Sarah N. A. Camougis

Co-Chair - Private Equity

Sarah Camougis, co-chair of Choate’s Private Equity Group, advises private and public companies, private equity and venture capital funds, angel investors and management teams to help them effectively manage a wide range of businesses in the United States, South and Central America, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Her transactional experience includes private equity transactions, mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcy sales, senior and subordinated debt financings, recapitalizations, leveraged buyouts, workouts, restructurings, start-ups, employment and equity incentive arrangements, and other general corporate matters. Sarah also served as a Law Clerk to United States Bankruptcy Judge Joan N. Feeney and later to United States Bankruptcy Judge Henry J. Boroff.

Her clients include private equity funds and companies in the telecommunications, media and technology sector covering transactions in towers, fiber, wireless, spectrum, cable, data centers, cloud, managed services, and IT services

Recognition

  • Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s 2013 “Top Women of Law”
  • The Legal 500 (2023)

Representative Engagements

  • Represented Syntax, a Canadian-based portfolio company of Novacap, in several add-on acquisitions and financings of managed services providers based in Germany and the United States.
  • Represented Phoenix Tower International, a global tower company owned by Blackstone, in multiple tower acquisitions and financings in the United States, Latin America, and South America.
  • Represented private equity syndicate led by Columbia Capital in the sale of European bandwidth infrastructure provider euNetworks to Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners.
  • Represented Puerto Rico wireless provider Open Mobile, a portfolio company of M/C Partners and Columbia Capital, in joint venture transaction with Sprint.
  • Represented ABRY in connection with £90 million investment in UK-based global benefits management and employee engagement software company.
  • Represented Novacap in acquisition of Florida based web hosting provider.
  • Represented ABRY in the $1.2 billion acquisition of RCN Corporation, including the split of RCN's cable and fiber businesses into separately financed portfolio companies.
  • Represented American Tower in various tower acquisitions in the US.
  • Represented Riverside Partners in the sale of Firstlight Fiber to Oak Hill Capital.
  • Represented M/C Partners in sale of fiber operator Everstream to AMP Capital.
  • Represented Columbia Capital in connection with investment in BillingPlatform.
  • Represented M/C Partners in its investment in IT services and infrastructure provider Involta.
  • Represented Accela, a cloud-based services company backed by Bregal Sagemount, in multiple acquisitions.
  • Represented Bregal Sagemount in the acquisition and financing of Bytronics by cloud-based software company irth Solutions.
  • Represented a NYSE-listed telecommunications strategic in a $500 million acquisition of a portfolio of property interests under approximately 1,800 communications sites.
  • Advised ABRY in investment in data center provider of infrastructure, colocation, private cloud, and business continuity services in NY Metro region.
  • Advised group of U.S. investors in forming and financing a bidder in Industry Canada auction of advanced wireless services licenses with more than $225 million of equity investments.
  • Advised syndicate of US investors lead by Columbia Capital in take private transaction of publicly held Singapore company that owns and operates fiber networks in Europe.
  • Represented M/C Partners and Columbia Capital in initial and follow on investments in Zayo.
  • Advised private equity investors in a series of related transactions culminating in the investors selling control of U.S. broadband spectrum rights to a hedge fund and public company for an aggregate purchase price in excess of $350 million.
  • Represented private equity investors in connection with equity financing, subordinated debt financing, and senior debt financing of joint venture with Warner Bros. totaling $600 million (transaction was awarded “Media Industry Deal of Year” by Investor Dealer Digest).
  • Represented over 20 investors in syndicate that purchased AWS communications spectrum at FCC auction that was acquired by public company within a year.

Publications & Presentations

  • “Trends in Due Diligence,” panelist, Women’s Association and Venture & Equity Conference, November 2019.
  • “Hot Topics and Trends in Earnouts, Milestones and Alternative Deal Structures,” panelist, Boston Bar Association 3rd Annual Mergers & Acquisition Conference, 2016.
  • “Top Women of Law Event,” honoree, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
  • A Q&A with Sarah Camougis,” featured, Law360.
  • “Women Who have Founded and are Building Private Equity Firms,” speaker, Women’s Association of Venture & Equity.
  • “Women Slowly Stake their Claim into Private Equity Field,” quoted, Boston Business Journal.
  • “Women Owned Businesses,” speaker, IVY PLUS, NYC.
  • “Leveraging an Effective Board to Reap the Value of Experience, Expertise,” quoted, Boston Women’s Journal.
  • “A Look at Term Sheets Reveals the Latest Trend in Funding,” quoted, Boston Business Journal.
  • “Today’s Angel Investors are Spreading their Wings,” speaker, Mass High Tech.

Professional and Community Involvement

  • Member of the Boston Bar Association
  • Founder and board member of the Women's Association of Venture & Equity, a national networking organization for women in venture capital and private equity
  • Member of the Canadian Venture Capital Association Private Equity Model Documents working group

Education & Credentials

Suffolk University School of Law
JD, 1992
University of Virginia
BA, 1989

Admissions

Massachusetts

New York

Sarah's Insights