Bill Fay

Bill has extensive experience advising clients on major corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity transactions and securities offerings. He also regularly advises the firm’s public company clients with respect to the federal securities laws and corporate governance matters, including Exchange Act reporting, ESG matters and shareholder activism. His clients engage in a wide variety of industries, including banking, consumer products, luxury goods, mortgage origination and mortgage servicing, healthcare and technology.

Bill also serves as Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, where he teaches “Business Planning.”

Prior to joining Barack Ferrazzano in 2015, Bill practiced in the Chicago office of Sidley Austin LLP as a member of the Corporate and Securities group.

Representative Experience

• Represented Midland States Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: MSBI) in a variety of corporate transactions, including its 2016 IPO and subsequent subordinated notes offerings, and numerous M&A transactions, including its acquisitions of Alpine Bancorporation, Inc., Centrue Financial Corporation, HomeStar Financial Group, Inc. and the acquisitions of the trust businesses of Sterling National Bank and ATG Trust Company.
• Represented Level One Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEVL) in a variety of corporate transactions, including its 2018 IPO and subsequent preferred stock and subordinated notes offerings, and its acquisition of Ann Arbor Bancorp, Inc.
• Represented Moët Hennessy USA and its affiliates in connection with various M&A transactions, including its acquisition of Woodinville Whiskey Company, LLC and an equity interest in Colgin Cellars.
• Represented a national insurance company in connection with the creation of joint ventures with respect to its credit card and banking businesses.
• Represented Cummins-American Corp., the bank holding company of Glenview State Bank, in connection with its acquisition by First Busey Corporation (Nasdaq: BUSE).
• Represented underwriters and placement agents in connection with registered offering and private placement transactions by Potbelly Corporation (Nasdaq: PBPB), Heartland Financial USA Inc. (Nasdaq: HTLF), Mackinac Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: MFNC) and Equity Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq: EQBK).

Activities & Honors

• Selected, Emerging Lawyers Network (2015-2023)
• Selected, Illinois Rising Stars, Super Lawyers (2016)
• Member, Dartmouth Alumni Council
• Recipient, Nelson A. Rockefeller Prize in Economics, Dartmouth College