Beinus moves from Skadden Arps to Kirkland & Ellis’ LA office

Kirkland & Ellis has announced that Michael Beinus has joined the Firm’s Los Angeles office as a partner in the Tax Practice Group. Mr. Beinus focuses his practice on a range of tax matters, including complex partnership transactions, real estate investment trusts (REITs), debt and equity offerings, restructurings, investment fund formations, and mergers and acquisitions.

“Michael has a great reputation and significant experience with complex tax work in a wide range of transactions,” said Jeffrey C. Hammes, Chairman of Kirkland’s Global Management Executive Committee. “Our Los Angeles corporate practice has experienced steady growth over the last several years, and adding an energetic and talented tax professional like Michael to our team will enhance our full-service transactional offering in Los Angeles as well as the Bay Area.”

Mr. Beinus joins Kirkland from the Los Angeles office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where he was a partner. He has represented various prominent public and private REITs, real estate and private equity funds, and sovereign wealth funds.

“I was impressed by Kirkland’s trajectory, and the Firm’s vibrant, entrepreneurial culture was appealing to me,” said Mr. Beinus. “The Firm has a great platform for my clients and the types of complex, challenging transactions that are most interesting to me, and I’m excited to join the Kirkland team.”

“Michael is the total package; bright, creative and dedicated to great client service,” said Todd F. Maynes, partner in Kirkland’s Tax Practice Group. “He’s an excellent addition to our global tax, private equity, real estate and REIT practices as well as the Los Angeles office. With Michael on board, our Los Angeles transactional practices are ready to rock ‘n’ roll.”

Mr. Beinus, 41, has been listed among the “Bankruptcy Tax Specialists in the Nation’s Major Law Firms” by Turnarounds & Workouts and is included in The Legal 500 U.S. He was a member of the team that was named “Los Angeles – Tax Firm of the Year” at the 2013 International Tax Review Americas Awards.

Prior to joining Kirkland, Michael represented clients in several noteworthy transactions, including:

Nationwide Health Properties, Inc. in its $7.4 billion acquisition by Ventas, Inc., a transaction that created one of the largest publicly traded REITs and the leading health care REIT by equity value;

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. and affiliated entities (MGM) in a prepackaged bankruptcy that was named 2011 “Media, Entertainment or Telecom Deal of the Year” by The M&A Advisor;

Youku Inc. in its $1.1 billion merger with Tudou Holdings Limited, a transaction recognized as 2012 “M&A Deal of the Year” at the China Law & Practice Awards;

Centro Properties Group in several acquisitions, as well as the $9.4 billion sale of its U.S. shopping centers to The Blackstone Group L.P. — the second-largest retail real estate acquisition ever — and its $4 billion debt restructuring, a transaction that won the “2008 Cross-Border Deal of the Year Award” at The M&A Advisor Turnaround Awards;

Thomas Properties Group Inc. in its $1.2 billion merger with Parkway Properties Inc.;

The Ensign Group, Inc. in the spin-off of its health care and real estate businesses into separate, publicly traded companies: The Ensign Group, Inc. and CareTrust REIT, Inc.;

Recruit Co., Ltd. in its acquisition of Indeed Inc.;

OPI Products, Inc. and its owners in the sale of the company to Coty Inc.;

BlackRock Realty Advisors in connection with the formation of and advice to two open-ended private REITs;

Apollo Investment Corporation, an affiliate of private equity firm Apollo Management, L.P., in its $1.5 billion leveraged buyout of Innkeepers USA Trust in a going-private transaction;

QIC Global Real Estate in its joint venture with Forest City Enterprises Inc. to invest in a portfolio of eight regional shopping malls valued at $2.05 billion;

The Walt Disney Company in its $7.4 billion acquisition of Pixar Animation Studios; and

Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group and DLJ Merchant Banking as part of a consortium of buyers in connection with the acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.