Bio

Charles Samkoff is a Managing Director and Head of the Mergers and Acquisitions Group at Cypress Associates. Mr. Samkoff has been in the investment banking industry for over 15 years. From 1998 until joining Cypress in 2004, he was a Managing Director in CIBC World Markets’ Mergers and Acquisitions Group overseeing the Defense/Aerospace, Communications, Consumer Growth and Industrial M&A Groups. Mr. Samkoff joined CIBC World Markets as a senior member of a core team of M&A bankers mandated to build CIBC World Markets’ M&A franchise. During his leadership, CIBC World Markets’ M&A Group ranked as one of the fastest growing M&A practices on Wall Street according Thomson Financial. Mr. Samkoff has advised corporate and institutional clients on numerous mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, hostile defenses and restructurings in a variety of sectors, including working with a number of the largest financial sponsors, with an aggregate value in excess of $65.0 billion. Recent transaction experience includes advising, among others, Cenveo in the acquisition of Nashua Corporation, Lehman Brothers Inc. in its sale of its ownership stake in The Clearing Corporation, COM DEV International in the acquisition of L-3 Communications’ ETI Microwave Business, Dollar General in its sale of the Company to funds affiliated with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., certain institutional investors of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) in connection with the sale of CBOT to CME Holdings, Cenveo in its sale of SupremeX Inc. to SupremeX Income Fund, Burton Capital Management in its successful proxy solicitation involving Cenveo, North Pittsburgh Systems in its successful proxy fight defense against Bull Dog Investors, Case, Pomeroy & Company in its going-private transaction of the Company, Special Committee of NL Industries in connection with the Company’s acquisition of CompX International, Countryside Power Income Fund in connection with its acquisition of Ripon Cogeneration from affiliates of Lightyear Capital, Washington Group International in its sale of its Westinghouse Government Business to Curtiss-Wright, Celeritek in its successful takeover defense of Anaren’s unsolicited offer, JDS Uniphase in its merger with SDL, Comptek Research in its sale of the Company to Northrop Grumman, and Harrah’s Entertainment in its acquisition of Harvey’s Casino Resorts from Colony Capital. With respect to exclusive sale transaction mandates, Mr. Samkoff has managed over 25 large-scaled sellside auction processes. Mr. Samkoff’s representative restructuring transaction experience includes advising the Trustee for the SIPA Liquidation of Lehman Brothers Inc. and the successful reorganizations of LTV Corporation, National Gypsum Company, Environdyne Industries, Burmeister & Wain Holdings (Denmark’s largest independent shipbuilder), Vista Properties, Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, Hexcel Corporation, Caldors Inc., Lone Star Industries, Olympia & York Water Street Finance Corp and Trans World Airlines. Before joining CIBC World Markets, Mr. Samkoff was a Vice President in the Mergers and Acquisition Group at Rothschild Inc. Mr. Samkoff started his banking career at Smith Barney and worked at Goldmark Partners Ltd., a boutique investment banking firm specialized in providing M&A advice to corporate clients in the consumer goods and media and communications industries. Before becoming a banker, Mr. Samkoff was an analyst in the Principal Investment Group of Cushman & Wakefield. Mr. Samkoff received his M.B.A. with Honors from Fordham University and his B.A. in Economics from the University of Denver.