Wilson Neely has served as senior partner with the New York-based corporate law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP for the past two decades. In this position, Mr. Neely handles public and private M&A and securities transactions, including private equity leveraged buyouts. His transactional law expertise has enabled him to maintain his status as a primary outside counsel with the major private equity firms Centerbridge Partners, L.P., and The Blackstone Group L.P. since the 1990s. The two firms currently manage more than $20 billion in combined investment capital. Wilson Neely has been listed as a leading attorney in Chambers USA’s America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, and he was named Dealmaker of the Week by The Am Law Daily in October 2009. The latter recognition reflected Mr. Neely’s role in the $3-billion transaction in which The Blackstone Group purchased the amusement park business of Anheuser-Busch InBev. The most notable leveraged buyout since mid-2007, the deal included well-known properties such as Sea World and Busch Gardens.
A native of Dallas, Texas, Wilson Neely graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1978. He returned to his home state to pursue studies in law at The University of Texas School of Law in Austin. Graduating with honors, he joined Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP as an Associate in 1982. Mr. Neely has been part of the 127-year-old law firm for the past 3 decades, helping it grow to its current staff size of 820. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP maintains a network of global financial centers in locations ranging from Palo Alto, California, to Beijing, China.
Wilson Neely has a strong record of involvement in community organizations at the Board of Trustees level. Since 2005, he has sat on the Board of Trustees of the conservation- and preservation-focused educational nonprofit Historic Hudson Valley. Mr. Neely also maintains Board status with the Urban Education Exchange’s ReadWorks program, and until recently, he was on the Board of the Union Church of Pocantico Hills. Additionally, Wilson Neely serves on the Board of Trustees of the National Foundation for Facial Reconstruction, supporting the group’s efforts to provide necessary medical and psychosocial treatment to children with facial deformities.
About the Author: An experienced attorney, Wilson Neely has served with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP since 1982. He has been a senior corporate partner for 20 years. His expertise revolves primarily around securities and M&A transactions in public and private markets. During his childhood, Wilson Neely enjoyed camping with the Boy Scouts on a regular basis, and he remembers two trips to the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico, with particular fondness. Here, he offers an overview of the renowned ranch.
The Philmont Scout Ranch was founded in 1938 as Philturn Rockymountain Scoutcamp. Until pioneers arrived to settle northeastern New Mexico, the Jicarilla Apache and Moache Ute Indians lived on the land that today forms the ranch. Explorers, including Kit Carson, traveled across the wilderness there, and some of the greatest land barons built ranches and settlements. Today, children and adults enjoy a wide range of activities, including camping, hiking, and work programs. Although the ranch appears most active during the summer, the staff also offers programs in the fall and winter.
The Philmont Scout Ranch has become the largest high-adventure base for the Boy Scouts of America, housing 34 staffed camps and 55 trail camps. The land forming the camp came to the Boy Scouts of America as a gift from Waite Phillips. In 1941, he added to his initial gift with an expansion consisting of camping land known as the Villa Philmonte. Mr. Phillips gave the parcels to the Boy Scouts so that “many, rather than few” people could enjoy the land’s beauty. Today, the ranch encompasses about 214 square miles, filled with wildlife, such as mountain lion, antelope, elk, wild turkey, bear, and coyote.
Wilson Neely on the Work of the National Foundation of Facial Reconstruction, Wilson Neely
November, 2011
Founded by the plastic surgeon John Marquis Converse in 1951, the National Foundation for Facial Reconstruction (NFFR) extends medical care and emotional support to people suffering from severe facial wounds and deformations. The organization originally supported work at the Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital and has since moved its operations to the advanced facilities at the New York University Langone Medical Center, where the Foundation provides financial backing to the Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery (IRPS). As a nonprofit organization, all of the monies received by NFFR go directly to funding patient care, research, education, and family support programs. More than 2,000 patients are treated at the Institute each year, the majority of whom are uninsured or on Medicaid. Since their establishment, the NFFR and IRPS have played an integral role in the development of facial reconstruction procedures, supporting the world’s largest plastic surgery education program at the Plastic Surgery Education Center and employing a multidisciplinary team with diverse knowledge of genetics, microsurgery, plastic surgery, ophthalmology, and other medical specialties. To address the emotional and psychological needs of patients, the facility also maintains five specialists with expertise in nursing, social work, and psychology.
The NFFR has provided funding that resulted in pioneering procedures to correct cleft lips and malformed palates. In addition, researchers at the Institute have created a virtual surgery teaching tool and conducted ongoing research into tissue engineering, wound healing, stem cells, transplantation, and bone formation. At present, the team at IRPS is working to accelerate bone-healing using stem cells and treat soft tissue deficiencies with fat grafting. Researchers are also collecting data to determine how patients with various medical conditions respond to various treatments.
About the Author: As a member of the Board of Trustees for the National Foundation for Facial Reconstruction, Wilson Neely plays an integral role in procuring funding for the NYU Langone Medical Center’s Institute of Reconstructive Surgery. Neely also sits on the Board of Trustees for Historic Hudson Valley and ReadWorks, an online reading comprehension program developed for elementary-aged children. For the past three decades, Wilson Neely has handled a variety of private equity transactions as an attorney with the New York-based firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.
A Partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Wilson Neely resides in New York City and works with clients regarding mergers and acquisitions deals. The Simpson Thacher & Bartlett firm, which was created in 1884, maintains offices around the world in locations like London; Tokyo; Washington, D.C.; Hong Kong; and Beijing. Some of its services include issuing of securities, litigation, project- and asset-based finance, and cross-border finance. Many of the firm’s lawyers have recently been selected for roles in committees and in lecturing capacities. This article is meant as a brief overview of some of the most recent news regarding the staff at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett offices around the world.
1. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett appeared in the third quarter banking league table as the No. 1 overall law firm by volume, as well as the No. 1 lender law firm by volume. The firm received the No. 2 borrower M&A law firm designation by both volume and number of deals.
2. Wilson Neely and several other lawyers at the firm led the closing of a deal with Centerbridge, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P., and Warburg Pincus LLC that will guide their purchase of a 25 percent ($1 billion) stake in the auto finance business of Banco Santander, S.A.
3. One of the co-heads of the Simpson Thacher & Bartlett office in Sao Paulo, Brazil, was recently selected to speak at the Latin Lawyer’s 2nd Annual M&A Conference in December 2011.
4. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett executives worked together to represent Citigroup Inc., The Bank of Nova Scotia, Morgan Stanley, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Crédit Agricole, S.A., in financing the $1 billion purchase of Avis Europe Limited by Avis Budget Group, Inc.
For more information about various legal news, speaking engagements, or awards won by employees of Simpson Thacher and Bartlett, visit the organization’s official website at www.stblaw.com.
World Scout Jamboree Offers Participants the Opportunity to Meet Like-Minded Individuals from around the World, Wilson Neely
The World Scout Jamboree is the culmination of the career of a dedicated Boy Scout that brings together youth from around the world to share ideas, cultural and Scouting values, and fun. Held every four years, the event revolves around a host city that creates a program that combines Scouting themes with the opportunity to learn about local culture. In 1971, I enjoyed attending the 13th World Scout Jamboree in Fujinomiya, Japan, an educational experience that has served me well throughout life and remains one of my most prized memories.
The Scouting movement gives children from around the world an opportunity to achieve their potential. With basic tenets aimed at promoting kindness, responsibility, and hard work, the Scout Movement started in the United Kingdom and quickly became an international institution. Today, the World Scout Jamboree attracts thousands of Scouts between the ages of 14 and 17 from all over the world.
As a senior partner with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Wilson Neely practices corporate law. Skilled in mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and securities transactions, Neely has dedicated a large portion of his career to handling private equity matters. He first encountered this field in 1994, when he managed the financing for The Blackstone’s Group recapitalization of UCAR. Since then, Wilson Neely has assisted many other clients with their private equity needs.
Private equity has risen in importance for investors around the world since the 1970s. Many financial institutions with a significant amount of assets focus exclusively on this field, as do private and angel investors and venture capitalists. What differentiates private equity from other forms of investing is that it focuses exclusively on private companies. Investors will either place money into an unlisted company or buy a public company and turn it into a private one. The influx of capital allows a business to implement new technologies, hire or retain staff, and expand, while allowing the private equity firm to oversee its growth.
Leveraged buyouts (LBO) represent another important concept in the private equity field. In an LBO, an investor borrows funds to buy a property and uses the entity’s assets as collateral. This enables private equity firms to purchase businesses without investing their own money.
Individuals involved in private equity often obtain distressed companies with potential. This process requires a long-term vision, as many investors cannot recoup their money until the company turns around or liquidates. Once a company becomes profitable, an investor often sells the firm or cashes out with an initial public offering.
