Gary Olson retired from the partnership in December 2003. Mr. Olson was the Chairman of the firm's national Corporate Department from 1989 to 1996. His practice covered a wide range of corporate matters over his 30 years at Latham & Watkins. His clients included Fortune 500 companies such as AutoZone, Inc., Beverly Enterprises, Inc. and Sempra Energy and he has represented both issuers and underwriters in corporate finance transactions, including representation of the underwriters in numerous securities offerings for The Times Mirror Company and WellPoint Health Networks, Inc.
Mr. Olson has had extensive M&A experience. He represented the Independent Committee of the Board of Directors of WellPoint Health Networks, Inc. in a US$1.5 billion recapitalization transaction with Blue Cross of California and an unsuccessful US$2.0 billion business combination with Health Systems International, Inc. Other Special Committee representations included: Great Western Financial Corporation in connection with a hostile tender offer by H.F. Ahmanson; Tejon Ranch; and AST Research Corporation. Mr. Olson also represented Hughes Electronics in the combination of the satellite businesses of Hughes and PanAmSat Corporation, which created the premier commercial provider of global satellite and communication services with a market capitalization in excess of US$7 billion.