Laura Lopez Nickerson Senior Attorney

Laura Lopez Nickerson graduated from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in Denver, Colorado. While in law school, Laura was selected to the Jessup International Moot Court Team. She received an International Law Certificate from her law school and served in the Peer Mentor Program. She was also selected as Senator and Social Chair of the Student Bar Association. She enjoyed working alongside her writing professor as a legal writing and research teaching assistant and served as a student attorney in the Civil Litigation Clinic. Prior to law school, Laura earned a B.A. in Journalism and Broadcasting from Oklahoma State University.

Prior to joining Vela Wood, Laura was selected to participate in a fellowship program in the Municipal Operations Division of the Denver City Attorney’s Office her first year out of law school. After that, she began her corporate career working at a securities boutique in Denver, Colorado, where she focused her practice on securities matters and mergers & acquisitions. Captivated by the opportunity to further her M&A experience, she made the leap to Holland & Knight where she practiced for about five years.

Laura was raised in a predominantly Spanish-speaking home in rural Oklahoma. She lived in Denver for 8 years where she met her incredible husband, who is an Austin-born Texan. After their adventurous time hiking, snowboarding, and enjoying everything Colorado has to offer, they made the move to the Austin hill country, which she now calls home. Laura enjoys spending her free time with her husband, daughter, and two poodles.

Select Representations

*Some transactions reflect Laura’s work at prior firms.

Mergers & Acquisitions

• Represented a provider of home health and home concierge care services, in its acquisition of 100% of the equity interests of the largest independent, privately held home healthcare company in Florida, for ~ $178M*
• Represented an investment firm focused on sustainability and infrastructure, in its acquisition of a company owning 37.10 MW portfolio of distributed solid oxide fuel sell generating systems and related assets located across 138 sites in 5 states*
• Represented a mechanical and industrial cleaning service provider, in its ~$46M acquisition of a nitrogen industrial services, chemical sales, and fabrication company*
• Represented a large Florida based medical group, in its expansion into Texas and acquisitions of multiple primary care practices and home health companies in the amounts of $1M – $20M in Texas and Florida*
• Represented a research company dedicated to finding therapy for liver, obesity, and weight management illness, in the sale of the company to the leading organization of fully integrated clinical research sites, for ~ $19M*
• Represented a supplier of commercial, industrial, and manufacturing equipment, and an industrial manufacturer, in the sale to a distributor of mission-critical flow control and industrial automation products for general and chemical processing, food, beverage, energy, and life science industries, for ~ $29M*
• Represented a global leader in clinical nutrition, bio-safety needle free connectology, infusion, critical care systems, and advanced wound care, in the sale of the company to a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, for ~ $60M*
• Represented a middle-market investment group that builds grown-oriented healthcare companies, in its acquisition of multiple primary care practices and hospice companies in the Southern United States*
• Represented the largest European sawmill producer, in the purchase of sawmill assets of sawmill operator, for $83.4M*
• Represented an enterprise management software company, in its acquisition of a certain business division that provides monitoring of building management systems in multi-site retail and commercial client facilities and supervises the respective field services*
• Represented a provider of church management system solutions, in the sale of 100% of the ownership interests of the company to a donor management system for charities operating within the United States, for ~ $87M*
• Represented climbing and fitness facilities, in sale of 100% of their membership interests to a private equity portfolio company*

Joint Ventures, Investment & Finance Transactions

• Represented a private equity platform, and a global healthcare investment management firm, on the group’s $135M investment in a healthcare-enabling research organization*
• Represented a manufacturer of thermoplastic components, in connection with a private equity firm’s investment in the company*
• Represented a golf lessons company in its sale of 60% of its interests to a Japanese golf conglomerate*
• Represented a multimodal transportation and technology company, in securing an ~$300M investment group led by a New York based private equity firm*
• Represented a software and brokerage business, in negotiating a growth investment by a private equity firm, for ~ $93.5M*
• Represented a security services company in the preparation and negotiation of multiple cross-border distribution agreements for the provision of financial security services, including, cash vaulting, ATM services, and armored truck transport*
• Represented a renewable energy company, in the negotiation of operating agreements, development services agreements, and loan agreements, in connection with its strategic alliance to develop several renewable energy projects funded by a capital partner*
• Represented a leading provider of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, in its acquisition of a minority stake in a privately held recycling technology company*