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    Global Problem Solving from Covington: Deal with Complex Problems Anywhere in the World

    • Apr 08, 2021

Mark E. Plotkin

Partner

Washington +1 202 662 5656

English
  • About
  • Credentials
  • About

    Mark Plotkin — broadly recognized as one of the nation’s preeminent regulatory advocates — represents clients before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and other branches of the U.S. government. He delivers outstanding results for global clients across industries. Mark’s practice includes having negotiated some of the most challenging compliance and security agreements ever concluded with the U.S. Government – agreements that in many instances now are the template for the relevant industries.

    Clients refer to him as "the dean of the CFIUS Bar" with an "unmatched history, experience and network" (Chambers USA). The American Lawyer has twice honored Mark as "Dealmaker of the Year"— in 2016 for his role securing CFIUS clearance for GlobalFoundries’ multibillion dollar acquisition of IBM’s semiconductor unit, and again in 2019 for his team's successful and novel efforts in the CFIUS process to defend Qualcomm from a hostile takeover attempt by Broadcom.

    Chambers Global says “Plotkin is widely regarded as one of the top national security attorneys in the USA and has extensive experience in advising industry-leading names before the CFIUS panel." He also is nationally ranked for his expertise in both financial services regulation and data privacy.

    Representative Matters

    • Nexen Inc. in $15.1 billion sale to China National Offshore Oil Corporation.
    • CIT Group in $10.4 billion sale of its aircraft leasing business to Avolon Holdings (China).
    • Thomson Reuters in $20 billion sale of a 55% interest in its Financial & Risk business to a consortium of Singapore’s GIC, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Blackstone.
    • Deutsche Börse in proposed $9.5 billion acquisition of the New York Stock Exchange.
    • Genworth Financial in $2.7 billion acquisition by China Oceanwide. 
    • KION Group (Germany) in $2.1 billion acquisition of Dematic.
    • Micro Focus (UK) in $8.8 billion acquisition of software business of Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
    • Intersil Corp. in $2.3 billion acquisition by Renesas Electronics Corp. (Japan).

    • Qualcomm in attempted $117 billion acquisition by Broadcom (Singapore).
    • Carlyle Group in $1.9 billion sale of Landmark Aviation, Standard Aero to Dubai Aerospace (UAE).
    • Washington Gas in $6.4 billion acquisition by AltaGas (Canada).
    • Schneider Electric (France) in $5.6 billion acquisition of Invensys plc and $3.8 billion combination with Aveva Group.
    • Koch Industries in sale of Invista Advanced Apparel & Textiles business to Shandong Ruyi (China).
    • Northrop Grumman in sale of its Viper Strike munitions business to MBDA (EU).
    • Temasek Holdings (Singapore) in multi-billion dollar investment in Merrill Lynch.
    • Global Crossing in seminal 2003 acquisition by Singapore Technologies Telemedia.
    • China Oceanwide in acquisition of International Data Group.
    • Abu Dhabi National Energy Company in acquisition of tolling arrangement in the electric power industry. 
    • Hong Kong Aircraft and Engineering Co. in $388 million acquisition of TIMCO Aviation.
    • Singapore Telecommunications Limited in acquisition of Trustwave.
    • CNOOC (China) in $3 billion investment in oil and gas properties of Chesapeake Energy.
    • Sapient in $3.7 billion acquisition by Publicis Groupe (France).
    • Lenovo (China) in $2.3 billion acquisition of IBM’s x86-based server business.
    • China Investment Corporation in $1.6 billion investment in AES Corporation.
    • IBM in $1.75 billion sale of its PC division to Lenovo, sale of a product lifecycle management software business to Dassault Systèmes, and $850 million sale of its point of sale systems business to Toshiba.
    • China National Chemical Corporation in $7.7 billion acquisition of Pirelli.
    • Stanley Inc. in $1 billion acquisition by CGI Group (Canada).
    • Align Aerospace in private sale to Aviation Industry Corporation of China.
    • Borealis Infrastructure in acquisition of Midland Cogeneration Venture and $320 million investment in wind farm assets of Energias de Portugal. 
    • Dassault Systèmes (France) in $750 million acquisition of Accelrys.
    • AOL in sale of ICQ instant messaging business to Mail.ru Group Limited (Russia).
    • British Telecommunications plc in multiple transactions.
    • American Express in sale of interest in business travel joint venture to Certares LP, Qatar Investment Authority, BlackRock Inc and Macquarie Capital.
    • e2v Technologies in acquisition of QP Semiconductor.
    • Datascope Corporation in sale of business unit to Mindray Medical Instruments of China. 
    • Pacific Telecom (Philippines) in acquisitions of Micronesian Telecommunications Corporation and of IT&E Overseas, Inc.
    • BAE Systems, Inc. in multiple transactions, including acquisitions of Armor Holdings, Advanced Ceramics Research, Atlantic Marine, IAP Research, the Intelligence Services Group of L-1 Identity Solutions, MTC Technologies, OASYS Technology, Signal Innovation Group, and Eclipse Electronics, and proposed combination with Airbus.   
    • FastenTech in $492 million acquisition by Doncasters Group.
    • EDAC Technologies in $340 million sale of composites business to Meggitt PLC.
    • Intercell AG in acquisition of Iomai.
    • SemiConductor Devices in acquisition of Quantum Imaging.

    Mark is the co-author of numerous articles and book chapters on legal topics as well co-editor of Regulation of Foreign Banks & Affiliates in the United States (Sixth Edition) and editor-in-chief of E-Commerce Law & Business. He has testified before Congress, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, and the Uniform Law Commission.

    Mark received his bachelor of arts degree in history, summa cum laude and with departmental honors, from Yale College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received his law degree with honors from Harvard Law School, where he was Policy Essays Editor of the Journal on Legislation. Mark previously taught American government at Harvard College. He is an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches a seminar on national security law; he also lectures on national security law at Yale Law School and other venues. He is a former Governor of the Association of Yale Alumni and a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Practices and Industries
  • Credentials
    Education
    • Harvard Law School, J.D., 1987
        • cum laude
        • Board of Student Advisers
        • Harvard Journal on Legislation, Policy Essays Editor
    • Yale University, B.A., 1983
        • summa cum laude
        • Phi Beta Kappa
        • Berkeley Fellowship
    Bar Admissions
    • District of Columbia
    Accolades
    Memberships and Affiliations
    • Co-Editor and Co-Author, Regulation of Foreign Banks and Affiliates in the United States (West Publishing, 2012)
    • Editor-in-Chief and Co-Author, E-Commerce Law and Business (Aspen Publishing, 2003)
    • National Eagle Scout Association
    • Yale University, Class Secretary
    • Harvard Law School, Reunion Chair
    • Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center
    • Berkeley College Fellow
    • Sidwell Friends School Development Board (1998-2004)
    • Board of Governors, Association of Yale Alumni (2007-2010)
    • Harvard College, Teaching Fellow (1984-1986)

    Areas of Expertise

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