Overview

About Todd

Todd Friedman practices business law, focusing on advising entrepreneurial, emerging, growing, and established companies with respect to mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financing, business formation and structuring, commercial contracting, and real property matters.

He represents clients in a wide array of industries, including:

  • Agribusiness, Food, and Beverage
  • Wine, Beer, and Spirits
  • Restaurant and Hospitality
  • Technology
  • Branded Consumer Products
  • Creative Services

Todd is co-leader of the firm’s Agribusiness Industry Group.

Todd has deep operational and managerial experience stemming from his prior career in corporate management, technology, international supply chain operations and venture capital. He draws upon this experience to offer clients a well-rounded approach where law and business intersect.

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Experience

Experience

Agribusiness, Food and Beverage 

  • Routinely advise on the sale, purchase, and debt financing of farmland and other agricultural and agribusiness assets.
  • Advised on the purchase and operation of a Umatilla County, Oregon organic farming business on behalf of a New York-based family office.
  • Advised institutional lender in connection with a $185 million loan to support the leveraged acquisition of a major Northwest-based fruit growing and packing operation.
  • Debt financings, secured by real and personal property assets, of agricultural and vineyard operations in an aggregate principal amount exceeding $1 billion.
  • Advised a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based private equity fund on the purchase of several West Coast agricultural operations.
  • Advised on the sale of an Oregon-based agricultural loan originator and servicer and related loan portfolio to a Midwest-based competitor.
  • Credit facility modification, extension, and assumption for a retailer-owned wholesale grocery cooperative.
  • Negotiation of an overseas joint venture for the production of coconut oil for a leading organic product company.

Wine, Beer, and Spirits

  • Routinely advises on the sale and purchase of wineries, vineyards, and related business assets.
  • Advised on the negotiation and structuring of the sale of equity in a leading Oregon craft beer business to a private equity firm.
  • Sale of the real and personal property assets of a leading Willamette Valley, Oregon wine business to a global, California-based wine company.
  • Advised on the sale of a Pacific Northwest-based wine distribution operation to a national distribution company.
  • Purchase of a Sonoma County, California vineyard and a Yamhill County, Oregon winery building for the subsidiary of an international beverage company.
  • Advised a closely held family business on the purchase of a well-known Oregon collaborative winemaking business.
  • Purchase of substantially all of the stock of a Willamette Valley, Oregon wine business including negotiation to secure the purchaser’s rights under a vineyard lease and a real property purchase option.
  • Advised on due diligence, negotiation, and structuring for the purchase under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code of substantially all of the assets of a California-based craft beer business.
  • Outside general counsel for a Walla Walla, Washington-based vineyard and winery operation, including debt and equity financings and negotiation of an LLC operating agreement and employee equity incentive plan.
  • Purchase and redemption from financial investors of membership interests in a Bend, Oregon-based brewery on behalf of brewery management.
  • Purchase of substantially all of the real and personal property assets of a Willamette Valley, Oregon, wine business, including negotiation of seller financing secured by the acquired assets.
  • Sale of the assets of a leading California maker of organic wines.
  • Restructuring of a limited liability company wine import business in connection with an equity investment and international license agreement.

Restaurant and Hospitality

  • Sale of all of the membership interests of a Portland, Oregon-based fast casual burger chain to a publicly traded hospitality company.
  • Outside general counsel for a Portland, Oregon-based restaurant group.
  • Advised a high-end wine restaurant on investment and structuring and negotiations with a celebrity chef.
  • Negotiation of an LLC operating agreement and other transactional agreements with respect to a Portland, Oregon-based donut chain.
  • Equity financing and negotiation of an LLC operating agreement for a Portland, Oregon-based fast casual salad restaurant.

Technology

  • Negotiation of multiple collaboration and intellectual property licensing agreements among technology companies and with international research consortia.
  • Merger of a Portland, Oregon-based streaming video technology company with the wholly owned subsidiary of a publicly traded technology company.
  • Negotiation of an inventory consignment agreement with an international chemical supplier on behalf of a technology company.
  • U.S. counsel for the negotiation and sale of the business of a Hong-Kong-registered entity and its multinational subsidiaries.
  • Merger of a Corvallis, Oregon-based motion capture and analysis technology company with the wholly owned subsidiary of a digital display manufacturing corporation.
  • Outside general counsel to emerging growth and venture-funded technology companies supplying products to the semiconductor industry.
  • Acquisition of the stock of a French technology company on behalf of a U.S.-based publicly traded company.
  • Sale of the business assets of a semiconductor test equipment manufacturer, including the shares of two wholly owned subsidiaries, to a publicly traded corporation.

Other Representative Matters

  • Sale of the equity interests of a Portland, Oregon-based creative marketing firm to an international, publicly traded advertising and branding agency.
  • Sale of the assets of an Oregon natural cosmetics manufacturer to a Los Angeles-based private equity fund; subsequently retained by the private equity fund to advise on commercial matters for the target company.
  • Formation and structuring of an entity to hold, manage and monetize copyright and associated intellectual property rights on behalf of a published author.
  • Development of commercial agreements between a US-based apparel design and supply chain management company and its overseas suppliers.
  • Restructuring of the indebtedness of an emerging green technology company, including the sale of secured notes and associated repayment of a secured note issued in connection with a prior acquisition.
  • Sale of all of the stock of a fulfillment business to a California-based private equity fund.
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Honors

Honors & Activities

  • Included in The Best Lawyers in America® (Corporate Law), 2023–2024
  • Listed among Rising Stars (Business/Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Business Litigation), Oregon Super Lawyers® 2017–2018, 2021
  • Board Member, Metropolitan Family Service, 2012–2018
  • Board Member, Classic Wines Foundation, 2018–present (Board Chair 2021–2022)
  • Board Member, Congregation Neveh Shalom, 2007–2014, 2021–present
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Insights & Presentations

Insights & Presentations




Related News & Publications


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