Meet Matt
Matt is a trusted advisor and strategic partner to businesses navigating mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures, and other complex commercial transactions. As a shareholder in Godfrey & Kahn’s Corporate practice, he brings a practical, business-minded approach to helping clients manage risk, execute strategic initiatives and achieve long-term objectives.
Matt advises a diverse client base that includes publicly traded companies, private equity-owned businesses, family-owned enterprises, closely held companies, entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals. In addition to leading transactional matters, he frequently serves as outside general counsel, counseling clients on governance, strategic planning, succession and ownership transitions, contract negotiations, employment arrangements and tax-efficient structuring. He works closely with specialists across the firm to deliver integrated, solutions-oriented advice tailored to each client’s needs.
With extensive experience in middle-market and cross-border transactions across a wide range of industries, Matt is known for his technical acumen, strong negotiation skills and ability to guide complex matters to efficient, practical outcomes. His experience allows him to adapt seamlessly to the priorities of different clients, whether advising owners on long-term strategy, supporting management teams or executing transactions for family-owned businesses, private equity sponsors or public companies.
A former competitive hockey player, Matt applies the same disciplined, team-oriented mindset he developed on the ice to his legal practice. He values preparation, clear communication and collaboration, and he brings that approach to every client relationship. He is actively engaged in the Milwaukee business community and maintains strong ties with his alma maters, Westminster School (Simsbury, Connecticut) and Bowdoin College (Brunswick, Maine).
Education
Artium Baccalaureus, Bowdoin College
Juris Doctor, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, summa cum laude (Board of Editors, Hamline Law Review)
Activities
First Tee of Southeast Wisconsin – Board of Directors
Milwaukee Athletic Club – Nominating Committee
Bowdoin College – Interview Committee Co-Chair for Class
Bowdoin College Men’s Hockey Career Mentoring Program – Mentor
Honors
Recognized by Super Lawyers as a Wisconsin Rising Star (2018)
Listed in Best Lawyers in America (Corporate Law, 2022 - present)
Admitted To Practice
WisconsinProfessional Associations
American Bar Association
State Bar of Wisconsin
Represented a telecommunications company in connection with the formation of a joint venture with multiple investors, which included the formation of several holding and operating companies and related intercompany service agreements, for purposes of obtaining approximately $750 million of grant funds under the U.S. federal Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program (transaction not public)
Represented management in connection with acquisition of wealth management business and pre-closing restructuring related to same (transaction not public)
Represented sponsor of evergreen private real estate fund in connection with fund formation and structuring, as well as roll up of $500 million of commercial and industrial real estate (transaction not public)
Represented private equity owned oil, gas and mining company in its divestiture of a former sand mine subject to reclamation obligations (transaction not public)
Represented a global private equity owned agricultural company in its divestitures of an agricultural cooperative business and a farm equipment distribution business (transactions not public)
Represented a Fortune 500 manufacturing company in its purchase of multiple distribution companies in Brazil and Canada (transactions not public)
Represented Warehouse Specialists, LLC (Appleton, Wisconsin) in its purchase of Shipping Tree, LLC (Temecula, California)
Represented CF Global Trading, L.L.C. (New York, New York) and its affiliates in London, Hong Kong and Lisbon, Portugal in their sale to State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT)
Represented a privately-held dealership and distribution company in the divestiture of its Midwestern dealerships to California-based strategic buyer (transaction not public)
Represented Warehouse Specialists, LLC (Appleton, Wisconsin) in its purchase of Pac-Modal Transportation LLC and Pac-Modal Trucking LLC (Lynnwood, Washington)
Represented Enerpac Tool Group Corp. (NYSE: EPAC) (Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin) in its divestiture of Cortland Industrial LLC (Stafford, Texas and Anacortes, Washington) to Tufropes, a subsidiary of Aimia Inc. (TSX: AIM) (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
Represented a Fortune 500 retail company in connection with a credit facility and purchase option of a start-up company (transaction not public)
Represented Surfaces Technological Abrasives S.p.A. (Cenate Sotto, Italy) in its majority purchase of Continental D.I.A. Diamond Products, LLC (San Carlos, California) and its affiliate, Terminator Diamond Products Korea, Inc. (Incheon, South Korea)
Represented Greenheck Group (Schofield, Wisconsin) in its acquisition of Metal Industries, LLC (Marion, North Carolina) and its affiliate, Industria Fabricadora de Aluminio, S. de R.L. de C.V. (a/k/a INFASA) (Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico)
Represented a private equity owned technology company in numerous acquisitions of software and data companies (transactions not public)
Represented an ESOP owned software company in its sale to a private equity owned software company (transaction not public)
Represented a global privately-held manufacturing company ($1B+ revenue) in a joint venture for the development of a new product line (transaction not public)
