Dentons, the world’s largest law firm, announces today that its Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy (RIB) team has won 2021 Turnaround Atlas Awards for transactions in two categories. Global M&A Network’s Turnaround Atlas Awards are independently governed awards honoring the best value-creating transactions, outstanding firms, professionals and leaders from the global restructuring, insolvency and distressed investing communities.

The first category, Special Situations M&A Deal, was awarded to Dentons for representing Verity Health Systems of California in the $350 million sale of St. Francis Medical Center to Prime Healthcare. Partners Sam Maizel and Tania Moyron led this transaction—Maizel is the National Chair of Dentons US Distressed Health Care Practice and Moyron is Co-Global Head from the US Region of Dentons’ RIB Group. This sale was significant because it required successful litigation against the California Attorney General (“AG”), limiting the powers of the AG over the sale of nonprofit hospitals, and against the California Medicaid Program over the transfer of the Medicaid provider agreement (an essential element in the transfer of any hospital), and was achieved on a remarkably short timeline (even by bankruptcy standards) during a pandemic, after a sale of all four facilities failed to close at the end of 2020.

In the second category, Cross-Border Special Situation M&A Deal, Dentons was awarded for representing RSG Group GmbH, a German company, in its acquisition of the iconic Gold’s Gym assets, including 60 company owned centers and 600 franchise owned centers, for $100 million, from GGI Holdings in a chapter 11 auction in Dallas, Texas. Partners Sam Maizel and Glenn Ballard and senior managing associate Casey Doherty led this transaction.

Finally, Dentons was awarded the Mid-Market Restructuring Firm of the Year Award for the body of its work on these two cases and others in 2020.

Dentons’ award-winning RIB group offers a deep bench, with more than 30 dedicated practitioners, and coast-to-coast coverage across 23 office locations in the US. The practice offers extensive skill and experience across all sectors, being particularly known for its work in finance, health care, energy, insurance and pensions.