Kimberly C. Petillo-Décossard
Kimberly C. Petillo-Décossard
“Kimberly is the finest lawyer I've worked with in my career. She is brilliant, approachable and business-minded.” Chambers USA
“Kimberly is extremely knowledgeable and is a tremendous advocate. Her approach is always thoughtful, considered and nuanced. Our company has benefited tremendously from her counsel.” Chambers USA
Biography
Kimberly Petillo-Décossard is Co-Head of White & Case’s Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice and a partner in the Firm’s New York office. She advises public and private companies and their boards on complex mergers and acquisitions, other strategic transactions and corporate governance matters. Kimberly has experience practicing in a variety of industries, including: biotechnology, energy, financial services, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, media, pharmaceutical, retail and technology.
Kimberly is known for her thoughtful, practical and business-oriented approach to advising clients on transformational transactions, governance challenges and critical business decisions across a broad range of industries. Clients have described her as "a brilliant lawyer and an indispensable adviser” and “a real deal-maker."
In addition to her client work, Kimberly is a frequent speaker and author on M&A, corporate governance and leadership topics. She has spoken at leading industry forums, including The Milken Institute’s Global Conference and The Economist General Counsel Summit. She is deeply committed to mentorship and leadership development, and is a founder of Albany Law School’s Women’s Leadership Initiative, a program dedicated to expanding leadership development, mentorship and career opportunities for women entering the legal profession.
Experience
Notable transactions include:
- 1-800-FLOWERS.COM in connection with its:
- Sale of Fannie May Confections Brands, Inc.
- Acquisition of Harry & David and the related acquisition financing.
- Acquisition of PersonalizationMall.com.
- Acquisition of Shari's Berries Brand.
- Acquisition of Vital Choice.
- Acquisition of Things Remembered®.
- Alstom on its entry into a binding agreement to sell its North American conventional rail signaling business to Knorr-Bremse AG, the world's leading manufacturer of braking systems, for approximately €630 million.
- Arch Capital in connection with its acquisition of Watford Holdings.
- Ascend Health Corporation in connection with its acquisition by Universal Health Services, Inc.
- Boston Scally Company in connection with its sale to NewSpring Capital.
- Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. on its strategic minority investment in HQLAX, a leading provider of digital collateral mobility solutions, as part of HQLAX’s Series C-1 funding round.
- BWE, a national commercial and multifamily mortgage banking company, on its agreement to sell a majority interest to Bayview MSR Opportunity (US) Master Fund, L.P., a fund managed by Bayview Asset Management, LLC, and Springmont Capital, the private investment office of the Morgan Family, owners of Morgan Properties.
- Cable One. Inc. in its acquisition or investment in three communications service providers.
- Dyadic International, Inc. in connection with its sale of substantially all of the assets of its Industrial Technology business to DuPont Industrial Biosciences.
- Envigo in its sale to Inotiv, Inc.
- ICON plc in connection with its:
- Acquisition of Aptiv Solutions, Inc.
- Acquisition of Clinical Research Management, Inc.
- Acquisition of the clinical trial services division of Cross Country Healthcare, Inc., which includes ClinForce, LLC and its subsidiaries, Assent Consulting, Inc. and Metropolitan Research Associates, Inc.
- Acquisition of MolecularMD, a Portland, OR-based molecular diagnostics lab.
- Acquisition of PRA Health Sciences, Inc.
- Acquisition of Symphony Clinical Research.
- IDP Holdings, a joint venture of Ironshore Holdings and The Distinguished Programs Group in connection with its acquisition of the hospitality business of National Specialty Underwriters.
- Ironshore Inc. in connection with the acquisition by Fosun International Limited.
- Nexans on its acquisition of Republic Wire, Inc.
- S&P Global in connection with its acquisition of 451 Research, LLC.
- Shutterstock, Inc. in its:
- Acquisition of Envato.
- Acquisition of Backgrid Inc.
- Agreement to merge with Getty Images Holdings.
- Acquisition of GIPHY.
- Acquisition of Pond5.
- Acquisition of Splash News.
- Sir Paul Marshall and Old Queen Street Ventures (OQS Media) on their acquisition of The Spectator magazine.
- Springs Industries in connection with its acquisition by private equity firm Golden Gate Capital.
- The Empire District Electric Company in connection with its acquisition by a subsidiary of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.
- The Shade Store LLC in connection with Great Hill Partners' investment in the Company.
- TransWorld Entertainment in connection with its sale of FYE.
Leading Corporate/M&A lawyer
Chambers USA (New York), 2021 - present
Leading Lawyers in America Lawdragon 500, 2021 - present
Highly Regarded and a Women Leader, IFLR1000, 2015 - present
"America's Top Women Lawyers"
Forbes, 2026
"Dealmaker of the Year" finalist
New York Law Journal, 2025
"Notable M&A Dealmakers"
Crain’s New York, 2025
"Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A"
Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine, 2024
"Dealmaker of the Year"
The American Lawyer, 2022
M&A MVP
Law360, 2021
