O’Melveny Worldwide

David Smith

Partner

Century City Office
Areas of Focus
Areas of Focus
Corporate & Transactions
Mergers & Acquisitions
Private Equity
Overview Experience Insights News Credentials

David Smith advises public and private companies and institutional investors on a wide range of business transactions, including mergers, stock and asset acquisitions, tenders offers, going-private transactions, minority investments, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, related financings, and venture capital investments. He also counsels management, boards of directors, and other governing bodies on fiduciary duties and other corporate responsibilities, and is proficient in California, New York, and Delaware corporate laws.

David’s recent clients include public and private companies, private equity funds, family offices, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds. Among them: Clearlake Capital, Diversis Capital, Seidler Equity Partners, Skyview Capital, Platinum Equity, Marlin Equity Partners, Solace Capital, Monogram Capital, Variant Equity, Highview Capital, Regent L.P., Crescendo Capital, Fallbrook Private Equity, Highland Avenue Capital, TELEO Capital, CriticalPoint Capital, K1 Capital, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, Meridian General, Nolan Capital, Griffin Holdings, ROCA Partners, Alberta Investment Management Corp., Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, New Zealand Superannuation Fund, ScanSource, Tesla, SolarCity, ConvergeOne, Syncsort, NewNet Communication Technologies, BLUE Software, Caligor Rx, Synoptek, FrontRange Solutions, Inventus Solutions, Third Planet Windpower, Tesla, LADWP, and Tufco Technologies.

  • Abu Dhabi Investment Authority in its investment in the VoloAgri Group
  • Abu Dhabi Investment Authority in its follow-on investment in Spruce Finance
  • Alberta Investment Management Co. in its investment in Alibaba via pre-IPO secondary sale
  • Alberta Investment Management Co. in its investment in Bloom Energy
  • Alberta Investment Management Co. in its investment in Calera
  • Alberta Investment Management Co. in its investment in Climate Corporation
  • Alberta Investment Management Co. in its investment in FloDesign
  • Alberta Investment Management Co. in its investment in Index Systems
  • Alberta Investment Management Co. in its investment in Jawbone
  • Alberta Investment Management Co. in its investment in Unreal Brands
  • Alberta Investment Management Co. in its investment in Zanbato
  • Ansible sale by merger of a provider of IT automation solutions to Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE:RHT), the world’s leading provider of open source solutions
  • Ares Management in its investment in City Ventures, LLC
  • Barco in its minority investment in and concurrent strategic collaboration with caresyntax
  • Clearlake Capital Group in its acquisition of the Retail Services Group of software developer Agilysys
  • Clearlake Capital Group in its acquisition of AmQuip Crane Rental LL, a provider of crane rentals and related services
  • Clearlake Capital portfolio company AmQuip Crane Rental LLC in its sale to Apollo Global Management LLC
  • Clearlake Capital in its acquisition of online retailer Bluefly Inc. (NASDAQ: BFLY)
  • Clearlake Capital in its acquisition of ConvergeOne
  • Clearlake Capital portfolio company ConvergeOne in its acquisitions of Advantel Neteworks, Alexander Open Systems, Annese & Associates, the Systems Integration business of Arrow Electronics, Mountain States Networking, SIGMAnet, Strategic Products and Services, Sunturn, Spanlink Communications, and VT Consolidated (dba Venture Technologies)
  • Clearlake Capital in its acquisition of FrontRange Solutions. Clearlake merged FrontRange with Lumension to form HEAT Software, a comprehensive service management and unified endpoint management software solutions provider
  • Clearlake Capital portfolio company FrontRange Solutions in its acquisition of the Absolute Manage and Absolute Service divisions from Absolute Software Corporation
  • Clearlake Capital in its acquisition of Inventus, a provider of electronic data discovery for global law firms
  • Clearlake Capital portfolio company Inventus Solutions, Inc. in its acquisition by RPX Corporation (NASDAQ: RPXC)
  • Clearlake Capital portfolio company Inventus Solutions, Inc. in its acquisition of London-based Unified OS Ltd. and certain of its affiliates
  • Clearlake Capital sale by merger of Inventus Solutions, Inc.
  • Clearlake Capital acquisition by equity purchase of Pomeroy, a provider of comprehensive IT infrastructure services
  • Clearlake Capital in its acquisition of Movero, Inc., a mobility management services expert. A new company, Calero Software, LLC, was formed out of the deal, which will provide Communications Lifecycle Management software and related solutions to enterprises globally. Calero is wholly owned by Clearlake
  • Clearlake Capital in its investment in NetDocuments, a leading provider of secure cloud-based document management, email management, and collaboration solutions for law firms and corporate legal and compliance departments
  • Clearlake Capital in its sale of portfolio company NetMotion Wireless Holdings Inc. to affiliates of The Carlyle Group
  • Clearlake Capital in its acquisition of a majority stake in PrimeSport, Inc., a leading sports travel and entertainment management company
  • Clearlake Capital-backed Primesport, Inc., in its strategic add-on acquisition by equity purchase of Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours, a sports travel company
  • Clearlake Capital in its sale of majority stake in PrimeSport Holdings Inc. to The Carlyle Group, Moorad Sports Partners, and RSE Ventures
  • Clearlake Capital in its acquisition of ProVation Medical, a procedure documentation and order set management software, from Wolter Kluwer’s health division
  • Clearlake Capital in its acquisition of Swiss Watch International
  • Clearlake Capital portfolio company Syncsort Inc., a global leader in Big Iron to Big Data solutions, in its acquisition of Trillium Software from Harte Hanks, a global marketing services firm specializing in multi-channel marketing solutions, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. The acquisition of Trillium was the largest in Syncsort's history
  • Clearlake Capital. in the formation of Tolt Solutions, Inc., via the merger of Kyrus Solutions, Inc. and Tolt Service Group
  • Clearlake Capital portfolio company Tolt Solutions, a preeminent solutions and managed services provider to the retail industry, in its acquisition of the Unity Managed Network Services division, a leading provider of retail and distributed enterprise network design, implementation, and managed services, from iPass Inc.
  • Clearlake Capital in its acquisition of Vision Solutions Inc. from Thoma Bravo. Irvine, California-based Vision Solutions provides software solutions designed to protect data, minimize downtime and maximize resources for data centers
  • Crescendo Capital Partners in its acquisition by equity purchase of a minority stake in a commercial trailer manufacturer
  • Diversis Capital in its acquisition of a majority stake in military armor manufacturer ArmorWorks Enterprises LLC
  • Diversis Capital in its acquisition of Chicago-based ArrowStream, Inc., an industry leader in supply chain technology and logistics services catering to the foodservice industry
  • Diversis Capital in its acquisition of SGK subsidiary BLUE from Matthews International
  • Diversis Capital in its acquisition by carve out equity purchase of Blue Software
  • Diversis Capital portfolio company Blue Software, a leader in Brand Lifecycle Management SaaS, in its acquisition of Eastman Kodak Company’s (NYSE: KODK) Design2Launch software and services business, a leading provider of Brand Graphics Management technology
  • Diversis Capital portfolio company Blue Software in its acquisition of British Columbia-based Viki Solutions, a provider of collaboration and automation tools
  • Diversis Capital in its acquisition of the majority of the assets of Caligor Rx, Inc.
  • Diversis Capital portfolio company Caligor Opco, LLC in its acquisition of all of the shares of The Coghlan Group, Inc., a Texas corporation
  • Diversis Capital in its acquisition of Marketron, a maker of monetization software for radio and TV, from BlackRock Capital
  • Diversis Capital in its acquisition of a controlling stake in fashion media company Nylon Magazine and its digital assets
  • Highview Capital in its acquisition of Good Source Solutions
  • Highview Capital and Victory Park Capital Advisors portfolio company American Plastics in its acquisitions of Centrex Plastics and Creative Plastic Concepts
  • Inventus Solutions, Inc. in its acquisition of the California and Washington offices of TERIS, a leading electronic data discovery solutions provider
  • K1 Capital in its acquisition of Integrated Practice Solutions, Inc., d/b/a ChiroTouch, a provider of software for the chiropractic industry
  • K1 Capital in its strategic add-on acquisition by equity purchase of Future Health Acquisition, Inc., a chiropractic software company
  • Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors in its investment in Series C preferred stock of 4C Insights, Inc.
  • Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors in its investment in Decisiv
  • Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors in its investment in Elevate Services
  • Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors in its investment in Natural Partners Fullscript
  • Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors as the lead investor in rfXcel's funding round
  • Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors in its investment in ProSOC, Inc. (formerly Proficio, Inc.)
  • Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors in its investment in Riviera Partners
  • Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in the sale of its interests in the coal-fired Navajo Generating Station in Page, Arizona to Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District
  • Marlin Equity Partners in its acquisition of FrontStream
  • Meridian General Capital in its acquisition of PowderCoat Services, a production powder coater
  • Monogram Capital Partners in its acquisition of a controlling stake in Atlantic Holdings, LLC, a Planet Fitness franchisee, consisting of 16 Planet Fitness franchised fitness clubs
  • Monogram Capital Partners in its investment in Chewy.com via pre-IPO secondary sale
  • Monogram Capital Partners in its second round capital investment in Country Archer Jerky Co.
  • Monogram Capital Partners in its investment in Dig Inn
  • Monogram Capital Partners in its investment in Healthy Spot
  • Monogram Capital Partners as lead investor in a Series B venture funding round of MG Wellington, LLC (d/b/a Kidfresh)
  • Morgan Stanley portfolio company Third Planet Windpower in its sale of wind power project company TPW Petersburg to Gestamp Wind Energy
  • New Zealand Superannuation Fund in its investment in Bloom Energy
  • New Zealand Superannuation Fund in its investment in Gourmet International Holdings Limited, operating in the horticultural sector through various subsidiaries
  • New Zealand Superannuation Fund in its investment in LanzaTech
  • New Zealand Superannuation Fund in its investment in Rubicon Global, a leader in waste management and recycling
  • New Zealand Superannuation Fund in its investment in View, Inc. consisting of shares of Series F Preferred Stock. View, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of dynamic-tinting glass, helping building occupants control glare and preserve views by avoiding blinds and shades
  • Nolan Capital in its acquisition of Diamond Wipes International, a leader in the disposable wet wipe industry
  • Nolan Capital portfolio company Diamond Wipes International in its acquisition of Ode to Clean brand and brand assets from Solugen
  • Nolan Capital portfolio company Diamond Wipes International in its acquisition of Rescue Wipes
  • Nolan Capital in its acquisition of a majority stake in Ortega National Parks
  • Pomeroy Group and Tolt Solutions in formation of Pomeroy Group of Companies
  • PMC Capital Group in its acquisition of StyroChem Canada from WinCup
  • Regent L.P., a Los Angeles-based global private equity firm, in its acquisition of the SUNSET brand from Time Inc. (NYSE: TIME), a multi-platform consumer media company
  • ScanSource in its acquisition of Canpango
  • ScanSource in its acquisition of Intelisys Communications
  • ScanSource in its acquisition of POS Portal
  • Seidler Equity Partners in its investment in Americhem
  • Seidler Equity Partners in its investment in Freshly Picked
  • Seidler Equity Partners in its acquisition of Fridababy
  • Seidler Equity Partners in its investment in Herb Pharm
  • Seidler Equity Partners in its acquisition of Hydropeptide
  • Seidler Equity Partners in its investment in LaserAway
  • Seidler Equity Partners in its investment in PackIt
  • Seidler Equity Partners in its investment in Real Hospitality Group
  • Seidler Equity Partners in its acquisition of Spectrum Diversified Designs
  • Seidler Equity Partners portfolio company Spectrum Diversified Designs in its merger with ICI USA (Tovolo)
  • Seidler Equity Partners in its investment in UPPAbaby
  • Simpleview, Inc. in its sale to Ridgemont Equity Partners, a Charlotte-based private equity firm
  • Skyview Capital in its acquisition of certain call center assets from Conduent Business Solutions
  • Skyview Capital in its sale of Digital Fuel SV to Apptio
  • Skyview Capital in its acquisition of Fidelis Cybersecurity
  • Skyview Capital in portfolio company NewNet Communication Technologies BV’s sale of its Rich Communication Services infrastructure and services business, NewPace Technology Development Inc., to Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
  • Skyview Capital LLC in its acquisition from VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) of certain assets related to VMware’s vRealize Business Advanced and vRealize Business Enterprise products
  • Solace Capital in its investment in Abbyson Living
  • Solace Capital in its acquisition of a majority interest in Fabcon Holdings from Platinum Equity
  • Solace Capital in its investment in Jet Edge International
  • Synoptek in its acquisition of the Managed IT Services division of Critigen
  • Synoptek LLC in its acquisition by corporate carve out asset purchase of managed services group of FusionStorm
  • Synoptek LLC in its sale by equity purchase of a majority stake to Sverica Capital Management
  • TELEO Capital Management in its acquisition of the onboard services and supply chain software solutions business (dba Paxia) of e-gatematrix
  • Tesla and SolarCity in various acquisitions of businesses and assets
  • Tufco Technologies in the sale of HAMCO Manufacturing
  • Variant Equity in its acquisition of certain assets of the retail check authorization business of Fidelity National Information Services
  • Variant Equity in its acquisition of certain assets of the transportation systems business of VeriFone

Admissions

Bar Admissions

  • California
  • New York

Education

  • Pennsylvania State University, J.D., 1999: magna cum laude and salutatorian; member, Penn State Law Review, Woolsack Honor Society, and Corpus Juris Society
  • Saint Joseph's University, B.S., 1992

Honors & Awards

  • Recognized by Best Lawyers in America® for Mergers and Acquisitions Law in Century City, CA (2023-2025)

Professional Activities

Co-Author

  • “Representations and Warranties in M&A Transactions,” Bloomberg (March 2014)
  • “Tips for Entering NDAs in a Merger,” The Daily Journal (May 2012)

Board Member

  • Board Member, National Association of Counsel for Children
  • Former Board Member, Constitutional Rights Foundation

Memberships

  • American Bar Association
Related Practices
Corporate & Transactions
Mergers & Acquisitions
Private Equity