John M. Beahn

Primary Focus & Experience

Mr. Beahn has extensive experience representing clients in national security reviews before CFIUS, the “Team Telecom” executive branch agencies and the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. Mr. Beahn has successfully represented domestic and foreign clients, including purchasers, sellers, investors, private equity sponsors and consortia and other institutional investors in transactions and investments subject to CFIUS and other national security reviews. Mr. Beahn has represented clients in some of the most complex transactions approved by CFIUS, DCSA and Team Telecom and has negotiated several of the most comprehensive mitigation agreements executed with the US government. He also represents clients on related national security issues, including supply chain matters, risk mitigation and compliance monitoring. 

Recognition & Accomplishments

Mr. Beahn is consistently selected for inclusion in Chambers USA, Chambers Global and Legal 500. His recent Chambers global ranking for International Trade: CFIUS included client commentary stating, “He is very detailed and knows the industry very well,” and “He has strong knowledge of CFIUS and government expectations” and that “He gives practical advice and he understands the field, and all of the complexities that surround it, extremely well.” In 2016, Mr. Beahn was recognized as a “Rising Star” for Technology, Media and Telecommunications by Euromoney’s Legal Media Group. 

Mr. Beahn is a frequent speaker at domestic and international CFIUS and global FDI conferences.

Mr. Beahn received his J.D. from Catholic University of America, magna cum laude, and his B.A. from Boston College.

Throughout his career and while at other international law firms, Mr. Beahn has worked on the following transactions, including representation of:

• Nokia Corporation in its:
  • $16.6 billion acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent;
  • $3 billion sale of its HERE digital mapping unit to a German consortium including AUDI AG, BMW Group and Daimler AG; and
  • joint venture with China Huaxin Post and Telecommunications Economy Development Centre.

• T-Mobile US in its:
  • $59 billion merger with Sprint Corporation;
  • $4.4 billion pending acquisition of the wireless operations and customers of UScellular;
  • $1.35 billion acquisition of Mint Mobile; and
  • $1 billion pending joint venture with EQT to acquire Lumos Networks.

• Hitachi Ltd. in its $9.6 billion acquisition of GlobalLogic Inc.
• Maxar Technologies in its $6.4 billion acquisition by affiliates of private equity firm Advent International, alongside minority investor British Columbia Investment Management Corporation.
• DRS Technologies in its $5 billion acquisition by Finmeccanica S.p.A.; and $150 million acquisition of Daylight Solutions.
• Sprint Nextel Corporation in its:
  • $21.6 billion sale of a 78 percent stake to Softbank Corporation, the largest-ever overseas acquisition by a Japanese company (named as the “Global M&A Deal of the Year: Grand Prize” by The American Lawyer); and its acquisition of the shares of Clearwire Corporation it does not already own. Both transactions were recognized in the Corporate & Commercial category in the Financial Times’ 2013 US “Innovative Lawyers” report;
  • $2.2 billion sale and leaseback of certain network assets;
  • $650 million proposed joint venture with Open Mobile in Puerto Rico;
  • $590 million proposed but abandoned joint venture with i-wireless.

• Oil Search Limited in its $21 billion business combination with Santos Limited.
• Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Ltd. in its $1 billion acquisition of Standard Aero Acquisition Holdings, Inc.; and $766 million acquisition of Piedmont/Hawthorne Holdings, Inc.
• Alcatel in its $13.4 billion merger of equals with Lucent Technologies Inc.
• Affiliates of Cerberus Capital Management in the carveout acquisition of the hypersonic and defense test systems business units from aerospace manufacturer TransDigm Group Inc. 
• Global Container Terminals Inc. on the sale of its port terminal assets to CMA CGM Group.
• TELUS International in its $935 million acquisition of Lionbridge AI.
• Global Crossing in its sale to Singapore Technologies Telemedia Pte. Ltd.
• Nokia Siemens Networks in its proposed $650 million acquisition of the CDMA and LTE assets of Nortel Networks Corporation.
• Mail.ru (along with Russian investor Digital Sky Technologies) in its acquisition of ICQ from AOL.
• Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company (“Dussur”) in connection with its participation in the $510 million purchase of the Clean Technologies business of DuPont de Nemours, Inc.
• Magris Resources in its $223 acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Imerys Talc America Inc., Imerys Talc Vermont Inc. and Imerys Talc Canada Inc.
• Boston Scientific Corporation in its $800 million sale of its BTG Specialty Pharmaceuticals unit to SERB SAS and Stark International Lux S.A.R.L.
• PSA International Pte Ltd in its acquisition of BDP International, a provider of global integrated supply chain, transportation and logistics solutions.
• The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. in its $1.6 billion sale of a 28 percent stake in the London Stock Exchange Group plc to Borse Dubai Limited.
• NICE Ltd. in connection with its $940 million acquisition of inContact, Inc.
• Altice USA Inc. in its sale of a 49.99 percent of its LightPath fiber enterprise business to Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners.
• EMC Corporation in its contribution of its Iomega network attached storage product division to a joint venture with Lenovo Group Ltd.
• Tumbleweed Communications Corp. in its $150 million acquisition by Axway, Inc.