M&A exec wins Deal Professional of the Year award

M&A exec wins Deal Professional of the Year award

Patrick O'Keefe. Courtesy O’Keefe

A mergers and acquisitions executive has been honored by an industry publication for his work closing financial transactions.

Patrick O’Keefe, founder and CEO of Bloomfield Hills-based O’Keefe, which has an office in Grand Rapids, was named Deal Professional of the Year last week at the 16th-annual M&A Advisor Awards at the Metropolitan Club in New York.

The M&A Advisor is a trade publication based in Forest Hills, New York, geared toward mergers and acquisition, restructuring and corporate finance professionals.

O'Keefe has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of corporate re-organization, financing, debt restructuring, mergers and acquisitions and litigation support.

“The award recipients represent the finest in the M&A industry in 2017 and earned these honors by standing out in a group of extremely impressive finalists,” said David Fergusson, co-CEO and president of The M&A Advisor. “From lower middle-market to multi-billion-dollar deals, we are recognizing the leading transactions, firms and individuals that represent the highest levels of achievement.”

The full list of M&A Advisor Award winners is available online.

Local winners

Consumer Staples Deal of the Year (less than $100 million)

Acquisition of Ellison Bakery by Blackford Capital

Industrials Deal of the Year ($10 million-$50 million)

Acquisition of Efficiency Production Inc. by Trinity EPI LLC (a subsidiary of Trinity Industries)

Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP

Private Equity Deal of the Year ($10 million-$25 million)

Acquisition of Snowhite Hospitality by Blackford Capital