Rebecca A. Guzman

Partner

  • Rebecca A. Guzman
  • Phone: +1 302 657 4928

    Import to Address Book

  • Duane Morris LLP
    1201 North Market St, Suite 501
    Wilmington, DE 19801
    USA

Rebecca A. Guzman serves as global co-lead of the firm’s Private Equity industry group and also serves as Vice Chair of the Mergers and Acquisitions Division of the firm.

Rebecca focuses on the representation of start-up and emerging growth companies with a focus on life science companies in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostics and healthcare IT industries. Her practice spans the entire corporate lifecycle, from formation through liquidity. In addition to her company client counsel, Rebecca represents a number of prominent venture capital funds and institutional investors in their financing activities.

Rebecca is broadly experienced in M&A and has represented both buy-side and sell-side clients in transactions valued in excess of $25 billion.  She also has extensive experience and regularly advises in all areas of Delaware corporate and alternative entity law.

Rebecca was named to Best of the Bar by the Philadelphia Business Journal in 2022 and in 2023 was named a Most Effective Deal Maker by the Legal Intelligencer. Also in 2023, Rebecca was named to the Delaware Business Times’ 40 under 40, an annual list that recognizes the best young professionals under the age of 40 in the State of Delaware. In addition, Rebecca has been featured in Latinos Leaders Magazine.

Rebecca is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, where she won the Prosser Prize in Negotiations, and a graduate, with highest honors, of Lehigh University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Before law school, Rebecca was a Fulbright Scholar in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Areas of Practice

  • Corporate Law

  • Venture Capital
  • Life Sciences

  • Mergers and Acquisitions

  • Delaware Corporate and Alternative Entity Law

Representative Matters

  • Advocated and represented the interests of MissionOG, an investor of Sayari Labs, whom TPG invested 228 million in growth equity. 

  • Served as counsel and lead attorney to the lead investor syndicate of Agent Capital, Bioluminescence Ventures, and Double Point Ventures in a Series B-1 Extension round that raised $47 million to advance the clinical pipeline of Cerevance, a life sciences company.

  • Represented MissionOG in the sale of its portfolio company Featurespace to VISA. Featurespace is a technology firm that develops AI-enabled solutions to help clients manage fraud and protects payments. 

  • Represented Adhezion Biomedical, a privately held U.S. medical adhesives business, in connection with its acquisition by H.B. Fuller Company (NYSE: FUL), the largest pure play adhesives provider in the world.

  • Represented Addteq, Inc., a leading business solutions provider for enterprise clients, in the sale of its consulting business to Valiantys, a global Atlassian services and consulting firm.

  • Represented MissionOG, a Philadelphia-based venture capital firm focused on Fintech in a number of investments.

  • Represented Agent Capital, a healthcare venture capital firm in a number of investments.

  • Represented Venatorx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation antibiotics in a Series C Preferred Stock financing.

  • Represented 5Metis, Inc., a agrichemical company in its initial corporate structuring and Series A Preferred Stock financing.

  • Represented Early Bird Medical Inc., a medical device startup in its Series A Preferred Stock financing.

  • Represented Gliknik Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company, in its Series C Preferred Stock financing.

  • Represented Rellevate, Inc., a digital fintech company, in a Series Seed Preferred Stock financing.

  • Represented Shifa Biomedical, a drug discovery company, in its initial corporate structuring and capitalization.

  • Represented SIRPant Immunotherapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel autologous cell therapy for solid tumors, in a $25 million Series A Preferred Stock financing, with BIOS Equity Partners III, LP as the lead investor.

  • Represented NephroDI, a pharmaceutical company focusing on concentration disorders of the kidney, in its initial corporate structuring and capitalization.

  • Represented Integral Molecular, a biotechnology company specializing in discovering therapeutic antibodies–and the industry leader in membrane protein solutions–in its research collaboration and licensing agreement with Context Therapeutics, a clinical-stage women’s oncology company, to advance a potential gynecological cancer therapy involving an anti-claudin 6 (CLDN6) bispecific monoclonal antibody. 

  • Represented Patheon N.V. in connection with its $7.2 billion sale to Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.

  • Represented DowDuPont in a variety of matters, including in connection with the separation of its materials science, agriculture and specialty product businesses.

  • Represented Amulet Capital Partners in its sale of Synteract to Syneos Health.

  • Represented W.L. Ross in its sale, on behalf of funds managed by W.L. Ross, of its equity interests in Navigator Holdings Ltd.

  • Represented Alexander & Baldwin on its conversion to a REIT, including an internal realignment involving the serialization of its operating company and other subsidiaries.

  • Represented The Washington Companies in various matters, including the sale of their Modern Machinery Far East Russian business.

  • Represented JLL Partners and Water Street Healthcare Partners in the acquisition by their portfolio company MedPlast of Vention Medical.

  • Represented JLL Partners in its sale of Loar Group.

  • Represented Hg in its acquisition of a majority interest in the Rhapsody business of Orion Health Group Limited.

  • Represented ABRY Partners in various acquisitions, including in connection with its $1.325 billion sale of its majority interest in York Risk Services Group.

  • Represented Greenbriar Equity Group in connection with its acquisition of Lazer Spot.

  • Represented 3G Capital Partners and Burger King Worldwide in connection with its $11.5 billion merger transaction with Tim Hortons, Inc. and its issuance of $2.25 billion of second lien senior secured notes.

  • Represented Builders FirstSource, Inc. in connection with the financing of its acquisition of ProBuild.

  • Represented Investor Group in connection with its minority investment in a manufacturer of cabinetry.

Admissions

  • Delaware
  • New York

Education

  • University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, J.D.
    - Articles Editor and Senior Editor, Berkeley Journal of International Law
    - won the Prosser Prize in Negotiations
  • Lehigh University, B.A., with highest honors
    - Phi Beta Kappa

Prior Experience

  • Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
    - Associate
  • Kirkland & Ellis LLP
    - Associate

Honors and Awards

  • Named to Delaware Business Times’ 40 Under 40 List, 2023
  • Named a "Most Effective Deal Maker" by The Legal Intelligencer’s Professional Excellence Awards, 2023
  • Named to Best Lawyers "Ones to Watch," 2023-2025
  • Named to the Philadelphia Business Journal's "Best of the Bar" for Corporate, 2022

Board Memberships

  • Board of Trustees, Universal Health Realty Income Trust
  • Board Member, Delaware Bar Foundation

Professional Activities

  • Hispanic National Bar Association, Member

  • Latino Corporate Directors Association, Member

Selected Publications

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • Presenter, "From Fundraising to Exit: How to Build a Startup's Legal Armor," SAPA-GP @Philly Cell and Gene Therapy Annual Conference, June 15, 2024

  • Presenter, “A Few Minutes About Corporate Minutes: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” Association of Corporate Counsel of Greater Philadelphia Corporate & Securities CLE Institute, August 22, 2023

  • Frequent presenter at the University City Science Center on topics relating to legal considerations for early-stage life sciences start-ups, including
    - Capital Readiness Program, February 2023 and June 2023
    - Science Center and Assuta -Rise with the US Program with Israeli Start-Up Cohort, July 2023
  • Presenter @Philly Cell and Gene Therapy Annual Conference on Legal Considerations for early stage life sciences start-ups, June 23, 2023
  • Presenter at NIA: 2023 Start-up Challenge and Accelerator: Fostering Entrepreneurial Diversity on legal considerations for early stage life sciences companies, September 19, 2023
  • Moderator, “HealthCare of the Future – Happening Now”," Life Sciences Pennsylvania's event: Life Sciences Future - Biopharm, October 7, 2022
  • Presenter, “Review of Recent Delaware Decisions," Mergers & Acquisitions Pennsylvania Bar Institute CLE, April 8, 2022
  • Moderator, “How Enterprise America is Re-tooling its Approach to Innovation," PACT Capital Conference, November 4, 2021