Paul Escobosa, Todd Hovey and Jeffry Bernstein counseled SSF Imported Auto Parts, Inc. in its acquisition by Wessels+Müller AG (WM). SSF Imported Auto Parts, headquartered in South San Francisco, distributes high quality European replacement parts, expertise and service for Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Porsche, SAAB, Volvo and Volkswagen automobiles to the same core customer as Wessels+Müller AG. Based in Osnabrück, Germany, Wessels+Müller AG is one of the largest automotive part dealers in Germany with over 100 warehouse locations in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. “SSF and W+M have a strong overlap in programs, suppliers and philosophies”, adds Hans Kopecky, former co-owner who will assume the Chief Operating Officer position of the newly structured SSF Imported Auto Parts, Inc. Thomas Beer, an industry veteran, will serve as Chief Executive Officer. Wessels+Müller AG, with revenues approaching $1 billion, is fully owned by the Mueller family in its third generation.

Real Estate Partner Matthew Bove counseled Flynn Properties Inc. in its 60,000 square-foot lease to Pinterest, a fast growing online social network company where people connect over images, videos and other objects they “pin” to virtual posting boards. Pinterest’s new home at 808 Brannan Street will join the SoMA offices of other social media and tech firms, including Zynga, Twitter, AirBNB and Adobe.

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Coblentz is pleased to announce that it has been recognized as a 2012 Go-To Firm® in Litigation by ALM Publication – (publishers of Corporate Counsel and American Lawyer magazine). Coblentz is honored to be recommended by our clients and included in this elite list of firms who handle the significant legal matters of the world’s leading companies.

Pamela Duffy and Harry O’Brien honored as two of the “Top 30 Real Estate Lawyers” by the Daily Journal
Coblentz Real Estate partners Pamela Duffy and Harry O’Brien have been honored as two of the Top 30 Real Estate Lawyers by the Daily Journal.

Pam’s highlights include the Exploratorium’s relocation, Burlingame Point and the 5M project. Harry is highlighted for his work on the 49ers new stadium project. Both were chosen to this elite list based off of the Daily Journal’s research “weighing not only transaction value and intricacy, but also innovative ways in which attorneys kept projects afloat in the battered economy.”

Congratulations, Pam and Harry, on your well-deserved recognition.

Business Partner, Paul Escobosa, and Associate, Lindsay Gehman, represented award winning design agency, Philippe Becker Design, in its acquisition by Diversified Agency Services (DAS), a division of Omnicom Group Inc. Philippe Becker will join forces with Sterling Brands, a leading brand consultancy with offices in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Four years ago, Paul Escobosa represented Sterling Brands when it was acquired by DAS and has represented numerous advertising agencies and marketing service agencies in merger and acquisition transactions by global media, communications and marketing service companies.

Coblentz is listed as one of the Top 3 Best Trusts & Estates Firms in The Recorder’s ”The Best of 2012.” Coblentz has been honored by The Recorder’s annual “The Best of” list for the past three years.

Coblentz associates Katharine Van Dusen and Eleanor Hicks successfully received a favorable outcome for a husband and wife seeking asylum based on the threat of persecution in Guatemala due to the husband’s Mayan ethnicity. The case was taken over after the Board of Immigration Appeals determined they were not eligible for asylum because of a procedural bar. Van Dusen convinced the government to grant a favorable exercise of discretion and close the removal proceedings, allowing the couple to remain in the U.S. with their two young U.S. citizen children.

Coblentz represented certain selling shareholders of AARDEX Group SA, a Swiss entity, in its acquisition by Fortune 500 company, MeadWestvaco Corporation. AARDEX pioneered electronic medication-event monitoring systems, which is recognized as the gold-standard method for compiling patient’s drug dosing histories during clinical trials. A small microcircuit, integrated into the drug package, records the time and date when the package is opened. More than 500 clinical research studies by leading universities, public and private research groups and research-based pharmaceutical companies, have used the technology. MeadWestvaco Corporation (MWV) provides packaging solutions to many of the world’s most-admired brands in the healthcare, beauty and personal care, food, beverage, and home and garden industries. With 15,000 employees worldwide, MWV operates in 30 countries and serves customers in more than 100 nations.

Paul Escobosa, a Partner in the Business Practice, negotiated the complex cross border agreements and crafted the sale transaction to maximize the shareholders’ current and ultimate after tax proceeds. The deal was unusually complicated due to differing tax issues in the U.S., Belgium and Switzerland.

Paul Tauber represented Bankons (think Banks & Coupons), a San Francisco-based mobile offers service, in an asset transaction with credit card and financial services company, Capital One for its Digital Innovation Lab.  Bankons built an app and platform to help consumers get the best offers via mobile phones using geo-location and purchase histories. Following the close of the transaction, BankOns will remain a separate and independent company. Financial terms of the deal were not released.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 7, 2012 – Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass congratulates Jeffrey Sinsheimer on his appointment as an Adjunct Professor at UC Hastings. Mr. Sinsheimer will be teaching a Telecommunications Law Seminar in the Fall 2013 semester. Known as a go-to lawyer in the telecommunications field, Mr. Sinsheimer will be teaching government regulation of the telecommunications industry. His focus will be on developments that have occurred over the fifteen years since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was adopted: the evolution of policy issues facing Congress and the states, and the constitutional, jurisdictional and statutory questions facing administrative agencies and the courts.

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