Gjina Lucaj is a solutions-driven M&A lawyer who understands clients’ business objectives and gets deals done in a manner that aligns with them. She is a trusted advisor whom clients regularly rely on to analyze risks and rewards, and to provide sound business and legal advice.
Gjina concentrates her practice on domestic and international strategic and private equity transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, financing, and public and private debt and equity offerings. She serves private equity-funded clients, public companies, and privately held businesses in various industries such as aerospace, manufacturing, information technology, industrial and professional service, consumer products, retail, food, and distribution, with a focus on the middle market.
Representative Experience
- Represented Wynnchurch Capital in its acquisition of Owen Family of Companies, a leading specialty equipment platform providing critical infrastructure solutions.
- Represented Wynnchurch Capital in its acquisition of Appvion, a specialty and high-performance coatings company, and the subsequent addition of Nekoosa Coated Products, a leading provider of specialty engineered materials.
- Represented Meridian Health, a state-licensed HMO, pharmacy benefit manager, and third-party administrator, and its owners in the US$2.5bn sale to WellCare Health.
- Represented America’s 1st Choice and its prior owners in the sale of their Florida and South Carolina-based HMOs to Anthem.
- Represented EV Truck innovator Bollinger Motors and its owners in its majority sale to, and partnership with, Mullen Automotive, the sale being one of the largest in the EV industry to date.
- Represented Wynnchurch Capital in its acquisition of Clyde Industries, a preeminent provider of highly engineered boiler efficiency systems and services for the global pulp and paper industry in North America, South America, Scandinavia, and Indonesia, from the Clyde Bergemann Group.
- Represented Novacap, one of Canada’s leading private equity firms, in its acquisition of The Accurate Group, a top-tier provider of technology-driven real estate appraisal, title data, analytics, and e-closing solutions.
- Represented Novacap and its portfolio company Bestar in the acquisition of Bush Industries, a leading American manufacturer of case goods and RTA furniture for the office and home.
- Represented Novacap in its acquisition of Static Media, an Indianapolis-based company that owns and operates a portfolio of unique and passion-driven digital media brands providing content in food, lifestyle, media, and entertainment.
- Represented LIT Litigation Services, a nationwide provider of litigation support services, and its owners in their sale to Veritext.
- Represented International Bancard, a Michigan-based Fintech company that provides full end-to-end payment acceptance solutions, and its owner in their sale to Global Payments.
- Represented a private equity fund in its purchase of the global operations of a supplier of noise vibration and harshness products, along with bolt-on acquisitions, and ultimately the sale of the supplier to a public company.
- Represented a large public company and retail seller of shoes and accessories in numerous acquisitions of privately held companies within the shoe industry with both domestic and international operations.
Awards and Recognition
- Association for Corporate Growth’s M&A All Star Awards – All Star Rising Star (2019)
- Michigan Super Lawyers – Rising Stars® (2015, 2016, and 2019)
Foley Advises Novacap in Strategic Partnership with Lewis & Ellis
Foley & Lardner LLP served as legal advisor to Novacap, one of North America’s leading private equity firms, in its strategic partnership with Lewis & Ellis, a leading full-service actuarial consulting firm.
Foley Represents Novacap in Partnership with Static Media
Foley & Lardner LLP represented Novacap, a leading North American private equity firm, in its partnership with Static Media, an Indianapolis-based company that owns and operates a portfolio of unique and passion-driven digital media brands providing content in food, lifestyle, and media and entertainment.
Foley Serves as Legal Advisor to Wynnchurch Capital in its Acquisition of Majority Ownership in FloWorks International
Foley & Lardner LLP served as legal advisor to Wynnchurch Capital, L.P., a leading middle market private equity firm with $5.3 billion in assets under management, in their acquisition of majority ownership in FloWorks International, LLC from Clearlake Capital Group, L.P.
Foley Advises Novacap on Strategic Partnership with Accurate Group
Foley & Lardner LLP has acted as legal counsel to Novacap, one of the leading private equity firms in Canada, in its strategic partnership with Accurate Group, a provider of technology-driven real estate solutions.
Virtual CLE Week
Foley invites you to our Virtual CLE Week – six mornings of training programs covering a range of key business, industry, and ethics topics. Each day will feature a different set of one-hour programs, with the exception of the three-hour Working Through the Pandemic presentation on Tuesday, December 8, and the three-hour Ethics presentation on Thursday, December 17.
Foley’s Detroit Office, 18 Attorneys Honored For Pro Bono Service
Foley’s Detroit office and 18 of its attorneys have been named to the State Bar of Michigan’s 2020 A Lawyer Helps Pro Bono Honor Roll.