Beau Daen
Senior Associate
151 Meeting Street
Suite 600
Charleston, SC 29401
Beau advises entrepreneurs, private equity firms, independent sponsors, search funds, and family offices on acquiring, selling, and growing lower middle market businesses, with particular experience advising founder-owned and closely held companies throughout the Southeast.
Drawing on training from nationally recognized corporate practices and experience advising institutional investors, Beau brings sophisticated deal execution and market perspective to...
Beau advises entrepreneurs, private equity firms, independent sponsors, search funds, and family offices on acquiring, selling, and growing lower middle market businesses, with particular experience advising founder-owned and closely held companies throughout the Southeast.
Drawing on training from nationally recognized corporate practices and experience advising institutional investors, Beau brings sophisticated deal execution and market perspective to transactions involving founder-owned businesses, emerging investment platforms and sponsor-backed companies.
His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, platform investments and add-on acquisitions, recapitalizations, private financings, and management incentive equity arrangements. Beau regularly represents private equity sponsors and portfolio companies in acquisitions, particularly sponsor-backed platform and add-on transactions in the lower middle market. He also advises independent sponsors and search fund operators pursuing platform acquisitions, including matters involving capital partner relationships, acquisition financing and equity structuring, and frequently represents investors and operators in proprietary and limited-auction acquisition processes where speed, structuring creativity, and practical judgment are critical.
Beau frequently represents founders and multi-generational family businesses navigating first-time sales or long-term capital partnerships with private equity, helping owners evaluate strategic alternatives, prepare for buyer diligence, and negotiate transactions that align investor objectives with founder priorities, including continued leadership roles and rollover equity participation.
Based in Charleston, Beau also advises early-stage and growth companies in the Southeast on formation, equity structuring, commercial agreements, and strategic transactions, frequently serves as outside counsel to emerging businesses and investment platforms.
transactions involving founder-owned businesses, emerging investment platforms and sponsor-backed companies.
His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, platform investments and add-on acquisitions, recapitalizations, private financings, and management incentive equity arrangements. Beau regularly represents private equity sponsors and portfolio companies in acquisitions, particularly sponsor-backed platform and add-on transactions in the lower middle market. He also advises independent sponsors and search fund operators pursuing platform acquisitions, including matters involving capital partner relationships, acquisition financing and equity structuring, and frequently represents investors and operators in proprietary and limited-auction acquisition processes where speed, structuring creativity, and practical judgment are critical.
Beau frequently represents founders and multi-generational family businesses navigating first-time sales or long-term capital partnerships with private equity, helping owners evaluate strategic alternatives, prepare for buyer diligence, and negotiate transactions that align investor objectives with founder priorities, including continued leadership roles and rollover equity participation.
Based in Charleston, Beau also advises early-stage and growth companies in the Southeast on formation, equity structuring, commercial agreements, and strategic transactions, frequently serves as outside counsel to emerging businesses and investment platforms.
Experience
Representative Matters
- Represented private equity sponsor in transaction involving simultaneous sale of joint-control stake in one of the largest providers of container transportation services in North America to blue chip private equity sponsor and the acquisition of and combination with leading container transport provider as well as the subsequent establishment of $800 million continuation fund for follow-on investments.
- Represented blue chip private equity sponsor in sale of a leading national real estate investment franchisor.
- Represented private equity sponsor on its carveout acquisition of wealth management business from national audit firm, including regulatory approval of transaction and post-closing transition plan by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
- Represented fund-less sponsor in its acquisition of a historic salt mine and refinery as part of a forced divestiture process supervised by the U.S. Department of Justice related to a national industrial conglomerate’s acquisition of a major table salt brand.
- Represented strategic South Carolina-based digital media platform on $500 million carveout acquisition of legacy digital media group from international media conglomerate
- Represented blue chip investment bank in its first de-SPAC transaction in which its affiliate sponsored the approximately $400 million combination of the SPAC with a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions.
Previous Professional Experience
- Associate (Private Equity; Mergers & Acquisitions), Chicago office of global law firm (2021–2023)
- Associate (Corporate; Mergers & Acquisitions), Charleston office global law firm (2020–2021)
- Associate (Financial Institutions; Mergers & Acquisitions), New York office of global law firm (2018–2020)
- Summer Associate, New York office of global law firm (2017)
Internships
- Intern, U.S. District Court: District of South Carolina (2016)
Educational Activities
- University of Virginia School of Law
- Editorial Board (Review Editor), Virginia Law & Business Review
Education
- University of Virginia School of Law, JD
- University of Saint Andrews, Scotland, MA
Admissions
- Illinois
- South Carolina
- New York
Practice Areas
Representative Matters
- Represented private equity sponsor in transaction involving simultaneous sale of joint-control stake in one of the largest providers of container transportation services in North America to blue chip private equity sponsor and the acquisition of and combination with leading container transport provider as well as the subsequent establishment of $800 million continuation fund for follow-on investments.
- Represented blue chip private equity sponsor in sale of a leading national real estate investment franchisor.
- Represented private equity sponsor on its carveout acquisition of wealth management business from national audit firm, including regulatory approval of transaction and post-closing transition plan by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
- Represented fund-less sponsor in its acquisition of a historic salt mine and refinery as part of a forced divestiture process supervised by the U.S. Department of Justice related to a national industrial conglomerate’s acquisition of a major table salt brand.
- Represented strategic South Carolina-based digital media platform on $500 million carveout acquisition of legacy digital media group from international media conglomerate
- Represented blue chip investment bank in its first de-SPAC transaction in which its affiliate sponsored the approximately $400 million combination of the SPAC with a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions.
Previous Professional Experience
- Associate (Private Equity; Mergers & Acquisitions), Chicago office of global law firm (2021–2023)
- Associate (Corporate; Mergers & Acquisitions), Charleston office global law firm (2020–2021)
- Associate (Financial Institutions; Mergers & Acquisitions), New York office of global law firm (2018–2020)
- Summer Associate, New York office of global law firm (2017)
Internships
- Intern, U.S. District Court: District of South Carolina (2016)
Educational Activities
- University of Virginia School of Law
- Editorial Board (Review Editor), Virginia Law & Business Review
Community
- Executive Board, Society 1858, Gibbes Museum of Art
- Board of Architectural Review / Board of Zoning Appeals Committee, Harleston Village Association
- Steering Committee, Spoleto SCENE
- Steering Committee, PreserVISIONists, Historic Charleston Foundation
Beau advises entrepreneurs, private equity firms, independent sponsors, search funds, and family offices on acquiring, selling, and growing lower middle market businesses, with particular experience advising founder-owned and closely held companies throughout the Southeast.
Drawing on training from nationally recognized corporate practices and experience advising institutional investors, Beau brings sophisticated deal execution and market perspective to... transactions involving founder-owned businesses, emerging investment platforms and sponsor-backed companies.
His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, platform investments and add-on acquisitions, recapitalizations, private financings, and management incentive equity arrangements. Beau regularly represents private equity sponsors and portfolio companies in acquisitions, particularly sponsor-backed platform and add-on transactions in the lower middle market. He also advises independent sponsors and search fund operators pursuing platform acquisitions, including matters involving capital partner relationships, acquisition financing and equity structuring, and frequently represents investors and operators in proprietary and limited-auction acquisition processes where speed, structuring creativity, and practical judgment are critical.
Beau frequently represents founders and multi-generational family businesses navigating first-time sales or long-term capital partnerships with private equity, helping owners evaluate strategic alternatives, prepare for buyer diligence, and negotiate transactions that align investor objectives with founder priorities, including continued leadership roles and rollover equity participation.
Based in Charleston, Beau also advises early-stage and growth companies in the Southeast on formation, equity structuring, commercial agreements, and strategic transactions, frequently serves as outside counsel to emerging businesses and investment platforms.
Experience
The following is a selected sampling of matters and is provided for informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in any future matter.Representative Matters
- Represented private equity sponsor in transaction involving simultaneous sale of joint-control stake in one of the largest providers of container transportation services in North America to blue chip private equity sponsor and the acquisition of and combination with leading container transport provider as well as the subsequent establishment of $800 million continuation fund for follow-on investments.
- Represented blue chip private equity sponsor in sale of a leading national real estate investment franchisor.
- Represented private equity sponsor on its carveout acquisition of wealth management business from national audit firm, including regulatory approval of transaction and post-closing transition plan by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
- Represented fund-less sponsor in its acquisition of a historic salt mine and refinery as part of a forced divestiture process supervised by the U.S. Department of Justice related to a national industrial conglomerate’s acquisition of a major table salt brand.
- Represented strategic South Carolina-based digital media platform on $500 million carveout acquisition of legacy digital media group from international media conglomerate
- Represented blue chip investment bank in its first de-SPAC transaction in which its affiliate sponsored the approximately $400 million combination of the SPAC with a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions.
Previous Professional Experience
- Associate (Private Equity; Mergers & Acquisitions), Chicago office of global law firm (2021–2023)
- Associate (Corporate; Mergers & Acquisitions), Charleston office global law firm (2020–2021)
- Associate (Financial Institutions; Mergers & Acquisitions), New York office of global law firm (2018–2020)
- Summer Associate, New York office of global law firm (2017)
Internships
- Intern, U.S. District Court: District of South Carolina (2016)
Educational Activities
- University of Virginia School of Law
- Editorial Board (Review Editor), Virginia Law & Business Review
Education
- University of Virginia School of Law, JD
- University of Saint Andrews, Scotland, MA
Admissions
- Illinois
- South Carolina
- New York
Practice Areas
- Executive Board, Society 1858, Gibbes Museum of Art
- Board of Architectural Review / Board of Zoning Appeals Committee, Harleston Village Association
- Steering Committee, Spoleto SCENE
- Steering Committee, PreserVISIONists, Historic Charleston Foundation
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