Steven B. Stokdyk is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Latham & Watkins where he is the Co-Chair of the Corporate Department and local chair of the Public Company Representation Practice Group. Mr. Stokdyk has extensive corporate, finance and acquisition experience representing companies, principal investors and investment banks in a variety of industries, including technology, entertainment and media, financial institutions, healthcare, gaming and REITs. His experience includes initial public offerings, high yield, convertible and secured debt offerings, hostile and negotiated mergers, recapitalizations and private equity and debt investments. He also regularly advises public and private clients on corporate governance and structure, securities law compliance and strategic transactions.
Merger and acquisition transactions include significant matters for Live Nation, Tutor-Saliba, URS, KB Home, On Assignment, Digital Insight, PacWest Bancorp, Philips Electronics, Broken Hill Proprietary and Neptune Orient Lines, the hostile bid by H.F. Ahmanson for Great Western, the merger of Spieker and Equity Office Properties, the Dole Food Company going private transaction and the financial advisors in numerous other transactions. He also successfully defended a client in a hostile proxy contest and tender offer initiated by one of its shareholders.
Initial public offerings include RealD, Grand Canyon University, Solera, AECOM, Dollar Financial Corp., Sunstone Hotel Investors, LECG, Corio, Pharsight, Palm, Expedia, Korn/Ferry International, UroSurge, Entertainment Properties Trust, BA Merchant Services, Western Wireless Corporation, Business Objects, Vastar Resources, Bufete Industrial and Spieker Properties.
Significant debt financings include offerings for Costco Wholesale, Tenet Healthcare, National Semiconductor, Cequel Communications, Nexstar Broadcasting, Clearwater Oaper, Yonkers Racing, WCA Waste, Live Nation, Boise Cascade, Boyd Gaming, Healthcare Property Investors, Gilead Sciences, Discover Bank, Ceradyne, Asia Global Crossing, Leslie's Poolmart, Precision Castparts, Advanced Medical Optics, Unova and numerous financial institutions and utilities.
Mr. Stokdyk currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of California, the Executive Committee of the Business and Corporations Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the Board of Governors of the Institute for Corporate Counsel. He was the Co-Chair of the Corporations Committee of the State Bar of California for 2005-2006. He was also named to the list of Southern California "Rising Stars" in 2004-2009 by Super Lawyers Magazine.