Mark Cassanego - Coblentz Law

Details

P 415.293.6427

F 415.989.1663

mcassanego@coblentzlaw.com

Education

J.D.

University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (1979)
B.S., summa cum laude,

Santa Clara University (1976)

Practices

Corporate

For over 40 years, Mark Cassanego has provided legal advice to privately owned businesses and business owners, ranging from venture-backed to family-owned entities. His work with clients spans their entire growth cycle, from start-up phase to exit strategies. Mark has handled numerous M&A transactions during his career, and is equally adept at negotiating and documenting smaller deals as well as larger, complex transactions, whether working alongside investment bankers or as the client’s principal representative of its negotiating team. While Mark represents clients across industries, he has a particular focus on the food industry.

Mark often serves as general counsel for clients, directly handling many legal matters, including corporate governance responsibilities. In this role, he often acts as an advisor to the board of directors and the business’s management team. He oversees the handling of specialized areas such as real estate, employment, and dispute resolution matters.

With each client, Mark builds an in-depth understanding of the business operations, strategic growth plans, and industry issues so he can anticipate issues and deliver timely, pragmatic solutions. He has forged many multi-decade relationships with clients and their companies. Clients rely on his counsel in areas ranging from complex financial analysis and strategic initiatives to tax-efficient structuring opportunities.

Mark is active in his community and has served on the boards and committees of national and local nonprofit organizations. He is a member and former co-chair of the San Mateo County Bar Association’s Business Law Section. He is also a board member of the Oakwood Community of the Religious of the Sacred Heart, former finance committee member of the United States Province of the Religious of the Sacred Heart, former counsel and board member of the Better Business Bureau, Inc., former president of PARCA, member and former board director of Santa Clara University’s Family Business Forum, former president of St. Charles Parish Council, and former president of the St. Charles School Board.

Mark earned his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 1979. He received his B.S., summa cum laude, from Santa Clara University in 1976.

Served as general counsel (since the client company’s inception) to an international food manufacturing company with both food service and retail distribution. Advised on all aspects of the company’s business, from acquisitions and contract negotiations to branding and employment matters.*
Represented a multi-brand independent supermarket chain in multiple acquisitions and financings; served as general counsel, leading the firm’s teams in areas relating to real estate, finance, and litigation.*
Represented a third-party logistics/distribution client in the sale and lease of its assets, including one million square feet of warehousing space in multiple locations, to a global corporation serving the high technology, food and beverage, and consumer packaged goods sectors.*
Represented a privately held horticultural company in a complex, multi-state sale of three business divisions to three different buyers. The transaction included the sale of a California wholesale nursery division to the seller’s largest competitor, as well as the transfer of a Texas-based division to a management buyout firm.*
Represented medical software company Medsleuth in its acquisition by kidney care company DaVita. Medsleuth offered software solutions designed to improve the efficiency of matching kidney and liver transplant recipients with donors and to provide data to transplant centers to optimize the transplant process.*
Represented Steven Engineering in its acquisition by Graybar. Headquartered in South San Francisco, California, Steven Engineering provided advanced automation, motion control, and pneumatic solutions to a wide range of market segments. Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, Graybar is a leading distributor of electrical, communications, and data networking products and a provider of related supply chain management and logistics services.*
Represented Masterwork Electronics in its acquisition by private equity firm Hidden Harbor Capital Partners. Masterwork was a top manufacturer of printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA) for leading global companies. With California-based corporate leadership and state-of-the-art production facilities in Mexicali, Mexico, Masterwork built value by nearshoring high-quality and low-cost manufacturing solutions.*
Represented the shareholders of PAQ, Inc., an independent Food 4 Less licensee that operates 20+ supermarkets in Central and Northern California, in the sale of their shares to a newly created employee-owned stock ownership plan (ESOP). By selling 100% of the “S” corporation stock to an ESOP, the company became federal and state income tax-free, increasing cash flow dramatically and allowing the company to service debt and invest in growing its business.*
Represented Hawaii-based QSI, Inc. in its sale to Tokyo-based Don Quijote Group. QSI, Inc. was the operator of 24 Times, Big Save, and former Star supermarkets throughout the Hawaiian Islands.*

*Denotes experience prior to joining Coblentz.