Cooley has won the top mandate for messaging app company Snap as it nears a listing on the US stock market.
The firm’s co-head of capital markets David Peinsipp is acting for the company from San Francisco, alongside Palo Alto securities and corporate partner Eric Jensen.
Cooley partner Seth Gottlieb is also acting in California. He specialises in representing entrepreneurs and high growth companies from inception through to IPO.
In the documents, filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Cooley is named as Snap’s counsel in connection with the offering, with the firm expected to pass on certain matters concerning US federal law.
Munger Tolles & Olsen is also named as providing certain legal services to Snap, with the app paying the firm a total of $293,908 during 2016. The father of Snap CEO Evan Spiegel is a partner at Munges – although litigation partner John Spiegel has “not personally provided any material legal services” to the company.
Goodwin Procter has won the top mandate for the underwriters, with Goodwin technology chair Anthony McCusker leading the team alongside partners An-Yen Hu and Richard Kline. All are based in Silicon Valley.
Snap’s legal team is led by general counsel Chris Handman, who has been in the role since 2014. Prior to moving in-house, Handman was a partner in the litigation group at Hogan Lovells in Washington DC.
Snap is understood to be looking to raise $3bn, which would be one of the largest tech listings in the US. The listing values the company at $25bn.
At the start of this year, the company opened its first office outside the US in London. Comic Relief legal boss David Lewis joined as Snap’s first non-US legal counsel and featured in The Lawyer’s Hot 100 this year.
Background to the deal
If the IPO goes ahead, Snap’s listing could be one of the largest tech IPOs in recent years.
Other bumper tech IPOs include Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. The company landed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett winning the top mandate. Sullivan & Cromwell advised the banks.
Simpson Thacher further led on Facebook’s IPO in 2012, alongside Fenwick & West. Fellow social media website Twitter meanwhile listed in 2013, turning to Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati for advice.
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