Phillip (Phil) Waldoks

Of Counsel

Adv. Phillip Waldoks specializes in cross-border and domestic corporate and banking transactions for international and Israeli companies and financial institutions.

Recognized by Chambers Global for his “encyclopaedic knowledge,” Phil’s considerable international experience spans mergers and acquisitions, private equity financings, syndicated lending, and complex commercial transactions.

Phil brings a unique combination of in-house and law firm experience to his practice. Prior to joining S. Horowitz & Co. in 2001, he served as Senior Vice President–Corporate Legal Affairs and Secretary of U.S.-based publicly-held Hasbro, Inc., a leading global toy and game manufacturer. At Hasbro, Phil was responsible for transactional and periodic securities disclosures, managed numerous acquisitions of publicly and privately-held entities worldwide, and represented the company in public offerings, private placements, bank financings, investments, stock exchange listings, and major licensing agreements.

Phil began his legal career in the Corporate Practice Groups of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Fenwick & West in New York, where he represented diverse clientele including borrowers, lenders, issuers, acquirers, and targets.

"encyclopaedic knowledge and amazing memory and thoroughness"
Chambers & Partners

His vast experience spans all sides of the transactional table, regularly representing consortia of Israeli and foreign banks, financial institutions, manufacturing, technology and telecommunication companies,  private equity funds, and universities.

Core Capabilities

  • Corporate Law & Mergers and Acquisitions: Advising on complex domestic and cross-border M&A transactions, including multi-million and billion-dollar acquisitions and dispositions for Fortune 500 companies, private equity firms, and Israeli entities acquiring or disposing of international businesses
  • Banking & Finance: Representing consortia of Israeli and foreign banks in sophisticated financing transactions, including syndicated loan facilities, acquisition financing, cross-border secured transactions, and debt restructurings involving multiple jurisdictions and complex guarantee structures
  • Capital Markets: Guiding publicly-held companies and their shareholders through public offerings, private placements, securities disclosures, stock exchange listings, and regulatory compliance matters, with perspective and  experience in each of the U.S. and Israeli capital markets
  • Commercial Transactions: Structuring and negotiating comprehensive commercial agreements including joint venture, partnership, shareholder, consulting, licensing, distribution, manufacturing and supplyagreements in a wide variety of industries and projects
  • Cross-Border Transactions: Managing complex international transactions involving multiple legal systems and regulatory frameworks, with particular expertise in transactions among Israeli, U.S., European, and Asian entities

Notable Representations

  • Represented Robert Bosch Investment Nederland BV in its $720 million acquisition of Elmo Motion Control, an Israeli manufacturer of control solutions for motion control applications
  • Advised Arcadis, a Dutch-based global design and consulting company, in the Israeli law aspects of its €232 million acquisition of Irish-based DPS Engineering Holdings
  • Represented Bank Leumi and Bank Hapoalim in several refinancings and restructurings of their $500 million facility to Tower Semiconductor Ltd. including their acquisition of capital notes in Tower Semiconductor, subsequent conversion of such notes into ordinary shares and sale of such shares in registered and unregistered offerings
  • Advised Pathfinder Strategic Credit L.P., a fund managed by Argentem Creek Partners, a U.S.-based emerging market credit specialist, in connection with the 2018 restructuring of its mezzanine financing to ECI Telecom into preferred and special shares and the subsequent successful sale of such shares in the 2020 acquisition of ECI Telecom by Ribbon Communications
  • Represented a syndicate of banks, led by Bank Hapoalim, in a $230 million cross border financing of Ness Technologies S.à r.l. and various of its subsidiaries in a mixture of secured acquisition and working capital financing, in a solution that enabled compliance with New York, Luxembourg, Dutch and Israeli law, including several refinancings thereof
  • Represented syndicate of banks led by Bank Hapoalim in €159 million financing to Gazit Globe Ltd. secured by controlling interest in Atrium European Real Estate Ltd., involving five different jurisdictions
  • Guided syndicate of banks led by Mizrahi Tefahot Bank in $100 million cross-border secured financing of XIO Group’s half-billion dollar acquisition of Lumenis Ltd., involving  12 jurisdictions including Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, and the U.S.
  • Represented U.S.-based Danaher Corporation in its $100 million acquisition of Advanced Vision Technology, an Israeli company traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
  • Advised Bell South in the $1.35 billion sale of joint controlling shareholding in Cellcom, one of Israel’s leading cellular telephone companies

recognition

Education

  • University of Chicago Law School, USA, J.D., with honors and elected to the distinguished Order of the Coif, 1976
  • Yale University, USA, B.A., cum laude, 1973

Admission

  • Israel Bar, 2002
  • New York Bar, 1977
  • Member of the American Bar Association

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