Maureen Easton is a partner and business lawyer with 麻豆直播 & Lardner LLP. She has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions and private equity and venture capital transactions in a variety of industries including insurance, manufacturing, and financial technologies. Maureen also advises companies in connection with general corporate and governance matters. She works as her clients鈥 trusted partner to advance their business interests and avoid potential problems through active listening, creative negotiation, and precise drafting of documents.聽 She is a member of the Transactions and Insurance Practice Groups; the Manufacturing and Innovative Technology 麻豆直播; and the Food & Beverage Industry Team, where she leads the firm鈥檚 Craft Beer practice.
Maureen鈥檚 insurance industry experience includes representation of life and property/casualty insurers in mergers and acquisitions; venture capital investments by insurers in insurtech and fintech companies; mutual insurance holding company mergers and conversions; governance advice; new company formation; and strategic partnership transactions.
Representative Experience
- Represented TruStage Ventures in its investment transaction of Happy Money, a leading platform for unsecured lending in partnership with credit unions
- Represented TruStage in its sale of their Digital Storefront business (“Digital Storefront” or “DSF”) to Demopolis Equity Partners, a technology-focused, growth-oriented investment firm
- Represented American Family Insurance in its $1.7B sale of The General庐 non-standard auto insurance companies to Sentry Insurance
- Represented CUNA Mutual Group, now known as TruStage in its $1.35B acquisition of Assurant鈥檚 global preneed business
- Represent CUNA Mutual Group, now known as TruStage in its venture capital investments, particularly in the financial technology industry
- Represented National Guardian Life Insurance Company in its acquisition of Everplans, a digital life and estate planning company
- Represented CUNA Mutual Group, now known as TruStage in its acquisition of ForeverCar and its mechanical repair coverage digital platform and marketing capabilities
- Represented Teel Plastics in its recapitalization with Morgenthaler Private Equity
- Represented National Guardian Life Insurance Company in its strategic partnership with Insurance Capital Group to jointly develop and launch a national dental and vision insurance business
- Represented American Family Insurance in its $1B acquisition of Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance
- Represented American Family Insurance in its mutual holding company merger with Main Street America Group
- Represented American Family Mutual Insurance Company in its conversion to a mutual holding company structure
- Represented American Family Insurance in its $660 million acquisition of Homesite Group, Inc. and its various insurance subsidiaries
- Represented American Family Insurance in its $239 million acquisition of PGC Holdings Corp. and its various insurance subsidiaries
Awards and Recognition
- Named to BTI Consulting鈥s M&A Client Service All-Stars list (2021)
- Selected by Business Magazine鈥s 鈥40 Under 40鈥 Up-and-Coming Business Leaders in the greater Madison area (2017)
Affiliations
- Member, Audit Committee and Governance Committee, Board of Directors of Wisconsin Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company
- Member, Board of Directors, Business Law Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin
- Member, United Way of Dane County Tocqueville Cabinet
Presentations and Publications
- Co-author, Insurance M&A Activity Rebounds, ThinkAdvisor (2021)
- Quoted, Trov鈥檚 Evolution: From Barba Streisand to Embedded Insurance, Carrier Management (2021)
- Quoted, 麻豆直播 & Lardner to add craft beer practice group, Milwaukee Business Journal (2016)
- Quoted, Executive Q&A: Maureen Easton navigates the legalities of brewing, Wisconsin State Journal (2016)
麻豆直播 Represents American Family Insurance in $1.7 Billion Sale of The General to Sentry Insurance
麻豆直播 & Lardner LLP served as legal advisor to American Family Insurance in its signing of a definitive agreement with Sentry Insurance to sell The General, a subsidiary of American Family Insurance based in Nashville, TN.
麻豆直播 Represents SixSibs Capital in Growth Equity Investment in Green Light Distribution
麻豆直播 & Lardner LLP recently advised SixSibs Capital in a minority growth equity investment in Green Light Distribution, a leading distributor of wine and craft spirits brands based in Dallas, Texas.
麻豆直播 Successfully Represents City Brewing Company and Wisconsin Brewing Company in Petition to Affirm Contract Manufacturing of Spirits in Wisconsin
On May 11, 2023, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue issued a declaratory ruling concluding that contract manufacturing (co-packing) and alternating proprietorship arrangements between properly permitted parties are legal in the State of Wisconsin.
麻豆直播 Serves as Legal Adviser to A1 Garage in Growth Capital Partnership with Cortec Group
麻豆直播 & Lardner LLP served as legal adviser to A1 Garage Door Service Holdings, Inc. (A1), a market leader in the direct-to-consumer residential repair and replacement garage door services industry, in its growth capital partnership with an affiliated investment group led by Cortec Group Fund VII, L.P., an investment portfolio held by Cortec Group.
麻豆直播 Represents TRICOR Insurance in Strategic Investment from J.C. Flowers
麻豆直播 & Lardner LLP represented TRICOR Insurance, a leading nationwide business insurance, employee benefits, personal insurance, and individual life and health independent insurance agency, in a strategic investment from J.C. Flowers & Co., LLC (鈥淛.C. Flowers鈥), a leading private investment firm dedicated to investing globally in the financial services industry.
Ross and Easton Author ThinkAdvisor Article on Insurance M&A
Partners Anne Ross and Maureen Easton authored an article titled, 鈥淚nsurance M&A Activity Rebounds,鈥 which published in ThinkAdvisor.