Davis Polk Nabs Ropes & Gray Lawyer for California M&A Practice

Davis Polk & Wardwell has hired Paul Scrivano, global head of Ropes & Gray’s mergers and acquisitions practice, as the Wall Street firm looks to expand M&A work in Northern California.

Scrivano has advised on hundreds of public company M&A transactions over his nearly three-decade career, according to the firm. Most recently he represented Altimeter Growth Corp. in its $40 billion combination with Grab Holdings Inc., Southeast Asia’s largest ride-hailing company.

“With Paul’s arrival, Davis Polk will solidify its position as a destination firm for big-ticket corporate transactions in Northern California,” Davis Polk’s managing partner Neil Barr said in a statement.

Davis Polk last year advised on 233 deals worth $372 billion, according to Bloomberg data. So far in 2022, the Wall Street firm has advised on 18 deals worth $5.9 billion.

Scrivano works on U.S. and cross-border transactions, including mergers, tender and exchange offers, stock and asset acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs, and joint ventures.

A former Cravath Swaine & Moore associate, he joined Ropes in 2017 from O’Melveny & Myers where he served as head of its global M&A and private equity practice.

He represented cybersecurity software company McAfee Corp. in its pending $14 billion acquisition by an investor group and its $4 billion sale of its enterprise business to Symphony technology Group.

“He has significant experience leading major deals in a number of key sectors, including technology and life sciences,” said Alan Denenberg, co-head of Davis Polk’s office in Menlo Park, Calif. “He will further strengthen our position as a go-to West Coast firm for important corporate transactions.”