Calfee congratulates our client, LayerZero Power Systems, its co-founders Milind Bhanoo and James F. Galm, and the entire deal team from Calfee, Citizens Bank, Grant Thornton, and Mano Daga for having its 2025 transaction selected as the "Corporate Deal of the Year" at the 29th Annual Deal Maker Awards hosted by the Association of Corporate Growth (ACG) Cleveland on January, 28, 2026.
The Deal Maker Awards program is presented by ACG Cleveland to recognize the significant achievements of companies and their transaction team service providers who actively participate in merger and acquisition activity in Northeast Ohio.
LayerZero Power Systems completed its sale of a majority equity stake to Advent International, a leading global private equity investor, in August. Based on an enterprise valuation in the ten-figure range, the transaction marked a significant milestone for LayerZero, accelerating its growth in the mission-critical power infrastructure sector.
LayerZero is a leading U.S. manufacturer of static transfer switches (STSs), power distribution units (PDUs), and other advanced power management products designed for data centers and other high-reliability environments. The company's founders, Milind Bhanoo and Jim Galm, continue to hold minority equity stakes in the company.
Calfee served as legal counsel to LayerZero Power Systems for this transaction. The Calfee team was led by Corporate and Finance Partner Neil J. Whitford and included Corporate and Finance Associate Attorneys Lauren Christine Kulik and Tianshu (Allie) Ji; Intellectual Property Partner Sean T. Moorhead; Labor and Employment Partner Todd F. Palmer; Antitrust Partner Maura L. Hughes and Associate Attorneys Nicholas A. Bonaminio and Kelsey L. Baughman; Tax Partner Michael K. Gall; Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Partners Jason A. Rothman and Erin E. Shick and Associate Attorney Nicolette T.E. Cregan; Environmental Senior Attorney Christopher M. Ward; Real Estate Senior Counsel Elizabeth Zoller Golish; and Privacy and Data Security Partner Daniel J. McMullen.
Additional transaction details are available here.
With 45+ dedicated attorneys, the Corporate and Finance practice group at Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP is one of the largest and most prolific in Ohio, handling a significant number of complex and sophisticated business and financial transactions for clients across the country and globally.
Calfee has a sophisticated and robust Mergers and Acquisitions, Divestitures, and Sales practice, annually consummating 60-75 M&A transactions, led by an active private equity client base and a large roster of public and significant privately held corporate clients. These financial and strategic buyers, coupled with our deep investment banking representations and relationships, drive a thriving and diverse M&A practice at Calfee.