetrain components (primarily transmissions, engines and related components) for in-warranty vehicles in the United States.
- Represented Blue Wolf Capital Partners in connection with the acquisition of Hospicelink, the largest hospice-focused durable medical equipment benefit manager in the United States.
- Represented Centre Partners in connection with its acquisition of Nearly Natural, a leading e-commerce vendor and “drop-shipper” of artificial plant products.
- Represented the middle market fund of a global private equity firm in connection with its acquisition of an operator of adolescent behavioral health treatment centers in the United States.
- Represented Sun Capital in connection with its acquisition of AMES Taping Tools.
- Represented Falconhead Capital on the employee benefits and executive compensation aspects of its sale of substantially all of the assets of Rita’s Holdings, LLC to an affiliate of Argosy Capital.
- Represented interclick, Inc., a technology company that provides solutions for data-driven advertising in the United States, on the employee benefits and executive compensation aspects of its $270 million sale to Yahoo! Inc.
- Advised APR Energy Cayman Limited, one of the world's largest providers of temporary power generation solutions, and its management shareholders on the employee benefits and executive compensation aspects of its $855 million sale to Horizon Acquisition Company plc.
- Advised California Higher Education Loan Authority (CHELA) on the employee benefits and executive compensation aspects of a $2.4 billion recapitalization, restructuring and spin-off transaction. As a result, CHELA (now The Education Financing Foundation of California) became the largest education financing foundation in the State of California.
- Represented PolyMedica Corporation employee benefit and executive compensation aspects on the $45 million sale of its Women's Health Products Division to Amerifit Nutrition, Inc.
- Represented Trendum Ltd. on the employee benefits and executive compensation aspects of its acquisition of PulpFree, Inc.
- Advised the stockholders of Amide Holdings, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Amide Pharmaceutical, Inc., a privately owned U.S. generic pharmaceuticals company (Amide),on the employee benefits and executive compensation aspects the sale of Amide to Actavis Group hf, a publicly traded global generic pharmaceutical company listed on the Iceland Stock Exchange
- Represented FuelQuest Inc., a leading on-demand software and services company for the global downstream energy industry, in the sale of its Zytax energy-related tax automation business to Avalara, a leading cloud-based sales tax and compliance automation technology provider. Oversaw the employee benefits and executive compensation aspects of the transaction, including negotiation of employment-related terms of the deal, and structuring and advice regarding employee benefits and executive compensation.
- Advised Metropolitan Health Networks, Inc. (NYSE AMEX: MDF) on the employee benefits and executive compensation aspects as part of its $403+ million cash and stock acquisition of Continucare Corporation (formerly NYSE: CNU), including Metropolitan’s procurement of $315 million of related acquisition financing from a syndicate of lenders led by GE Capital.
- Restructured employee benefits as part of public electric utility and power supplier DPL Inc’s. $3.5 billion sale to The AES Corporation.
- Negotiated and documented employee benefit provisions as part of Arcos Dorados B.V’s $700 million acquisition of the business and assets of McDonald’s Corporation’s Latin American operations.
- Advised Terremark on the employee benefits and executive compensation issues related to its $1.4 billion sale to Verizon Communications.
- Advising clients with regard to qualified and non-qualified deferred compensation plans, including 401(k) plans, employee stock purchase plans, health and welfare plans, and other employee benefit plan issues.
- Advising emerging and publicly-held clients with respect to executive compensation techniques and strategies, including stock options, restricted stock and other forms of equity compensation, executive employment agreements and compensation, split dollar insurance arrangements, and change in control severance agreements.
- Advising clients with regard to various employee benefit plan issues relating to corporate mergers and acquisitions.
Recognition & Leadership
- Listed, The Legal 500 United States, 2021 and 2023
- Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation and Retirement Plans: Design, "Recommended Lawyer," 2023
- Tax - US Taxes: Non-Contentious, 2021
- Finalist, Daily Business Review, "Top Dealmaker of the Year – Corporate International Category," 2016
- Member, Winning Team, "M&A Deal of the Year (Over $1 Billion to $5 Billion)" for Platform Specialty Products Corporation (f/k/a Platform Acquisition Holdings Limited) acquisition of MacDermid, Incorporated and related entities, The M&A Advisor’s 6th Annual International M&A Awards, 2014
- Finalist, Daily Business Review, "Top Dealmaker of the Year - Corporate Finance Category," 2013
- Member, Winning Team, ACG New York Champions Awards, Middle-Market Deal of the Year, Corporate/Strategic Acquisition of the Year and Professional Services, 2012
- Recipient, Latin Lawyer Magazine, "M&A Deal of the Year Award," 2008
- Member, American Bar Association
Credentials
Education
- LL.M., University of Florida Levin College of Law
- J.D., St. Thomas University School of Law
- B.A., Liberal Studies, State University of New York at Stony Brook
Admissions
- Florida