Iliana Ongun

Primary Focus & Experience

Ms. Ongun advises both public and private companies in a wide range of industries in connection with mergers and acquisitions, including cross-border and domestic acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures, private equity transactions and spin-offs. Ms. Ongun also advises companies and sponsors with respect to shareholder activism, takeover defense strategies and other corporate governance matters. 

Some of Ms. Ongun’s recent transactions include the representation of:

• United States Steel Corporation in its publicly announced strategic alternatives review process.
• Pagaya Technologies Ltd., an Israeli global technology company, in its acquisition of Darwin Homes, a leading proptech platform.
• ABB Inc., a technology leader in electrification and automation, on the sale of its Power Conversion division, Lineage Power Holdings Inc. for $505 million.
• Alion Science and Technology in its acquisition by Huntington Ingalls Industries for $1.65 billion.
• Hudson Executive Investment Corp. in connection with its $1.4 billion combination with Talkspace, a digital and virtual behavioral healthcare company.
• Cerberus Telecom Acquisition Corp. in its merger with KORE Wireless Group, Inc., a leader in Internet of Things solutions and connectivity.
• United States Steel Corporation in its $2 billion multiphase acquisition of Big River Steel, a cutting-edge, tech-enabled manufacturing company.

Recognition & Accomplishments

Ms. Ongun serves as Chair of the New York City Bar Committee on Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Control Contests. Ms. Ongun is a frequent speaker at professional conferences and has written articles in numerous professional publications on topics relating to mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance.

In 2024, Ms. Ongun was selected to Bloomberg Law’s “They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40”, which acknowledges the next generation of legal leaders. She was also selected as a 2024 finalist for "Dealmaker of the Year" by The New York Law Journal. She has been repeatedly named a “Rising Star” by both Super Lawyers magazine and the New York Law Journal.  Additionally, Ms. Ongun was identified as one of the "Top Women Attorneys" in the New York Metro area by The American Registry (2022).

Ms. Ongun is an adjunct professor at New York Law School, where she teaches a course on M&A.

Recent Publications

• 4 Key Takeaways From Del. Corporation Law Changes, in Law360, September 1, 2022.
• ESG Considerations in Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance, in the International Comparative Legal Guide: Environmental, Social & Governance Law 2022, Second Edition.
• SPACs Fuel Hot M&A and IPO Markets – Will SEC Cool the Fire? Milbank General Counsel Blog, May 3, 2021.
• The Corporate Governance Review, U.S. Chapter, Law Business Research, London, Ninth ed. 2019 (Eighth ed. 2018, Seventh ed. 2017, Sixth ed. 2016, Fifth ed. 2015).
• ISS Announces Final 2018 Voting Policies, in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, November 19, 2017.
• SEC Provides Guidance on Shareholder Proposals, in Columbia Law School’s Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets, November 6, 2017.
• ISS Announces Final 2016 Voting Policies, in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, November 24, 2015.