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William Bernat, Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP Photo

William J. Bernat

Deputy Chair, Corporate and Transactions Department; Co-Chair, Emerging Companies Group; Co-Lead, Food and Beverage Group / Boston

Overview

William J. Bernat is the deputy chair of Nutter’s Corporate and Transactions Department. He co-chairs the firm's Emerging Companies Group and co-leads the firm's Food and Beverage group. Clients routinely rely on Will to help them navigate through private equity, venture capital, and angel financing transactions, as well as mergers and acquisitions, commercial lending transactions, and other corporate governance issues.

Tech, life sciences, consumer/retail, and food & beverage companies look to Will for assistance throughout their entire lifespans, from initial planning and formation to operations and exit, including formulating the strategy to realize their business goals and to build the foundation necessary to secure third party investment. Investors in emerging growth companies seek Will’s counsel when structuring their financing transactions. Will has counseled clients in angel and venture backed financings representing an aggregate of over $500 million in investment in local early stage companies.

Banks and other financial institutions rely on Will’s expertise when structuring asset-based and other commercial lending transactions with both emerging and entrepreneurial companies and more mature borrowers. Will has guided both lenders and borrowers through transactions representing aggregate commitments in excess of $1 billion.

Notable Experience and Client Impact

General Corporate/Emerging Companies

  • Advised RIND, New York-based makers of functional and sustainable whole fruit snacks, in connection with its closing of a $6.1 million Series A capital raise led by Valor Siren Ventures (VSV), along with a follow-on investment from Melitas Ventures.
  • Advised Clean Crop Technologies, Inc., the developer of next generation solutions for crop loss and food safety, in connection with its $3 million seed stage investment round. Also advised Clean Crop in connection with its $6 million series A financing.
  • Advised Hälsa Foods, the maker of the first and only 100% clean and organic oat milk yogurt, in connection with its financing round led by Gary Hirshberg, co-founder and former long-time CEO and chairman of Stonyfield Organic.
  • Advised Cali’flour Foods, the developer and manufacturer of low-carb, gluten-free cauliflower products, in a Series A financing round led by Sunrise Strategic Partners, with participation from CircleUp Growth Partners.
  • Advised Demers Food Group Inc. in a round of financing led by Arbel Growth Partners LP, the private equity firm led by Carl Lee, the former president and CEO of Snyder’s Lance, Inc.
  • Advised Wandering Bear, Inc., a cold brew coffee maker, in a $8 million Series A equity round of financing, a $5 million funding round, and a $1 million revolving line of credit facility from Assembled Brands Capital Funding, LLC.
  • Served as transactional and corporate counsel to an artwork rental and rotation startup on multiple financing rounds.
  • Acted as corporate counsel for a leading sunglasses producer in the United States, including store-within-store partnerships.
  • Played a key role in expanding the original fantasy sports-game retailer beyond board-game enthusiasts to online and mobile users through joint ventures and co-promotion arrangements with sports media outlets and developers.
  • Served as corporate and fundraising counsel to an all-natural snack food company, protein-based beer company, and organic fitness beverage company.
  • Advised a nationally recognized full-service mobile app development company in multiple transactions.

M&A

  • Represented Kalahari Snacks, the #2 biltong brand in the U.S., in its acquisition by Stryve Foods LLC, an emerging healthy snacking platform and the leading air-dried meat snack company in the country.
  • Represented UrSure, Inc., an HIV medication adherence diagnostics company, in connection with its acquisition by OraSure Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSUR), a leader in point of care diagnostic tests and specimen collection and stabilization devices, and microbiome laboratory and analytical services.
  • Represented Hans Kissle Company, LLC in its $108 million acquisition by Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
  • Represented the acquirer in the purchase and license of certain assets related to an overnight oats brand from a multinational food and beverage corporation.
  • Represented Kombrewcha (the first alcoholic Kombucha) in its sale to a strategic acquirer.
  • Advised on a $40 million joint venture between a photoelectric sheeting company and a commercial solar panel producer.
  • Represented a co-working space provider, including multiple partnerships and joint ventures with a national retailer.
  • Advised on the sale of a privately-held wide format digital printing company to a strategic buyer.
  • Provided counsel on the acquisition of a medical device coating and surface treatment business by a private biomedical company for a combination of cash and equity.
  • Advised on the acquisition of a UK-based asset management risk model business by a privately-held strategic buyer.
  • Advised on the sale of a venture-backed digital photography asset management software company to a privately-held strategic buyer.
  • Provided counsel on the sale of a dietary supplement and pharmaceuticals business to a privately-held strategic buyer.
  • Advised on the sale of an educational research, marketing, and branding business to a publicly traded media and marketing company.
  • Advised on the acquisition of Golf Digest-rated “Best Places to Play” golf course on Cape Cod by private buyers.

Commercial Finance

  • Represented a syndicate of five of the largest U.S. banks in connection with a $500+ million loan facility to a diversified real estate investment/CMBS, multi-family mortgage and LIHTC syndication company.

A leader in Boston’s innovation and startup community, Will serves on the partners’ committee of, and is a frequent lecturer and panel member at, The Capital Network, a nonprofit organization that brings together Boston’s largest active community of investors and startup experts to provide practical, hands-on education and personalized mentoring to young entrepreneurs to help them navigate the fundraising process. In addition, Will serves as a mentor and holds regular office hours at MassChallenge, a startup accelerator, and Golden Seeds, one of the nation’s most active early-stage investment firms.

Will frequently serves as a lecturer and guest speaker at the MIT Enterprise Forum, the Babson Entrepreneurship Forum, and Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, where he presents on topics such as the fundamentals of term sheets and capitalization tables, and general corporate finance and formation issues.

Experience

Experience

  • RIND Snacks

    Nutter served as legal counsel to RIND, New York-based makers of functional and sustainable whole fruit snacks, in connection with its closing of a $6.1 million Series A capital raise led by Valor Siren Ventures (VSV), an early-stage investor in sustainability, food, food technology, retail, and retail technology, along with a follow-on investment from Melitas Ventures.

  • Clean Crop Technologies, Inc.

    Nutter served as legal counsel to Clean Crop Technologies, Inc. in connection with its $3 million seed stage investment round.

  • UrSure, Inc.

    Nutter served as legal counsel to UrSure, Inc., an HIV medication adherence diagnostics company, in connection with its acquisition by OraSure Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSUR), a leader in point of care diagnostic tests and specimen collection and stabilization devices, and microbiome laboratory and analytical services.

  • Wandering Bear, Inc.

    Nutter served as legal counsel to Wandering Bear, Inc., a cold brew coffee maker, in connection with a $1 million revolving line of credit facility from Assembled Brands Capital Funding, LLC.

  • Hälsa Foods

    Nutter served as sole legal advisor to Hälsa Foods, the maker of the first and only 100% clean and organic oat milk yogurt, in connection with its recently announced financing round led by Gary Hirshberg, co-founder and former long-time CEO and chairman of Stonyfield Organic.

  • Cali’flour Foods

    Nutter advised Cali’flour Foods, the developer and manufacturer of low-carb, gluten-free cauliflower products, in a Series A financing round led by Sunrise Strategic Partners, with participation from CircleUp Growth Partners.

  • Acquirer in the food and beverage industry

    Nutter represented the acquirer in the purchase and license of certain assets related to an overnight oats brand from a multinational food and beverage corporation.

  • Hans Kissle Company, LLC

    Nutter represented Hans Kissle Company, LLC, a manufacturer of private label and branded foods for retail, foodservice, club, and convenience store customers throughout the United States, in its acquisition by Mitsui & Co., Ltd., a Japanese diversified industrial holding company. The total value of the transaction was approximately $108 million.

  • The Living Apothecary

    Nutter advised The Living Apothecary, a probiotic water kefir maker based in Oakland, CA, in a $1.4 million financing round led by L.A. Libations and Venice Brands. 

  • Zagster, Inc.

    Nutter advised Zagster, Inc., the nation’s leading provider of modern, flexible bike share services, in securing $15 million in growth capital.

  • Kombrewcha

    Nutter represented Kombrewcha (the first alcoholic Kombucha) in its sale to a strategic acquirer.

  • Wandering Bear Coffee

    Nutter advised Wandering Bear Coffee, a cold brew coffee maker, in its $8 million Series A equity round of financing.

  • Zagster, Inc.

    Nutter advised Zagster, Inc., the leading provider of private and public-private bike sharing systems, when it raised $10 million in a Series B round of funding led by Edison Partners, a leading growth equity capital firm.

  • Clean Crop Technologies

    Nutter advised Clean Crop Technologies in connection with its $6 million series A financing led by ReGen Ventures, Trailhead Capital, and the MassMutual Catalyst Fund.

  • Kalahari Snacks

    Nutter served as legal counsel to Kalahari Snacks, the #2 biltong brand in the U.S., in its acquisition by Stryve Foods LLC, an emerging healthy snacking platform and the leading air-dried meat snack company in the country.

  • RIND Snacks

    Nutter advised RIND Snacks, a sustainable snack brand, in connection with its acquisition of Small Batch Organics, a Vermont-based manufacturer of award-winning granola product.

  • Wandering Bear, Inc.

    Nutter served as legal counsel to Wandering Bear, Inc., a cold brew coffee maker, in connection with its $5 million funding round backed by existing investors.

News & Insights

News

Speaking Engagements

Publications

Honors

Honors

  • The Best Lawyers in America, 2022-2024
  • Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Excellence in the Law Awards, Up & Coming Lawyer, 2016
  • Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2010, 2016-2019

Education & Admissions

Education

Suffolk University Law School, J.D., magna cum laude
Providence College, B.A., summa cum laude

Admissions

  • Massachusetts

In the Community

Will serves on the partners’ committee of, and is a frequent lecturer and panel member at, The Capital Network, a nonprofit organization that brings together investors and startup experts to provide hands-on education and personalized mentoring to young entrepreneurs to help them navigate the fundraising process.

Noteworthy

  • The Best Lawyers in America, 2022-2024
  • Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Excellence in the Law Awards, Up & Coming Lawyer, 2016
  • Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Stars 2010, 2016-2019
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