Tycho H.E. Stahl

Partner

Direct: 404.873.8556
Fax: 404.873.8557
Atlanta
171 17th Street NW
Suite 2100
Atlanta, Georgia 30363

Biography

Tycho is a partner in the Corporate & Securities and International Business practices and serves as co-chair of the Global Commerce industry team. He also serves as the leader of the Manufacturing team and the German Business practice. Tycho has been practicing law since 1992 and represents a wide range of clients, both as transactional and ongoing outside general counsel, including family-owned and managed businesses, publicly traded multinationals, and high-net-worth investors.

Tycho focuses his practice on U.S. and cross-border transactions, including representing overseas and U.S. entities in asset acquisitions and dispositions, investments, market entry, joint ventures, site selection, establishment of manufacturing and assembly operations, definition of strategies to mitigate U.S. legal and business risks to the foreign parent entity, shareholders and assets, commercial agreements and licensing transactions, mergers and acquisitions, financial restructuring, private securities offerings (including venture and private equity transactions, PIPEs and debt/equity restructuring), commercial lending, counseling of startup, technology and emerging growth enterprises in legal and business strategy, corporate governance and shareholder rights, tax structuring, organization of sales and distribution arrangements, and family and business succession planning.

Tycho is a frequent public speaker in various fora in the United States and in Europe including: panels and “Sprechtage” organized by Industrie- und Handelskammern (IHKs) in Germany; Kamer van Koophandel in the Netherlands; the Wirtschaftskammer Ősterreich (WKŐ) in Austria; Switzerland Global Enterprise (SGE) in Switzerland; the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce (MACOC); and various other public authorities, industry associations and accounting and law firms in the U.S., Europe, and Turkey; as principal organizer, moderator and speaker on panel events of Harvard Startups in Boston; as a business plan advisor at the 18th annual Harvard Business School Venture Capital Conference in Cambridge, Mass.; at events by the MIT Enterprise Forum; as guest lecturer teaching class sessions on private equity and venture capital finance in finance courses at the Boston University Graduate School of Management in Boston; as a member of the Program Committee of the Harvard Club of New York City; and as a speaker on financial services trade liberalization at the XXXII Annual Meeting of the Inter-American Bar Association in Quito, Ecuador. Tycho has published law review articles in the Yale International Law Journal of the Yale Law School, in the International Tax and Business Law Journal of the University of California at Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law, and in the International Merger Law Journal.

Experience

  • Represented an Austrian manufacturer of solar inverters and welding equipment in legal aspects of a national site selection search, including negotiation of an incentive package valued at about $20 million in connection with its $40 million investment in a North American headquarters and manufacturing facility expected to create about 700 jobs. Further assisted in negotiation of local tax abatements and acquisition of real estate.

  • A Chinese internet portal (a WOFE under Chinese law) and its U.S. affiliates in equity investments by U.S. and Asian funds.

  • A European manufacturer of safety pressure valves for oil refinery and similar markets over the life cycle of its North American joint venture: first in entering into the North American marketing joint venture and acquiring U.S. specification designs to round out its worldwide intellectual property portfolio, then in resolution of periodic issues arising in relations with its U.S. partner, and finally after several years in terminating the joint venture while protecting the manufacturer’s assets and avoiding litigation.

  • A French insurance company and its North American affiliates in a restructuring of its Latin and South American subsidiaries.

  • A German manufacturer of components for the railway engine supply chain and consumer products markets in establishing a manufacturing joint venture for the North American market.

  • A German producer and refurbisher of heavy “consumables” for the production of cold-rolled steel coil in the establishment of U.S. manufacturing facilities, including negotiation of an incentives package providing for local community financing of 70% of the initial value of the U.S. facility without guarantee by the foreign parent. Ultimately assisted the parent in selling the U.S. operation to a competitor on its exit from the North American market.

  • A Latin American energy fund in investment rounds in which the International Finance Corporation (World Bank), Latin America Infrastructure Fund and U.S. utilities invested an aggregate of $40,000,000.

  • A San Francisco-based biotech incubator in connection with the establishment and financing of its sponsored companies and technologies.

  • A U.S. defense and telecommunications contractor in a $40,000,000 secondary offering.

  • A U.S. supplier of performance auto components to high-end automobile manufacturers in its acquisition of a German competitor.

  • A healthcare services provider and its principals in a recapitalization and partial cash-out of the founders involving $28,000,000 in equity and debt financing provided by a Chicago private equity fund and bank lenders.

  • A leading European manufacturer of consumer health care, beauty and diagnostic equipment in negotiating marketing and distribution joint ventures for the North American and Latin American markets.

  • A leading multinational security software, applications and tools company for consumer and business markets in defining a holding company structure to protect core intellectual property assets, drafting a portfolio of worldwide licensing and development agreements (including terms applicable to 100 million world-wide users), and in an acquisition of a “value-added” service provider in the U.S.

  • A significant manufacturer of components for automotive, truck, marine / military and related applications in its acquisition of a manufacturer of similar components for civilian and military aerospace, missile and satellite and manned spacecraft applications and in resolution of post-acquisition claims against the selling shareholders.

  • An Austrian manufacturer of solar inverters and welding equipment in legal aspects of a national site selection search, including negotiation of an incentive package valued at about $20 million in connection with its $40 million investment in a North American headquarters and manufacturing facility expected to create about 700 jobs. Further assisted in negotiation of local tax abatements and acquisition of real estate.

  • An international cellular telecommunications provider and affiliates in a rights offering of Common Stock and Notes with an aggregate principal amount of $180,800,000, issued and registered for resale in exchange for cancellation of $2.3 billion in outstanding notes and other unsecured claims and $140,000,000 to fund the post-restructuring business plan.

  • Dozens of European manufacturing, consumer products, software, and professional services firms with respect to U.S. market entry strategy, including mode of market entry consuming fewest financial and management resources, protecting key home country assets from U.S. legal and business risks, general business set-up, employment, commercial and visa matters.

  • Subordinated lenders in the exchange of $300,000,000 in accrued subordinated debt of a map publishing house for newly issued equity securities.

  • The Taiwan subsidiary of a German provider of testing and measurement services in its acquisition of a measurement and testing services business in Taiwan and the U.S. subsidiary in its acquisition and disposition of various businesses, establishment of joint ventures in Canada and the U.S., and ongoing corporate and commercial issues.

  • The shareholders of a family-owned publishing business in connection with the sale of substantially all of its assets for $20,000,000 in cash and NASDAQ-listed Common Stock of a publishing and media holding company.

  • U.K. and Boston-based hedge funds in PIPE investments in various NASDAQ-listed companies.

  • Various U.S. subsidiaries of foreign-headquartered manufacturers for the automotive supply chain in negotiation of commercial arrangements with the major automotive OEMs, including in connection with insolvency risk of customers and shut-down of U.S. assembly and manufacturing facilities.

  • Various component manufacturers for the wind-turbine, solar, and automotive supply chains in establishing U.S. assembly, manufacturing and distribution operations throughout the United States.

  • Various private equity funds in venture capital investments in technologies throughout the U.S. and Israel.

  • Various public companies in their implementation of rights offerings (e.g., “poison pills).

Credentials

  • Georgetown University Law Center, Juris Doctor
  • Harvard University, Bachelor of Arts - Economics and History,
    magna cum laude
  • State of Georgia 2005
  • State of New York 1993
    • Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Global Commerce Council, Marketing Subcommittee
    • German American Chamber of Commerce (GACC)
    • Wirtschaftskammer Ősterreich (WKŐ), of which he is a “Vertrauensanwalt”
    • Swedish American Chamber of Commerce (SACC), Board of Directors
    • Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce, Southeast USA Chapter Board, Secretary of the Board
    • Georgia Council for International Visitors (GCIV), previously served as a Trustee
  • German ( Fluent )

Recognition

  • “Leads Contest” Winner, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce (MACOC), 2009-11
  • “Individual of the Year” Award Nomination, SunTrust Bank for the Governor’s International Awards, 2011

News & Insights