Rita-Anne O’Neill

Rita-Anne O’Neill is a partner in Sullivan & Cromwell’s Los Angeles office and is co-head of S&C’s Global Private Equity Group. She has a broad-based practice that includes advising both U.S. and non-U.S. public and private companies on some of their most significant M&A transactions, joint ventures and securities offerings, as well as providing general corporate advice on disclosure and governance. Her experience spans numerous industries including; healthcare and life sciences, consumer and retail, food and beverage, financial institutions, and industrials.

Recent representations include advising MUFG Union Bank in its acquisition of Intrepid Investment Bankers; Ares in its strategic partnership with DuPage Medical Group; OTPP in its acquisitions of PODS and Seacube; Ares and OTPP in their acquisition of The AZEK Company (formerly CPG International) by their affiliated funds and The AZEK Company in its acquisitions of Versatex and UltraLox; Royal Philips in its acquisitions of the Healthcare Information Systems business of Carestream Health Inc. (pending), Respiratory Technologies, The Spectranetics Corporation, Electrical Geodesics, Wellcentive and Volcano Corporation; SPO Partners in the sale of its aggregates business to Vulcan Materials; Lion Capital in its acquisition of a minority interest in Authentic Brands Group; 1st Century Bancshares in its acquisition by Midland Financial; and FilmYard Holdings, parent company of MIRAMAX, in MIRAMAX’s acquisition by beIN MEDIA GROUP.

Rita serves as co-chair of the ABA’s Women in M&A Subcommittee, which was formed to promote the recruiting, retention, and promotion of women lawyers in M&A. This is done by working with law schools to educate women law school students about the profession, increasing awareness at law firms, promoting networking, and providing business development forums and tools. Rita is also co-chair of the ABA’s Acquisition of Public Companies Subcommittee and the former chair of its M&A Market Trends Subcommittee and its Deal Points Study on Carveout Transactions. She is a frequent speaker at WCD BoardNext events in Los Angeles and regularly participates on panels on gender diversity and women in the legal profession. Rita recently chaired a panel discussion titled “All on Board: Driving Gender Diversity and Inclusion in the Boardroom” for senior-level executive women from across industries, which took place in Boston. She has been named a “Rising Star” by IFLR1000 and Euromoney and has been recognized among the Daily Journal’s Top Women Lawyers and the Profiles in Diversity Journal’s Women Worth Watching, and by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the “Women Making a Difference” in Los Angeles.

Rita holds a B.A. degree from Wellesley College, and a J.D. from Boston College Law School. Following law school, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Norman H. Stahl of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.