Sarah E. Kahn
SociaCo-Chair, Aerospace, Defense and Government Services Transactional practice
Sarah Kahn practices in the area of corporate and securities, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions. Sarah has represented clients in a broad range of industries in connection with mergers and acquisitions of both private and public companies, including manufacturers, technology developers, and service providers, with special experience in mergers and acquisitions for clients in international aerospace, defense and government services. She also counsels clients in connection with their joint ventures and on matters of national security, including reviews before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and the structuring and negotiation of foreign ownership, control or influence (FOCI) mitigation arrangements under applicable national industrial security regulations.
Chambers USA has repeatedly recognized Sarah, having highlighted her as an "expert in advising companies working in defense, aerospace and government services on M&A," with "experience and ability [that] are a key draw for transactional work," and quoted clients who noted "[s]he is a delight to work with – smart, savvy, practical and tough!," "[s]he does a marvelous job at mastering the complexities of a deal and converting them into advantages for her client,"," "[s]he creates clear paths for identifying, fully understanding and resolving any issues that may present themselves," and have described her as "an 'invaluable' resource" and "elite business attorney" who is "smart, easy to contact, [with] practical, commercial good sense," and "an expert in her field, she thinks creatively about difficult transactional issues and leaves no stone unturned," noting that she is "always thinking about our matters and coming up with creative solutions," and "is smart, organized, efficient, constructive and collaborative." Clients further describe her as "incredible" with "a really good business sense for private equity work" and ability to "read the grain of a situation," as well as "a strong communicator with an extraordinary work ethic." Clients have also praised Sarah's "amazing rapport and great relationships with regulatory staff," her "phenomenal" knowledge in the national security space, as well as "her 'superior interpersonal skills, availability, responsiveness, and broad knowledge base.'" Additionally, clients report that Sarah "understands the business imperatives" and "provides excellent client service," noting "she is highly responsive, readily available, collaborative, and provides needed advice quickly."
Ms. Kahn was named the 2009 Top Washington Lawyer-Corporate M&A by the Washington Business Journal; named a 2013 finalist for Up and Coming Corporate/M&A Lawyer of the Year in the Chambers USA Women in Law Awards, named to Euromoney's 2013 Expert Guides: Guide to the World's Leading Women in Business Law, and repeatedly recognized by Chambers and The Legal 500 for her M&A work.
EXPERIENCE
- NTS Technical Systems, a provider of qualification testing, inspection and certification services in civil aviation, space, defense, nuclear, telecommunications, industrial, electronics, medical and automotive end markets, in its sale to Element Materials Technology, UK-based testing, inspection and certification services company.
- BAE Systems, Inc., a US subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, a UK-based international defense contractor, and its subsidiary BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services, Inc., in the $200 million acquisition of Bohemia Interactive Simulations, a global software developer of simulation training solutions for military organizations.
- CAE Inc., a Canada-based simulation and training company, and its US subsidiary CAE USA Inc. in their $1.05 billion acquisition of the L3 Military Training business from L3Harris.
- BAE Systems, Inc., and its subsidiary BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc., in various acquisitions, including the $1.925 billion acquisition of the Military Global Positioning Systems business of United Technologies Corporation/Collins Aerospace; the $275 million acquisition of the Airborne Tactical Radios business of Raytheon; and the acquisition of Riptide Autonomous Solutions.
- An Australia based company in its establishment of a U.S. subsidiary to undertake sensitive work for the U.S. government.
- T-Mobile US, Inc. in connection with Sprint Corporation’s $26 billion merger with T-Mobile.
- BAE Systems, Inc. and its subsidiary BAE Systems Southeast Shipyard AMHC Inc. in its sale of BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards Alabama LLC to Epic Maritime Asset Holdings, LLC.
- Alaris Holdings Ltd., a South Africa-based public company, and its subsidiary Alaris Investment Holdings UK Limited, in its acquisition of mWAVE Industries LLC.
- A global Asia-based tech company in connection with various acquisitions in the aerospace, defense and government services sector division which provides outsourced engineering and staff augmentation services primarily to aerospace original equipment manufacturers.
- Airbus Group in its acquisition of Navtech Inc., a global provider of flight operations solutions.
- A defense and security solutions company in connection with its sale of it's radio frequency and microwave subsystems businesses for use in radar, electronic warfare, communication, missile, flight test and simulation applications.
- OPINICUS Corporation, a flight simulation company, in its sale to Textron Inc.
- Quest Global Holdings, LTD, a UK-based company, and its subsidiary QTec Analytics, LLC in the acquisition of Monitor Government Venture Services, LLC, a consulting firm that advises governments, NGOs and corporations on issues of strategy.
- Kongsberg Gruppen ASA, an international company listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange that supplies high-technology systems and solutions to customers in the oil and gas, merchant marine, and defense and aerospace industries, and its subsidiary Kongsberg Integrated Tactical Systems Inc., in KITS's acquisition of certain assets of Tactronics Holdings, LLC and Tactronics Group International, a provider of tactical integrated electronic systems for land and marine applications.
- Leonardo SpA (f/k/a Finmeccanica-SpA), Italy's largest aerospace and defense company, in its acquisition of DRS Technologies, Inc., a supplier of integrated defense electronics products, services and support.
- J.D., Georgetown University Law Center
cum laude - B.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Awards
Chambers USA
- Band 4, District of Columbia Corporate/M&A & Private Equity (2011-2024)
- 2013 Finalist -- Up and Coming Corporate/M&A Lawyer of the Year in the Chambers USA Women in Law Awards
The Legal 500 United States
- Recommended, Telecoms & Broadcast: Regulatory (2019)
- Recommended, M&A: Middle-Market ($500m-$999m) (2012-2014)
- Recommended, M&A: Large Deals ($1 billion - $5 billion) (2009-2010)
Other recognitions
- Euromoney 2013 Expert Guides: Guide to the World’s Leading Women in Business Law
- Washington Business Journal's "Top Washington Lawyers" 2009: Winner for Corporate M&A
- Law360 Aerospace & Defense Editorial Advisory Board (2021, 2022)
Bylines
- Co-author, "Defense Industry M&A in the wake of the BCA Passage and Sequestration – Avoiding Pitfalls in the Distressed Deal Context," The Government Contractor, Vol. 56, No. 18 (May 7, 2014)
- "Corporate acquisitions involving government contractors: DOD codifies significant security clearance-related risk," DLA Piper Government Contracts Alert (April 17, 2014)
- "FEATURE COMMENT: Creation of OCIs In Government Contractor Acquisition Negotiations, The Sequel – COFC Restores Contract To Original Awardee, Finding GAO Irrational In Overturning Agency's Award of Contract," 52 The Government Contractor 257 (August 2010)
- "FEATURE COMMENT: Creation of OCIs In Government Contractor Acquisition Negotiations – Can A Sufficient Mitigation Plan for OCIs Be Implemented During Confidential Deal Discussions?" 52 The Government Contractor 89 (March 2010)
Media Mentions
- "Deal Diary: DLA, Wachtell, Shearman Work UTX, Raytheon," The Deal (January 2020)
- "DLA Piper team represents Measurement Specialties in $1.7 billion purchase," InsideCounsel (October 27, 2014)
