Old and Prosperous Pals
February 5, 2007, The Daily Deal
by Dan Slater and Amy Wu

The recent announcement of the $1.8 billion sale of First Republic Bank to Merrill Lynch & Co. was a tremendous business success for White & Case's Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. It was also an example of how a long-running relationship can turn into a business deal for one White & Case lawyer.

Martin Gibbs, an M&A partner at White & Case in New York, has been a First Republic board member for more than 20 years.

"It's the American dream," says Gibbs of the merger. He also said that he is ecstatic to see his old friend, First Republic's founder and CEO, James Herbert, whom he has known for 40 years, sell his San Francisco-based bank at a 43 percent premium to its pre-deal stock price.

Since Gibbs is a member of the board, he could not work directly on the deal. Instead, Daniel Dufner, Jr., also an M&A partner at White & Case in New York who advised on WellPoint, Inc.'s $6.5 billion acquisition of Wellchoice, Inc., led the deal.