Colleen M. Grady 

Alvarez & Diaz-Silveira

Colleen Grady served as lead U.S. counsel to Dometic AB in its $875 million acquisition of SeaStar Solutions from affiliates of New York-based private equity firm American Securities LLC.

Limerick, Pennsylvania-based SeaStar Solutions is a leading provider of ship control and fuel systems and aftermarket products for the leisure marine industry. SeaStar is the market leader in key product areas with brands including SeaStar, Xtreme, Moeller, Optimus and Sierra.

SeaStar is entrenched in the outboard boat marketing, which has been growing at about 8 percent annually since 2010.

Headquartered in Solna, Sweden, Dometic is a global market leader in its field, sells products in about 100 countries and has about 6,500 employees worldwide. Its shares are listed in the large cap segment on Nasdaq Stockholm. The merger significantly expanded its North American market.

The transaction moved quickly with an agreement announced Nov. 21, 2017, and closing before year-end.

Grady was assisted by Albert Diaz-Silveira and Lauren Hunt of the Miami firm, and she  coordinated specialized counsel that included teams led by Mark Hamilton from Danziger & Markhoff for ERISA matters, Nick Katsanos from Seward & Kissel for HSR matters and Andrew Robertson of Lawson Lundell for Canadian matters.

Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer represented the seller.

The transaction showcased Alvarez & Diaz-Silveira's ability to act as lead counsel on a complex multinational transaction.

Deals of this magnitude are typically handled by large full-service firms, but the successful and efficient closing of this large international transaction by Grady and her team highlight their ability to be effective in an alternative legal platform by coordinating outside specialists into a seamless team.