Ben Kjome has advised clients on a full range of strategic and M&A related matters and has had experience across a variety of industry sectors, including Education, EdTech, Information Services, Diversified Media, Technology, Consumer, Retail, and Hospitality.
Mr. Kjome is based in Centerview’s New York office and is a Partner in the Firm’s Media practice.
Mr. Kjome has advised on a range of sellside transactions including advising the Special Committee of PowerSchool on the $5.6bn sale to Bain Capital, BARBRI on its sale to Francisco Partners, Corporate Executive Board (CEB) on its $3.3bn sale to Gartner, Weld North on its majority sale to SilverLake Partners, Diamond Resorts International on its $2.5bn sale to Apollo Group, Jo-Ann Stores on its $1.5bn sale to Leonard Green, and UCG on its sale of OPIS for $650mm to IHS.
Additional sellside experience in corporate divestiture related situations include advising John Wiley & Sons on its sale of University Services to Academic Partnerships and also on its sale of Wiley Edge to Inspirit Capital, DMGT on its sale of Hobsons/Starfish to EAB and of Hobsons/Naviance/Intersect to Powerschool, DMGT on the $364mm sale of Genscape to Verisk Analytics, Moody’s Corporation on the sale of Moody's Analytics Knowledge Services (MAKS) to Equistone Partners, Avon Products on its sale of Silpada Jewelry to Rhinestone Holdings, Fifth & Pacific on its $225mm sale of Lucky Brands Jeans to Leonard Green, Clear Channel Outdoor on its $566 million sale of various assets to Lamar Advertising and independent operators, and Convergys Corporation on its $449mm sale of its IM Division to NEC Corp.
Representative buyside transactions that Mr. Kjome has advised on include Moody’s on its $2.0bn acquisition of RMS, Thomson Reuters on its acquisition of Confirmation.com, CEB on its $275mm acquisition of eVanta, Outfront Media on its $690mm acquisition of Van Wagner, DTS on its $148mm acquisition of SRS Labs, United Rentals on its $4.2bn acquisition of RSC Holdings, Jarden Corporation on its $1.2bn acquisition of K2, Inc., and Lehman Brothers Merchant Bank on its investment in SRAM Corporation.
Mr. Kjome has also advised on various structured transactions including advising the Special Committee of CBS's Board of Directors on the CBS & Viacom all-stock $48 billion merger, Thomson Reuters on the sale of a 55% stake in its F&R business at a $20 billion valuation to Blackstone, Entercom Communications on its $4.0 billion Reverse Morris Trust with CBS Radio, Fifth & Pacific on its $195mm sale of Juicy Couture related Intellectual Property to Authentic Brands Group, Convergys Corporation on its $320mm sale of various equity stakes to AT&T, Domino’s Pizza on its $1.85bn Whole Business Securitization and Reynolds American on its $388mm joint venture termination with Gallaher Limited.
Prior to joining Centerview in 2008, Mr. Kjome worked in the M&A Group at Lehman Brothers.
Mr. Kjome holds an MBA from The Stern School of Business at New York University, a B.B.A. from The College of William and Mary and also attended the Virginia Military Institute.