Fenwick Represents Lessen in $950 Million Acquisition of SMS Assist

Fenwick represented Lessen, a tech-enabled, end-to-end solution for outsourced real estate property services, in its $950 million acquisition of SMS Assist, a facilities maintenance technology company. The transaction consists of both cash and stock, with Lessen raising approximately $500 million in combined new debt and equity, in addition to SMS Assist stockholders exchanging a portion of SMS stock for Lessen stock, resulting in an increased combined company valuation of over $2 billion in enterprise value.

By merging the complementary strengths of both companies, Lessen will continue to tackle real estate’s pain points, providing its customers with a scalable, tech-enabled, enterprise solution for commercial and residential services. The two companies will serve a national footprint of approximately 250,000 residential and commercial properties and facilitate approximately 2.5 million repair and maintenance orders per year – in tandem with bolstering a broader range of property services. More information can be obtained from the announcement.

The Fenwick transaction team included corporate partners Kris Withrow and Steven Levine, associates Jeff Zhang, Jiarui Li, Summer Yin, Min Ju Park, Christina Kwak, Jordan Beals and David Heath and secondee Riva Bhalla; executive compensation and employee benefits partner Gerald Audant, counsel Jane Piehler and associates Jonathan Stephenson and Elizabeth Fu; technology transactions partner Ralph Pais, counsel Susanne Petersen and associate Aaron Dunn; debt financing partners Eric Shedlosky and Aman Singh and associates Eric Cheng and Arielle Trapp; privacy and cybersecurity counsel Ana Razmazma and associate Alyona Eidinger; antitrust partner Steve Albertson and associates Elizabeth Suarez and Kaylynn Moss; and tax partner Will Skinner and associates Alexis Maguina and Jenna Grove.