Ernie is a Member in Stoll Keenon Ogden’s Louisville office and had been with the firm for more than 40 years. He is Chair of the Mergers & Acquisitions practice and is part of the Securities & Corporate Governance practice group.
Working with clients in Kentucky and throughout the U.S., Ernie focuses on business acquisitions and dispositions, entity structures, and distribution and supply agreements. A highlight of his decades-long career is his contribution in structuring a $238-million transaction involving the sale of California-based wine brands by a major wine and spirits corporation.
For his many legal accomplishments, Ernie is AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®, and he has been listed in Best Lawyers in America® for nearly 20 consecutive years.
Active in the professional community, Ernie has lectured for the Louisville Bar Association and Lorman Education Services. He also serves on the board of directors for Kentucky Opera and Childplace Inc.
Mergers & Acquisitions: Ernie is the leader of a skilled team of attorneys who represent buyers and sellers of businesses in acquisitions and dispositions, mergers and joint ventures, entity formation and structuring, and transactions between business owners.
An example of Ernie’s leadership is this practice group is his involvement in regional roll-up transactions. With this strategy, he helps service businesses sell their practices, while retaining a portion of the sale price in the form of equity in the acquirer’s business.
The businesses Ernie has helped through roll-ups span from medical companies to investment firms. His work includes the negotiation of initial letters of intent, support in providing due diligence materials to the acquirer, review and negotiation of acquisition agreements, review of the acquirer’s organizational documents, review of employment and noncompetition agreements, assistance with third-party consents and closing of transactions.
Securities & Corporate Governance: Stocks are often part of business acquisitions, and Ernie advises clients on structuring deals that include both privately issued and publicly registered securities offerings.
Business Services: From locally owned companies to international corporations, Ernie represents clients involved in a broad range of business activities, particularly in the areas of mergers and acquisitions.
Business Owner Disputes: Ernie regularly advises business owners in navigating disputes relating to dissenters’ rights actions, directors’ and officers’ liabilities, business succession, and a range of other concerns.
Alcohol & Hospitality: Addressing the unique challenges facing the distilling industry is another area where Ernie has substantial expertise. Along with negotiations and documentation associated with mergers and acquisitions, Ernie assists beverage alcohol clients with regulatory compliance licensing issues and provides representation regarding production, warehousing, advertising, labeling and packaging.