Capital Markets

Leveraging our sophisticated technical, market and legal experience to help clients effectively and efficiently manage complex transactions and get the deal done.

Key Contacts

Meet Our Team

Areas of Focus

Expand All Collapse All

Initial Public Offerings: A Practical Guide to Going Public

Initial Public Offerings: “A Practical Guide to Going Public” is the ultimate roadmap to the IPO process. Hailed by executives, entrepreneurs, general counsel, investment bankers and venture capitalists alike as the definitive IPO guide, this comprehensive resource charts every twist and turn on the IPO journey and provides battle-tested, real-world advice on how to navigate the roadblocks.

2024 IPO, Venture Capital and M&A Reports

Publication

Experience

  • Initial Public Offerings – Issuers

    Representing issuers, including Acacia Communications, Aileron Therapeutics, Akouos, Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Arsanis, Arvinas, Blue Apron, Casa Systems, Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Decibel Therapeutics, Dyne Therapeutics, EverQuote, Fulcrum Therapeutics, Generation Bio, IMARA, Inozyme Pharma, Kala Pharmaceuticals, Pandion Therapeutics, Schrödinger, Stealth BioTherapeutics, Syros Pharmaceuticals, Translate Bio and Trevi Therapeutics, in initial public offerings.

  • Initial Public Offerings – Underwriters

    Representing underwriters in initial public offerings, including those of Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Arcellx, CinCor Pharma, Crescera Capital Acquisition Corp., Icosavax, Ikena Oncology, Rallybio and Theseus Pharmaceuticals.
  • Follow-On Public Offerings and PIPE Placements

    Representing companies, including Agios Pharmaceuticals, Akebia Therapeutics, Apellis Pharmaceuticals, AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Casella Waste Systems, Catabasis Pharmaceuticals, Conformis, Curis, Danaher, Editas Medicine, Epizyme, Farmer Mac, Franklin Street Properties, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Iterum Therapeutics, Kala Pharmaceuticals, Nightstar Therapeutics, Ocular Therapeutix, PAR Technology, Sage Therapeutics, Solid Biosciences, Spark Therapeutics, State Street, Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals  and WEX, in follow-on public offerings and PIPE placements of common and preferred stock.
  • SPACS (Special Purpose Acquisition Companies)

    Representing private companies in SPAC business combinations, as well as SPACs and their sponsors in IPOs and business combinations. We also represent private equity, venture capital, family offices and other investors in PIPEs and other SPAC-related investments, and investment banks acting as underwriters, financial advisors and placement agents in SPAC transactions. Our SPAC practice draws on our strengths in capital markets and M&A, and our extensive experience working with growth companies in industry sectors such as healthcare and life sciences, technology, fintech, cleantech, media and entertainment, aviation, energy and others. SPAC transactions in which we have been involved on behalf of our clients have included, among others, Thoma Bravo Advantage/ironSource, Longview Acquisition/Butterfly Network, Vesper Acquisition/Hydrafacial, Falcon Capital/Sharecare and HighCape/Quantum SI.
  • Convertible Notes and Other Equity-Linked Securities

    Representing issuers, including Akamai Technologies, Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Danaher, Fortive, Karyopharm Therapeutics, MicroStrategy,  PTC Therapeutics and TechTarget in Rule 144A placements and public offerings of convertible notes and other equity-linked securities.
  • Investment Grade and High-Yield Notes

    Representing issuers, including Analog Devices, Danaher, Discovery, Emergent BioSolutions, Entegris, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Medtronic, PerkinElmer, State Street, S&P Global, Thermo Fisher Scientific and WEX, in Rule 144A placements and public offerings of investment grade and high-yield notes.

Recognition

  • Award Text

    Recognized Among the Best for Capital Markets

    Chambers USA

    2020-2024

  • Award Text

    Named a First-Tier National Firm for Securities/Capital Markets Law

    U.S. News - Best Lawyers®

    2020-2024

  • Award Text

    Recognized as a Leading Firm for Capital Markets 

    The Legal 500 United States

    2020-2024

  • Chambers USA Guide – Ranked WilmerHale in Massachusetts for Capital Markets for the last 5 years, in Massachusetts for Corporate/M&A for the last 20 years, and in Washington DC for Corporate/M&A & Private Equity for the last 18 years.
  • Chambers Global – Recognized 25 WilmerHale lawyers and 30 practice areas in their 2023 edition.
  • Best Lawyers in America – Recognized 121 WilmerHale partners for 2024, naming 9 as “Lawyers of the Year.”
  • U.S. News - Best Lawyers® – Recognized in the 2010–2024 “Best Law Firms” rankings. In the 2024 rankings, our corporate, mergers and acquisitions, and venture capital law practices were ranked in the first tier nationally and in Boston, and our corporate law practice was also ranked in the first tier in Colorado, New York and Washington DC. Our securities/capital markets law practice was ranked in the first tier nationally and in Washington DC. Our technology law practice was also ranked in the first tier in Boston.
  • The Legal 500 United States– Regularly recognizes WilmerHale’s Capital Markets practice among top law firms for our work in the areas of Debt Offerings—Advice to Issuers, Equity Offerings—Advice to Issuers, Equity Offerings—Advice to Managers, most recently in 2024.
  • LMG Life Sciences – Named WilmerHale and 21 of its lawyers among the nation’s leading life sciences practitioners for the 11th consecutive year. LMG has also ranked the firm in its 2012–2023 editions in corporate, licensing and collaboration, M&A, venture capital and several other practice areas, and named many WilmerHale lawyers “life sciences stars.”
  • Law360 – Named WilmerHale a Technology Practice Group of the Year in 2022, making it the fourth year the firm has received this recognition. This award recognizes the firm’s key role in the significant matters that made headlines and changed the legal landscape within the past year. 
  • Super Lawyers – Our corporate lawyers are consistently recognized as “Super Lawyers” and “Rising Stars” in multiple jurisdictions.

Insights & News

Notice

Unless you are an existing client, before communicating with WilmerHale by e-mail (or otherwise), please read the Disclaimer referenced by this link.(The Disclaimer is also accessible from the opening of this website). As noted therein, until you have received from us a written statement that we represent you in a particular manner (an "engagement letter") you should not send to us any confidential information about any such matter. After we have undertaken representation of you concerning a matter, you will be our client, and we may thereafter exchange confidential information freely.

Thank you for your interest in WilmerHale.